13-Year-Old (Non-White) Child Arrested by ICE Race Soldiers in Massachusetts and Transferred Over 500 Miles from Family

A 13-year-old boy in Massachusetts was detained by local police on Thursday. When his mother arrived to pick him up, she learned that her son had instead been taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and later transferred to a juvenile facility in Virginia, more than 500 miles away. A federal judge has ordered the boy's release unless the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides grounds for his continued detention.

The boy, whose family is originally from Brazil, was initially arrested by Everett Police Department officers on Thursday evening, according to The Boston Globe. After waiting for an hour and a half to take her son home, Josiele Berto was told her son had instead been transferred into ICE custody, even though the boy and his family have a pending asylum case and are authorized to work legally in the United States, per the Globe.

Andrew Lattarulo, the boy's immigration attorney who filed a federal habeas corpus petition on the boy's behalf on Friday, told the Globe he had "never done a bond or a habeas for a kid this young, ever." United States District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled the same day that the government must justify the boy's arrest by the end of Tuesday, or provide a bond hearing no later than Thursday. [MORE]

Top Officials Resign from Unit that Investigates Police-Involved Death Cases in MD

Following weeks without charges in police-involved death cases and a dismissed indictment, the chief and deputy chief of the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office have resigned, according to the office.

IID Chief Allison Green and Deputy Chief Renee Joy will remain in office until the end of the week, said Jennifer Dolan, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office. A job listing was posted for the division chief position on the attorney general’s website today.

“Jonathan Smith, chief of our Civil Rights Division, will serve as interim chief of the IID while a robust search for new leadership is underway,” Dolan said in a statement. “The division remains under the strategic oversight of Deputy Attorney General Carrie Williams and continues its important work without interruption.”

Green and Joy’s resignations come weeks after a case by the IID — the first prosecution of an officer by the division since it was established in 2021 — was thrown out.

The IID had indicted Anne Arundel County police Cpls. Eddie Vasquez and Kieran Schnell for misconduct, alleging the officers drove around civilian vehicles at 100 mph while pursuing a suspect in December 2023.

The vehicle they chased crashed and killed a 22-year-old passenger, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Stacy McCormack dismissed the case in September, ruling that the Attorney General’s Office failed to ensure attorneys could not access compelled statements by the defendants. Compelled statements, which are required by law, cannot be used in criminal prosecutions. [MORE]

South Africa President says the So-Called “Cease Fire [massacre]” Won’t Stop the ICJ Case Against Israel for Genocide

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Gaza ceasefire will not affect his country’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Ramaphosa made the statement on Tuesday in Cape Town in parliament, stressing that South Africa’s determination to pursue its 2023 case despite the agreement on the widely lauded US-backed deal aimed at ending Israel’s war on the besieged territory.

“The peace deal that has been struck, which we welcome, will have no bearing on the case that is before the International Court of Justice,” Ramaphosa told parliament.

“The case is proceeding, and it now has to go to the stage where Israel has to respond to our pleadings that have been filed in the court, and they have to do so by January of next year,” he added.

South Africa filed the case in December 2023, accusing Israel of genocidal acts in Gaza.

South Africa handed in a 500-page detailed submission in October 2024, with Israel’s counter-arguments due by January 12, 2026. Oral hearings are anticipated in 2027, with a final judgement expected in late 2027 or early 2028.

The ICJ has issued three provisional measures, ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, though Israel has largely failed to comply. [MORE]

Dummy Trump Keeps Admitting that He is Bought and Owned by the World’s Richest Israeli Puppet Master (among many other masters)

It’s bizarre how little mainstream attention is given to the fact that the president of the United States has repeatedly confessed to being bought and owned by the world’s richest Israeli, especially given how intensely fixated his political opposition was on the possibility that he was compromised by a foreign government during his first term.

During a speech before the Israeli parliament on Monday, President Trump once again publicly admitted that he has implemented Israel-friendly policies at the behest of Israeli-American billionaire Miriam Adelson and her late husband Sheldon, this time adding that he believes Adelson favors Israel over the United States. [MORE]

MacKenzie Scott Donates $63 Million to HBCU Morgan State

The Amazon cofounder and Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife donated $40 million to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, which was established in 2017 to preserve historical landmarks and stories. It marks her second donation to the Fund, following a $20 million check she made in 2021.

