Headlines October 7, 2022 from Democracy Now!

The city of Rochester, New York, has agreed to pay a $12 million settlement to the family of Daniel Prude, a Black man killed by police in March 2020. Prude died from asphyxiation after Rochester police officers handcuffed him while he was naked, put a hood over his head and then pushed his face into the freezing cold ground for two minutes while kneeling on his back. Last year, a grand jury decided not to file charges against the officers involved in Prude’s death. The Prude family filed a lawsuit two years ago. The city of Rochester has not admitted liability in Prude’s killing and did not pay punitive damages.    Police   New York

A new report finds the World Bank has financed at least $14.8 billion in fossil fuel development since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. That’s despite a pledge by World Bank officials roughly five years ago to stop supporting oil and gas projects within two years. A campaigner with the group Glasgow Actions Team said, “If the World Bank wants to be a part of the solution rather than the problem, it needs to stop funding fossil fuels and unlock billions in order to support the transition to renewable energy across the globe and end poverty and inequality.”    Fossil Fuel Divestment   Paris Climate Summit 2015

In Washington, D.C., at least 13 immigrant justice advocates were arrested Thursday while protesting this week’s 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling deeming the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, illegal. Those already enrolled in the program are still allowed to renew their DACA, but new applicants are blocked. Advocates are also demanding Congress enact permanent immigration relief for undocumented people. DACA recipients Diana Pliego and Cindy Colade joined Thursday’s protests.

Diana Pliego: “This is — I can’t count what number of times this is that I’m anxiously awaiting on a court decision and unsure of what’s going to happen, and maybe it will ruin our futures. Like, I don’t know, and it’s really hard to live life that way.”

Cindy Colade: “We want to make sure that all of the children that has been part of this country, no matter what of their paper situation or anything, that with DACA, it will help them stay and be part of this community and pay the taxes and pay everything that this country needs.”

In August, the Biden administration turned DACA into a federal regulation to protect it from further legal challenges. That rule is scheduled to take effect October 31. DACA was enacted in 2012 and has shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, and granted them work permits.   DREAM Act

In New Mexico, immigrant justice organizations report a group of asylum seekers held at the Torrance County Detention Facility have been on hunger strike since last week, protesting inhumane and unsanitary conditions. The asylum seekers are denouncing chronic medical neglect, inedible food and horrific abuse at Torrance, which is run by the private prison corporation CoreCivic. Demands are mounting to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center following the August death by suicide of 23-year-old Kesley Vial, an asylum seeker from Brazil. This is Orlando de los Santos, a hunger striker and asylum seeker from the Dominican Republic who has been detained at Torrance since July.

Orlando de los Santos: “We are demanding our freedom. No more deportations. We demand to be treated equal and to be released. No human being should be detained here. We are being abused by ICE guards and by the guards working at this detention center. When it rains, my cell floods with water. It’s full of mosquitoes. And the food they serve us is often raw.”  

In more news from New York, a federal judge has blocked major portions of a state law restricting who can carry concealed firearms in public spaces. District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby ruled Thursday that New York’s attempts to bar guns from so-called sensitive spaces — including schools, libraries, museums and theaters — violated the constitutional right to carry a firearm for the purposes of self-defense. New York Attorney General Letitia James has promised to appeal Thursday’s ruling.   Gun Control   New York

In Mexico, at least 20 people were killed in the southern state of Guerrero after gunmen wearing ski masks burst into the town hall in the city of San Miguel Totolapan Wednesday and opened fire during a meeting hosted by the local mayor. The mayor, Conrado Mendoza, was among those killed, as well as his father, who was a former mayor. The gunmen reportedly belonged to a local drug gang that’s in a dispute with a rival drug smuggling group. An investigation of the shooting is underway.    Mexico   Drug War

In London, thousands of supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are planning to form a human chain outside Parliament on Saturday as they demand the United Kingdom cancel plans to extradite Assange to the United States to face charges that could see him jailed for life. Assange’s U.S. supporters are planning a similar rally near the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, where they’ll demand the Biden administration cancel plans to try Assange on hacking charges and 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. If convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison.   Julian Assange   Journalism   Freedom of the Press

Federal prosecutors believe they have gathered enough evidence to charge President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase. That’s according to The Washington Post, which reports a final decision has to be made by the U.S. attorney in Delaware, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. The investigation into Hunter Biden began in 2018 and was a central issue in Trump’s unsuccessful reelection campaign in 2020.   Joe Biden

The National Football League is once again facing scrutiny over its policy on traumatic brain injuries and concussions, following a series of high-profile head injuries this season. On Thursday evening, Indianapolis Colts running back Nyheim Hines was pulled from a game against the Denver Broncos after he struggled to get to his feet after he was struck in the head. This comes after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a horrifying concussion in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in September. This week, the neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose work was depicted in the 2015 film “Concussion,” said the 24-year-old star should retire from football.   Sports & Politics