Milwaukee, WI – On Oct. 7, dozens of people came together to challenge Police Chief Flynn and the Milwaukee Police Department on the murder of 22-year old Derek Williams.

Chicago, IL – Protesters here marched to the headquarters of Boeing Corporation on Oct. 7 to mark the 11th anniversary of the war on Afghanistan. Over 100 people joined the protest to demand that the U.S. end the war now.

Minneapolis, MN – Another attempt by the Justice Department to imprison Somalis who care about the future of their country was in full swing here, Oct. 5, as the trial of Mahamud Said Omar concluded for the week. The trial, which is taking place at the downtown Federal Court building and began Oct. 1, could continue until the end of the month. The government claims that Omar helped Somalis travel to Somalia to help resist the invasion by neighboring Ethiopia.

Tallahassee, FL – On Oct. 2, dozens of students from the Florida State University (FSU) Progress Coalition rallied on campus to protest FSU President Eric Barron's tuition hike policies. Students marched from the student union to the FSU administration's Westcott building, where they stormed into the president's office. Students demanded that Barron meet with students to address record student debt and his pursuance of the pre-eminence legislation, a bill that, if passed, could lead to possible record high tuition prices at Florida State University.

Minneapolis, MN – News reports on Sept. 30 confirm yet another tragic milestone in the U.S. war in Afghanistan has passed: the 2000th U.S. military death.

Chicago, IL – Cook County Court Judge Thomas Donnelly dismissed over 90 cases, Sept. 26, against Occupy Chicago activists who were arrested last October and charged with a violation of the rarely used park curfew law. Judge Donnelly issued a written ruling which found that the city's park curfew ordinance is “unconstitutional both on its face and as applied and all complaints in this case are dismissed with prejudice.” The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) filed motions to dismiss in February on behalf of 92 Occupy Chicago protesters.

New York, NY – 150 prominent anti-war activists, religious leaders and supporters of Iran attended a special here on Sept. 25 with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is in New York to address the opening meeting of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly.

Minneapolis, MN – About 200 people rallied at the Federal Building here, Sept. 24, to demand an end to the ongoing Justice Department investigation into anti-war and international solidarity activists.

Committee to Stop FBI Repression plans to step up resistance

Chicago, IL – Leaders of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) say they plan to step up the fight against political repression this fall. “The attempt by the Justice Department to jail anti-war and international solidarity activists, the frame-ups of Arabs and Muslims, the outrageous cases stemming from the NATO protests, and the coordinated attacks on the Occupy movement mean that we have our work cut out for us,” states Jess Sundin of the CSFR.

Chicago, IL – With signs reading, “Opposing war is not a crime,” and “Two years is too long,” 100 people gathered at the Federal Building here, Sept. 20, to protest FBI and U.S. Attorney attacks on anti-war activists that began with FBI Raids in September 2010. Altogether, seven homes were raided and 23 people were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. The warrants and subpoenas alleged there was an ongoing effort to provide ‘material support’ for foreign terrorist organizations in the Middle East and South America.

Minneapolis, MN – Around 60 people joined a weekly peace vigil in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul on Sept. 19 to mark 4000 days since the start of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Chicago, IL – Chicagoans are joining in a national week of actions organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (stopfbi.net) and the United States Palestinian Community Network (uspcn.org), calling for an end to the Department of Justice investigation into the anti-war and international solidarity work of 23 activists from the Midwest.

Tallahassee, FL – Students at Florida colleges are making the issue of voter suppression a top priority this fall. On Sept. 4, a student civil rights group, Dream Defenders, protested Florida’s racist voter suppression laws. Students from Florida State University (FSU) and FAMU (Florida A&M University) organized a campus rally with dozens of student activists chanting, “Hey hey, ho, ho, the new Jim Crow has got to go!”

Victory for teachers and students

Chicago, IL – Sarah Chambers, a teacher at Saucedo Academy in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, was exhausted but happy when Fight Back! reached her Tuesday night, Sept. 18.

Mayor Emanuel seeks injunction

Chicago, IL – On Sept. 16 the members of the House of Delegates of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) received the contract offer from management of the Chicago Public Schools. The Bargaining Team, made up of the four officers and the CTU lawyers, presented a 23-page summary of the 180-page tentative agreement.

Fight is over job security and defending public education

Chicago, IL – On Sept. 10, Chicago Teachers Union Local 1 went on strike after ten months at the bargaining table. They tried to use negotiations with the Chicago School Board to defend their jobs and the interests of their students. When the Chicago Public Schools refused to back away from their corporate agenda, CTU members had no choice but to strike.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) have chosen Ricardo Palmera as one of their negotiators for Colombian peace talks. Professor Palmer is a political prisoner held in solitary confinement by the U.S. government in the Florence, Colorado Supermax prison. Palmera’s supporters in Colombia and around the world are demanding that Palmera be set free and that the U.S. government stop interfering in Colombia’s internal affairs. The FARC put Palmera’s name forward as one of the three main negotiators after peace negotiations were announced last week.

Protest sends message: We need jobs, housing, justice – not war!

Charlotte, NC – Organizers estimate that more than 2500 people from throughout the South and across the U.S. braved the heat, filling the streets of Charlotte on Sept. 2 for the March on Wall Street South. The demonstration confronted the banks and corporations headquartered in Charlotte that are wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country and raised a people’s agenda for jobs and justice as the Democratic National Convention convenes here.

Tampa, FL – Over 1000 people rallied and marched in the streets of Tampa, August 27, to demand good jobs, affordable education, healthcare, equality and peace. Although the Republicans canceled the first day of their convention due to Tropical Storm Isaac, organizers with the Coalition to March on the RNC went through with their promise to march to the site of the convention to show their opposition to the agenda of the 1%.

_24-hour picket and occupation of Hot and Crusty Bakery _

New York, NY – After news of an impending store closure, workers at the 63rd Street location of Hot and Crusty Bakery called for a 24-hour picket and store occupation, saying the company deliberately withheld rent payments following a hard-fought and successful unionization drive in May 2012. The company, owned by private equity partner Mark Samson, gave the Hot and Crusty Workers Association 11 days notice of eviction from the property, informing employees that August 31 would be their last day.