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and executive director Brent Leggs, says the investment is “leaving an enduring mark on our nation’s history, and we are grateful for her philanthropic leadership,” adding that it “demonstrates the power of philanthropy and the Action Fund’s work to protect and expand the American story for generations to come.”

Scott has been on a philanthropic rampage as of late, including just a day ago, when she gave $42 million gift to 10,000 Degrees, a California-based education nonprofit, to advance education and career opportunities for low-income students to address the widening education gap. [MORE]

Arthur Blank Family Foundation Donates $50 Million to Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced a $50 million donation to Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities on Monday, aiming to close financial aid gaps that might otherwise prevent students from completing their degrees.

The money will support nearly 10,000 students with “gap scholarships” if they are approaching graduation in good academic standing and have exhausted all other sources of financial support. The aim is to raise graduation rates at Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College and Spelman College, according to the foundation’s announcement. [MORE]

Is Compensation Owed to Members of a Group Maintained in Subordinate Positions through Empirically Demonstrable Oppression? Gov Gavin Newsom Vetoes 5 Bills for Reparative "Justice" for Black People

From [HERE] Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night vetoed several bills that were part of the Legislative Black Caucus’ ‘Road to Repair’ priority package, intended to address a legacy of injustice toward Black Californians. Of the caucus’ 15 bills, only ten made it to the governor’s desk, and he vetoed more than half of them.

The governor vetoed bills that would have given descendants of slaves more opportunity for university admission, home-buying and professional licenses, and also shot down proposals to expand Diversity Equity and Inclusion strategic planning and help people regain property after racially-motivated eminent domain.

Newsom attributed several of the vetoes to a lack of state funds or capability. Others he said were unnecessary or would diminish the utility of an existing program.

On the subject of Assembly Bill 7, which would have clarified that California colleges are allowed to consider whether an applicant was a descendent of slaves, Newsom thanked author Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Jefferson Park, but said the bill was “unnecessary” because state universities already have the power to determine whether to make such admission preferences.

“I encourage the institutions referenced in this bill to review and determine how, when, and if this type of preference can be adopted,” he wrote.

Bryan said the veto was “more than disappointing.”

“While the Trump Administration threatens our institutions of higher learning and attacks the foundations of diversity and inclusivity, now is not the time to shy away from the fight to protect students who have descended from legacies of harm and exclusion.”

Earlier this month, Newsom signed SB 518, from state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego, which will create the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery, a state agency “responsible for verifying eligibility, safeguarding privacy, educating the public, and coordinating future reparative justice initiatives.”

On Monday night, he also signed three bills that were part of the package: one that would authorize the California State University to conduct a $6 million study to explore how to determine whether or not someone is the descendant of slaves, another that would expand how much pay equity data private employers need to report to the state’s Civil Rights Department, and a third requiring the CRD to better monitor and publish data about the complaints they receive.

Advocates expressed frustration Monday night about the bills that were denied by the governor.

“While we acknowledge the signing of SB 518 as a meaningful step, the Governor’s selective support undermines the very vision of comprehensive reparations that began with AB 3121,” said Juliana Williams, a spokesperson for the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth, referencing the bill that required the state to make a task force to study reparations.

[barbarians pause massacre until the next massacre] Israeli Soldiers Torched Food, Homes, and a Critical Sewage Treatment Plant in the Wake of Ceasefire Announcement

From [HERE] In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that both Hamas and Israel had signed off on an agreement to stop the fighting, the Israeli military launched an arson spree, setting fire to civilian infrastructure, including the destruction of an essential sanitation plant in Gaza City. After publication, the Israel Defense Forces told Drop Site it “is aware of the incident and it is being reviewed.”

