by Maximillian Alvarez | Jul 30, 2026 | Economy and Inequality, labor, Media, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Working People
When workers at the historic Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper hit the picket line in October of 2022, they had no idea that they would be on strike for over three years—or that the strike would end with new owners taking over the paper and most strikers losing their jobs. But now, a new chapter is being written in their epic story. This week, workers and community supporters launched the Pittsburgh Progress, “a cooperative news organization, owned and democratically run by its workers and members… dedicated to looking out for, and telling the stories of, the working-class people who form the heart and soul of our diverse communities.” In this episode of Working People, we discuss the birth of the Pittsburgh Progress, and what it means for working people in and beyond Pittsburgh, with Steve Mellon and Natalie Duleba, both former strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and both founding worker-members of the newly launched Pittsburgh Progress.
Additional links/info:
Pittsburgh Progress website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Progress, “This new media cooperative invites the community to join us on our journey of creation”
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won”
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “They won their strike fair and square. Now their rich bosses are closing up shop”
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Venetoulis Institute ‘saves’ the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by purging union members who went on strike”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alright. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs,
by Hayley Brown | Jul 29, 2026 | Article, Climate Crisis, DOGE, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story was originally published on July 21, 2026 by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. It is shared here with permission.
The US is currently experiencing its largest ever recorded outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a disease caused by infection with the Cyclospora parasite. The disease is typically acquired via fecal-contaminated food or drink, and can cause explosive diarrhea and severe, lingering stomach cramps. Those who contract it generally have a terrible time. Experts have yet to conclusively identify the source of the outbreak, which continues unabated. Recent tests implicating Taylor Farms have been withdrawn as false positives, though Taylor Farms’ lettuce remains a primary suspect in the ongoing investigation.
After presiding over the COVID-19 crisis, one might imagine a presidential administration would be eager to prevent another public health catastrophe from occurring under its watch. The Trump Administration, however, has taken pains to weaken the resilience of the already limited and chronically underfunded public health infrastructure in the US. As a result, this latest outbreak is unfolding in a system that is even more diminished and underresourced than it was in 2020.
After presiding over the COVID-19 crisis, one might imagine a presidential administration would be eager to prevent another public health catastrophe from occurring under its watch. The Trump Administration, however, has taken pains to weaken the resilience of the already limited and chronically underfunded public health infrastructure in the US.
First, it is worth noting that fecal contamination can happen when farm workers are not given adequate bathroom breaks. Rather than protecting farm workers, however, the Trump administration has made it harder for them to challenge unsafe conditions. In June 2025,
by Maximillian Alvarez | Jul 29, 2026 | baltimore, documentary, Politics and Movements: US, protest, Racial Justice, video
A 7-11 on Liberty Heights Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, Maryland, has become a flashpoint of community rage and resistance after Ade Oba Tokunbo (Stephen King), a 74-year-old resident, was attacked and brutally beaten there by six teenagers on July 7, 2026. The same location is also the site of multiple robberies and the murder of Victorious Swift in March of 2017. In response, “A Clarion Call,” a new coalition of local community organizations and residents, organized a rally at the 7-11 on Sunday, July 26, and led a community march into the store to demand the company implement policies that will keep customers safe and aid in the apprehension of the youth responsible for the July 7 attack. In this on-the-ground report, TRNN takes you inside the community rally held at the 7-11, near Mondawmin Mall, on July 26.
Additional links/info:
Organizers of A Clarion Call have set up a GoFundMe for Ade Oba Tokunbo and are asking community members to contact ClarionCallBaltimore[at]gmail[dot]com if they have any information about the perpetrators of the July 7.
Renee Anderson, Mike Hellgren, CBS Baltimore, “New video shows 74-year-old attacked outside Baltimore 7-Eleven by group wielding sword, assault rifle”
Credits:
Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, Cameron Granadino, David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Crowd Chants:
We are we. We are we. We are we. We are we. We are we.
Gwendolyn Levi:
We need to be able to say that we in our community are willing to stand up. We’re standing up for our young people. We’re standing up for our seniors. We are standing up for our communities.
Queen Mother Victory Swift-Gye Nyame:
On July
by Adam Johnson | Jul 28, 2026 | Article, Democratic Party, Gaza, Israel, Opinion, Politics and Movements: US
by Stephen Prager | Jul 24, 2026 | Article, Fascism, GOP, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on July 23, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Press freedom groups are issuing dire warnings on Thursday that House Republicans’ efforts to subpoena the nonprofit left-wing news organization BreakThrough News represent a dangerous new step in a McCarthyite war on political dissent.
On Wednesday, Fox News reported that BreakThrough, a New York-based outlet, was one of three nonprofits that had been issued subpoenas by the GOP-controlled House Ways and Means Committee as part of an investigation into $39 million worth of donations from tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, a self-described socialist who has used his wealth to fund left-wing nonprofits.
In letters sent Tuesday, the committee, led by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), said that BreakThrough, as well as two other organizations—the People’s Forum Inc., a New York-based activist hub, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research—had not turned over any documents that had been requested as part of an investigation into whether rules around tax exempt status for nonprofits should be tightened to protect against foreign influence.
The committee has accused Singham, an American who now lives in Shanghai, of exploiting the tax code and using shell companies and donor-advised funds to hide foreign money that has been used to promote the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. It does not, however, make any specific accusation of legal wrongdoing.
The subpoena requires BreakThrough News to turn over records about its finances, foreign donors and grant recipients, fiscal-sponsorship arrangements, and communications with Singham and any foreign entities.
BreakThrough News is under attack.The House Ways and Means Committee has made us the target of its latest witch hunt. We’re not going down
by Jake Johnson | Jul 24, 2026 | Article, Climate Change, Climate Crisis, labor, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on July 24, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
A Republican-controlled House committee passed legislation earlier this week that would prevent the US Labor Department from enacting federal standards to protect workers from extreme heat, a move that came amid sweltering heat across the country.
The Heat Workforce Standards Act, led by Rep. Mark Messmer (R-Ind.), passed the House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday in a 18-15 vote along party lines. If enacted, the legislation would bar the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from implementing nationwide heat protections for workers—including those proposed by the Biden administration in 2024.
The Biden Labor Department estimated that its proposed rules would protect around 36 million workers. Trump’s Labor Department has done nothing to move forward with the Biden-era proposal.
The AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the US, has condemned the GOP bill, noting that “extreme heat is one of the deadliest workplace hazards in America.”
“House lawmakers are considering legislation that would block OSHA from issuing or enforcing a federal heat safety standard,” the labor group said earlier this week. “That’s the wrong direction when workers’ lives are on the line.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, a coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups wrote in a letter to members of Congress that the Republican legislation “would permanently remove the federal government’s authority to address a workplace hazard that is already resulting in worker fatalities.”
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 55 worker deaths from heat exposure in 2023, a number that safety researchers widely consider to be an undercount due to frequent misclassification or underreporting of heat-related illnesses and fatalities,” the coalition wrote. “More broadly, heat-related deaths in the United States have more than doubled since
