• Congress Battles the Farm Bill
• West Coast Ports Shut Down
• May Day In Los Angeles
• May Day in Oakland
• Targeting Occidental Shareholder's Meeting for Toxic Pollution in the Amazon
• Argentine Human Rights Activist Kidnapped and Released

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Congress Battles the Farm Bill

As consumers battle the rising cost of food, lawmakers in Congress battle the White House and each other over the Farm Bill. The legislation focuses on massive agri-business and does little to address the needs of everyday consumers. As FSRN's Karen Miller reports from the Capitol, the bill decides how much farmers are paid, how much food costs and who has access to nutritious food.

West Coast Ports Shut Down

West Coast dockworkers from San Diego to Seattle walked off the job Thursday to protest the war in Iraq and to commemorate May Day. The decision, made by the leaders of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU) lead to the shutdown of 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington. The West Coast employer's association of ship-owners has threatened court action against the union leaders. The dramatic walk-off is the first time in decades that organized labor has completely halted operations to protest a war. Joshua Emerson Smith reports from San Francisco, where longshoremen joined thousands of other May Day protesters calling for an end to the war in Iraq.

May Day In Los Angeles

International Worker's Day demonstrations took place around the world and across the US yesterday. An estimated 20,000 people took to the streets in Los Angeles: a much lower turnout than last year, that some say is a direct result of the LA Police Department's violent attack on demonstrators and the media at MacArthur Park last year. This year, more men and fewer families made up the roughly 5,000 peaceful march participants who gathered at the Park yesterday. Jose Portillo was one of this year's participants:

May Day in Oakland

In Oakland, people linked the labor movement and justice for immigrants for the third year in row, celebrating May Day with an immigrant rights march across the city. Elena Botkin-Levy has more.

Targeting Occidental Shareholder's Meeting for Toxic Pollution in the Amazon

Representatives from the Achuar people of Peru, together with environmental experts and supporters, addressed Occidental Petroleum's shareholders this morning in Los Angeles. They are demanding the company pay for clean up after 28 years of toxic pollution – due to oil drilling which they say has poisoned their community and environment. Dan Fritz files this report from KPFK in Los Angeles.

Argentine Human Rights Activist Kidnapped and Released

A human rights activist was kidnapped in Argentina this week; his disappearance prompted an intense manhunt and concern from rights groups. This is the third case in as many years of a human rights witness going missing since Argentina opened up Dirty War trials investigating rights violations. FSRN's Marie Trigona reports from Buenos Aires.