Latest developments in the Occupy protests

Some of the latest developments in the Occupy protests taking place in cities across the world:

CALIFORNIA

Police clashed with protesters in Oakland after thousands of demonstrators shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.

An Occupy Oakland protester waves a flag next to
a bonfire in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The confrontation began after protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a downtown street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leapt more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together.

The clash and subsequent standoff came only hours after thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, an Occupy Los Angeles march and rally is winding down. The more than hour-long march through downtown Los Angeles ended with a rally Wednesday night in front of LA Police Department headquarters. About 80 people who remained taped flyers onto a wall outside the building with names of people they say were victims of police brutality.

WASHINGTON

Several hundred Occupy Seattle demonstrators protested in the rain Wednesday night outside a hotel where JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was invited to speak.

Police used pepper spray to clear a side entrance so Sheraton Seattle Hotel patrons could enter or leave, The Seattle Times reported.

Six protesters were arrested Wednesday afternoon for criminal trespass and obstructing at a Chase Bank branch in a Seattle neighborhood.

Police also used pepper spray on that earlier crowd when at least 10 officers were physically assaulted while putting the arrested protesters in a paddy wagon, police spokesman Jeff Kappel said. At least two officers suffered minor injuries, he said.

ENGLAND

A lawyer for protesters camped outside London's St. Paul's Cathedral said Wednesday that authorities have offered to let the tent city stay until next year, as the leader of the world's Anglicans backed a so-called Robin Hood tax on financial transactions as one way to alleviate the global economic crisis.

The loosely organized demonstration against capitalist excess, inspired by New York's Occupy Wall Street movement, has wrong-footed both city and church officials since it began last month, defying pleas to leave and the threat of legal action.

Authorities have suspended legal bids to remove the tents. On Wednesday John Cooper, a lawyer for the protesters, said that local government had offered the protesters a deal "to stay on site until the new year," then leave on an agreed date.

IOWA

Iowa City approved a request from anti-Wall Street protesters for larger tents.

The protesters said they received a donated 10-person tent designed to withstand arctic weather. The City Council decided to allow two such tents, subject to approval by the fire department.

Protesters have been in College Green Park since Oct. 7 as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

MARYLAND

City officials say they're cutting power to outlets in the downtown Baltimore park where Wall Street protesters have been living for the last month.

Mayoral spokesman Ian Brennan said Wednesday the city is taking this step to alleviate a public safety hazard at McKeldin Square near the Inner Harbor. He said a city official visited earlier this week and found fire and electricity hazards.

MASSACHUSETTS

Members of the Occupy Boston movement, students from area colleges and union workers marched through downtown Boston to protest the nation's burgeoning student debt crisis.

The protest started at Occupy Boston's Dewey Square tent city Wednesday and stopped outside Bank of America offices and the downtown Harvard Club before moving to the Statehouse.

Protesters said higher education has gotten too costly, in part because of onerous, high-interest loans. They say total student debt in the U.S. increases by $1 million every six minutes and will reach $1 trillion this year, potentially undermining the economy.

Some called for complete forgiveness of student debt; others said government should more heavily subsidize state colleges and universities.

MINNESOTA

Protesters who have occupied a government plaza in Minneapolis for nearly a month will face new restrictions.

Hennepin County officials said Wednesday they will begin winterizing the plaza. They said protesters will have to consolidate their possessions and can't leave them unattended anymore or they'll be taken. The number of portable toilets is being cut from seven to three, and starting Friday no more signs will be allowed.

NEW YORK

About 100 military veterans marched in uniform Wednesday from the Vietnam Veterans Plaza near Wall Street through Manhattan, joining the Occupy Wall Street protest.

They were fired up by what they called brutality against a Marine veteran in Oakland, Calif., whose skull was fractured.

Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas, who went toe to toe recently with officers policing activists in Times Square, said soldiers who risked their lives have the right to protest an economy that gives them a slimmer chance of finding jobs than most Americans.

OREGON

If an Iraq War veteran's injury during a California protest comes to stand as a symbol of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protesters in Portland also hope it draws attention to what they say is the city's problem with police violence.

Scott Olsen, whose skull was fractured when police moved in on an Oakland encampment, has become a symbol for protesters in Portland, where the police bureau has recently been accused of excessive force in dealings with the city's black and mentally ill populations.

WISCONSIN

A photographer from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who was among three people arrested Wednesday at a rally connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement was not part of the protest and was only doing her job, the newspaper said.

The Journal Sentinel said Kristyna Wentz-Graff texted the newsroom to say she was being arrested. Two others were also arrested.

Milwaukee police say all three ignored officers' repeated commands to clear the street, and that the three were released from custody within two hours. The Milwaukee city attorney is expected to review the cases.

The paper issued a statement Wednesday saying Wentz-Graff did not ignore the commands of any of the officers and should not have been arrested.

Source: The Associated Press