Report: Florida imposed seven new death sentences in 2024, most in the nation

By Christine Sexton

An annual report put together by a national group that tracks the death penalty says Florida led the nation this year in imposing death sentences, a situation that appears to be linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ successful push to eliminate the requirement of a unanimous jury recommendation.

The Death Penalty Information Center, a group that says it has no position on the death penalty but is critical of how it carried out, reported that 26 people were sentenced to death in the United States in 2024. 

Ten states sentenced people to death this year but just four — Alabama, California, Florida, and Texas — accounted for the majority. Florida led with seven death sentences, followed by six in Texas, four in Alabama, and three in California.

About one-third of the 26 new death sentences were imposed without a unanimous recommendation from a jury, including six in Florida and three in Alabama.

Syria Is Free, Say Media—But That Shouldn’t Mean Free of US Occupation

 By Gregory Shupak 

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  Since the overthrow of the Syrian government, corporate media analysts have offered advice as to how the US should approach Syria going forward. These observers consistently opted not to call on the US and Israel to end their occupations of and violence toward Syria.

The Washington Post (12/8/24) calls for “engaged diplomacy” from the incoming Trump administration to “help write a brighter next chapter for this strategically located, and long-suffering, country.”

A Washington Post editorial (12/8/24), headlined “Why the US Needs to Help Build a New Syria,” said:

Syria might seem far removed from US interests. Before Mr. Assad’s fall, President-elect Donald Trump posted: “DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” But America is involved. Some 900 US troops and an undisclosed number of military contractors are operating in northeastern Syria near Iraq, battling the Islamic State and backing Kurdish forces fighting the Assad regime.

Teamsters Union Launches 'Largest Strike Against Amazon in US History'

 By Jake Johnson and Eloise Goldsmith

"We are fighting against a vicious union-busting campaign, and we are going to win," said one Amazon warehouse worker.

The Teamsters launched what the union described as "the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history" on Thursday morning to protest the e-commerce behemoth's unlawful refusal to bargain with organized drivers and warehouse workers across the country.

Workers in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, and other locations are expected to participate in Thursday's strike, with more facilities prepared to join if Amazon's management doesn't agree to negotiate contracts with unionized employees.

The union said Wednesday that Teamsters locals are also "putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide."

Ohio Senate bill would automatically close low-performing public schools

 By Megan Henry

A Republican bill in the state Senate would automatically shut down low-performing Ohio public schools. 

State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, introduced Senate Bill 295 over the summer, which would revise the state’s automatic school closure language. The bill has a fourth hearing scheduled Tuesday in the Senate Education Committee. 

Democrats' Working-Class Failures, Analysis Finds, Are 'Why Trump Beat Harris'

 By Jessica Corbett

"By branding itself as an active party of economic populism that fights for needed changes for the working class, the Democratic Party can put itself in a position to regain the support of the voters it lost in 2024."

Further bolstering the post-election argument that U.S. working-class voters have ditched the Democratic Party because they feel abandoned by Democrats, a Tuesday analysis details why Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

The report by Data for Progress, a left-leaning think tank, uses dozens of national surveys of likely voters conducted throughout 2024 to back up assertions that the party needs to improve its messaging and policies targeting working people if Democrats want to win future U.S. elections, after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress last month.