The destruction of Palestinian structures following the departure of soldiers who had used them as temporary bases has been a hallmark of Israel’s approach to Gaza for two years. In July, Israeli reporter Yuval Abraham collected testimonies from soldiers describing a myriad of arson methods. “Every Arab house we entered had olive oil [...] We poured the oil on the sofas, on anything flammable in the apartment, and then we ignited [it] or threw in a smoke grenade. This was a common practice,” one of them described.

The agreement came after months of a concerted effort to render Gaza uninhabitable by destroying residences and civilian infrastructure, culminating in the ground invasion of Gaza City and the leveling of several high rises in Gaza City. In September, Israeli government minister Gila Gamliel told Channel 7 News, “We have already completely annihilated 75% of the entire [Gaza] Strip. There remains 25%, which, as you know, it too...we are now taking over [the city of] Gaza—there will be nothing left there that would really [have] the potential to be habitable.” [MORE]

New Report: ‘Garbage Science’ Behind Claims COVID Shots Saved Millions

From [HERE] A new report by Canadian researchers challenges widely cited claims that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives in the U.S.

The authors of a preprint paper published this week by Correlation, a Canadian nonprofit research organization, argue that the claims are based on modelling studies that use flawed assumptions resulting in “fantastic and unverifiable” conclusions.

For example, Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. — in interviews and in his 2024 congressional testimony — cited a 2022 study by Meagan Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., touting 3.2 million lives saved by the vaccines.

Legacy media latched onto Fitzpatrick’s and Hotez’s claims, widely repeating and amplifying them.

But according to all-cause mortality experts Denis Rancourt, Ph.D., and Joseph Hickey, Ph.D., Fitzpatrick used a “counterfactual theoretical calculation” that yielded incorrect assumptions about infection fatality rates and vaccine efficacy.

In their new paper, Rancourt and Hickey argue that counterfactual calculations like those used by Fitzpatrick and other researchers can lead to dangerous conclusions and shouldn’t be used to drive policy.

“False claims accepted by government officials and their advisers can have a disastrous effect on public health policy and society,” they said.

They also reassess the claims made in several studies that estimate the number of lives saved by COVID-19 vaccines, and challenge the validity of the studies’ underlying assumptions. [MORE]

Study Finds No Showers, Black Mold and Clogged Toilets in Reprehensible Prisons in Cleveland, St. Louis and Hinds County that are Filled w/Mostly Black People and Run by Elite, White Liberals

Poor sanitation in jails has been the subject of civil rights lawsuits for decades. Plumbing issues, vermin infestations, feces-covered walls, and limited access to basic hygiene products, such as soap or tampons, are common complaints.

Courts almost universally agree that a lack of basic sanitation violates detainees' constitutional rights, said David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project. Pre-trial detainees have sued, arguing that filthy conditions violate their due process rights. If a person has already been convicted, allegations of foul living conditions are considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Despite widespread legal challenges, many jails across the country are still filthy. Litigation against substandard conditions often ends in a settlement, Fathi noted, with officials agreeing to a change in policy, or better monitoring and enforcement, in exchange for not taking the case to trial. Settlements are typically the fastest route to clean things up, but they don’t set a legal precedent for other facilities, meaning there’s nothing requiring jails in the same county or state to adopt reforms.

Good hygiene in jail is often about more than detainees’ willingness to keep clean. Understaffing, overcrowding, facility maintenance, and mental health issues can all play a role. For example, the ACLU of Oregon, settled a lawsuit in 2019 against a county jail that had allegedly crowded a dozen women into a single intake cell, where they had to beg for toilet paper and menstrual products, and were denied showers.

“People don’t want to live in filth,” said Dr. Fred Rottnek, director of community medicine at St. Louis University and former medical lead at the St. Louis County Jail. “They are at the mercy of the administration to provide needed services because they can’t do it on their own.”

Reporters from The Marshall Project’s local news teams dug into the state of sanitation at jails in St. Louis, Cleveland and Hinds County, Mississippi, home to Jackson, the state capitol. They found that poor jail maintenance and management, as well as understaffing, mean many detainees are left to live in unsanitary conditions. [MORE]

Treadmilling Black Caucus Chases an Elusive Pot of Gold in CA: New State Agency Created for the Ostensible Purpose of Providing Reparations and the Actual Purpose of Diverting Gullible Black Voters

Five years after California Gov. Gavin Newsom created a task force to study the legacy of enslavement in California, a state agency has been created in order to facilitate restitution for the descendants of those who were enslaved in the state, despite not approving cash payments for the wrongs visited upon their ancestors.

