Headlines October 10, 2022 from Democracy Now!

In Utah, a jury has acquitted two animal rights activists who faced prison time for rescuing two sick piglets from a Smithfield Foods factory farm in 2017. It’s a major victory for animal rights advocates and the group behind the 2017 rescue, Direct Action Everywhere, who have been fighting to establish a “right to rescue” animals in distress. This is activist Wayne Hsiung, speaking to journalists and supporters after the verdict.

Wayne Hsiung: “You had these two beautiful creatures who didn’t deserve the crate and the suffering they were living in. And the jury bought that, too. So, on to the next rescue, huh?”

In New York, two hospitals have agreed to pay $165 million to 147 patients who accused a gynecologist of sexual abuse. Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian announced the agreement Friday. Robert Hadden surrendered his medical license after he was convicted in 2016, but was not sentenced to any prison time. He’s currently awaiting trial on separate federal charges of sexually abusing dozens of women over two decades.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday declared a “state of emergency” in response to the thousands of asylum seekers arriving to the city in buses sent from Texas and other Republican-led states. Since April, over 17,000 asylum seekers have been bused to New York from the U.S.-Mexico border. Adams spoke at a press conference Friday.

Mayor Eric Adams: “We need help from the federal government, help from the state of New York. New York City is doing our part, and now others must step up and join us. From our federal partners, we need legislation that will allow these asylum seekers to legally work now.”

In London, thousands of supporters of Julian Assange formed a massive human chain around the British Parliament Saturday to demand freedom for the jailed WikiLeaks founder. Solidarity actions were held in other cities around the world, including in Washington, D.C., where protesters called on the Justice Department to drop its efforts to extradite Assange. Assange faces up to 175 years in U.S. prison on espionage and hacking charges, for exposing U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is Julian’s wife, Stella Assange, speaking in London.

Stella Assange: “It casts a very dark shadow over the British government that it hasn’t stopped this. The British government should be speaking to its counterparts in the United States to bring this matter to an end immediately. It’s already gone on for three-and-a-half years. It is a stain on the United Kingdom, and it is a stain on the Biden administration.”