According to Politico, in an episode of Van Latham and Rachel Lindsay’s "Higher Learning," which was released on Oct. 10, the same day Gov. Newsom announced the creation of the agency, he noted that the office is a necessary step to further action concerning reparations.

"I signed a bill two days ago with the Black Caucus as it relates to creating a new office to address these systemic issues," he told the hosts.

Previously, in 2024, Newsom signaled that part of the reason he vetoed a bill that would have compensated the victims of the state’s past use of racially-motivated eminent domain was because there was no state agency to disperse funds to Black Californians. [MORE]

Patterson Cops Stopped Black Man b/c ‘He Widened His Eyes and Touched His Bag When He Saw Them.’ Cops Brutally Assaulted Him While he was Cuffed Causing Brain, Testicle Injury. Suit Moves Forward

From [HERE] On Monday, a federal judge ruled that parts of a lawsuit alleging that Paterson police officers beat a Black man and ignored his medical needs during a 2022 arrest can proceed.

U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper ruled that Benjamin Jackson’s claims against the officers—John Rikowich, Corey Davis, Muhammed Dombayci, and Salameh—can move forward in court.

Benjamin Jackson, 53, of Saddle Brook, claims he was stopped without probable cause on Nov. 6, 2022, while walking in Paterson, thrown to the ground and beaten after officers falsely accused him of suspicious behavior. Jackson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in November 2024, accusing more than a dozen Paterson police officers of excessive force, sexual assault, and denial of medical care. Jackson contends his arrest and subsequent treatment were racially motivated.

According to the complaint, Jackson was stopped by undercover plainclothes officers between 8 and 9 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2022, at Broadway and East 18th Street. The officers were all equipped with body-worn cameras that were activated during the incident.

The lawsuit states one of the police officers saw Jackson widening his eyes, appearing startled and slowing his pace after spotting the officers’ unmarked police vehicle. Another officer saw Jackson touch his fanny pack and mistakenly believed there might be a firearm inside.

The “officers wrongfully used these pre-textual and alleged behaviors as a justification to stop (Jackson),” the suit says.

The suit says the officers insisted on searching Jackson, who told them that New Jersey is “not a stop and frisk state,” and asked for a police supervisor to come to the scene.

In all, Jackson asked for a supervisor 15 times as officers placed him in handcuffs with one officer telling him, “All you was doing was making problems.”

The body camera footage shows Jackson complying with police commands before being thrown to the ground and placed in handcuffs, according to the suit.

Officers “brutally kicked him, punched him in the face, chest and stomach, and slammed his face and head into the ground,” aggravated the brain surgery wound, the suit alleges.

At one point, an officer allegedly grabbed Jackson’s genitals while his hands were cuffed behind his back. “That’s for free bro, don’t even worry about it,” the officer allegedly said, in a statement the lawsuit says was captured on body-worn cameras.

Other officers are accused of standing by and laughing during the incident, the complaint alleges.

Despite Jackson’s warnings about his condition and pleas for medical attention, the officers continued their alleged assault, leaving him with severe injuries, including a testicular condition requiring surgery, the suit alleges.

A separate claim accusing the city of failing to properly train and supervise its officers was also allowed to proceed.

However, many of Jackson’s other claims were dismissed, including those for false imprisonment, discrimination, emotional distress, and negligence.

Semper said some lacked detail, others didn’t meet legal standards, and one—alleging sexual assault—was duplicative of another claim already moving forward.

Although Jackson named more than a dozen officers in the lawsuit, the judge dismissed claims against several, including those alleged to have witnessed the incident or failed to intervene.

The judge also dismissed all claims against the Paterson Police Department because, under the law, the department isn’t considered a separate legal entity from the city itself.

That means the department can’t be sued directly; any legal claims must be made against the City of Paterson, which oversees and is legally responsible for the department.