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DemocracyNow! headlines

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: Bernie Sanders Would "Transform the Lives of Poor and Working-Class People"
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:51:06 -0400
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor at Princeton University, has just published a book about the racial wealth gap and falling rate of homeownership by African Americans. Her book is titled "Race For Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership." Taylor speaks with us about the 2020 presidential candidates' platforms, including Senator Bernie Sanders's proposed wealth tax. She says Sanders's policies bring "to light the connection between the systemic forces that drive inequality and the impact that they have in people's lives."

Race for Profit: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on How Banks & Real Estate Biz Undermined Black Homeowners
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:26:25 -0400
Recent U.S. census data reveals the homeownership rate for African Americans has fallen to its lowest level since before the civil rights movement. In the second quarter of this year, the rate fell to just 40% — the lowest level since 1950. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's new book, "Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership," examines the roots of this crisis. The book has just come out and has been longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award. From Philadelphia, we speak with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor at Princeton University.

"Unprecedented" Protests Rage Across Lebanon as People Demand PM's Resignation and End to Austerity
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:10:30 -0400
Mass protests in Lebanon have entered their sixth day as hundreds of thousands around the country are taking to the streets to demonstrate against dire economic conditions, austerity and corruption, demanding the country's leaders step down. The protests were sparked last week when the government announced a tax on WhatsApp calls, but the massive demonstrations have since grown into a call for revolution. More than a million demonstrators flooded the streets of Beirut, Tripoli and other cities over the weekend. Prime Minister Saad Hariri revoked the WhatsApp tax on Monday and announced a package of economic reforms, but protesters are continuing to call for his ouster. For more, we speak with independent Lebanese journalist Kareem Chehayeb, whose recent piece for The Washington Post is headlined "Lebanon's protests and wildfires tell the same grim story."

Headlines for October 22, 2019
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Erdogan Meets with Putin as Turkish Ceasefire in Syria Expires, William Taylor Testifies in Impeachment Hearings, NYT: U.S. Has Quietly Pulled Thousands of Troops Out of Afghanistan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Held onto Power in Tight Elections, Israel: Netanyahu Fails to Form Coalition Government, Massive Protests Continue in Chile, Northern Ireland Decriminalizes Abortion & Legalizes Marriage Equality, Indonesia: Former General Prabowo Subianto to Join the Cabinet, ExxonMobil Goes on Trial in New York over Climate Change, Four Drug Companies Reach Settlement with Two Ohio Counties, Macy's to Stop Selling Fur Products, 7 Arrested Protesting MoMA Trustee's Ties to Puerto Rican Debt

"We Want Democracy to Be Restored": Protesters in Chile Decry Inequality Amid Military Crackdown
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:48:14 -0400
In Chile, as many as eight people have died in widespread civil unrest that has brought Santiago to a standstill and sparked a violent police crackdown across the country. The protests began in response to a subway fare hike two weeks ago and have grown into a mass uprising against rising inequality, high cost of living and privatization. President Sebastián Piñera canceled the fee increase on Saturday, but protests are continuing, with a national strike called for today. Over the weekend, Piñera declared a state of emergency in Santiago and five other cities, imposing a curfew and sending the military into the streets in response to civil unrest for the first time since dictator Augusto Pinochet's regime. Military tanks rolled through Santiago this weekend, and at least 1,400 protesters have been detained. Francisca Perales, one of the leaders of the newly formed left-wing political party Social Convergence, and Andra Chastain, an assistant professor of history at Washington State University in Vancouver, join us for a conversation about the massive protests in Chile.

Kings Bay Plowshares 7: Trial Begins for Liz McAlister & Others for Breaking Into Nuke Sub Base
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:27:27 -0400
Seven Catholic peace activists are going on trial in Georgia today for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base on April 4, 2018. The activists, who are known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The activists entered the base armed with just hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles containing their own blood and an indictment charging the U.S. government with crimes against peace. Over the past four decades activists in the Plowshares movement have taken part in about 100 similar actions at nuclear arms facilities, beginning in 1980 at the General Electric nuclear missile plant in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. We recently spoke to Catholic nun Liz McAlister, who goes on trial today with her co-defendants Father Stephen Kelly, Mark Colville, Patrick O'Neill, Carmen Trotta, Clare Grady and Martha Hennessy, who is the granddaughter of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. They all have been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor.

Bernie's Back: AOC Backs Sanders as 26,000 Rally in NYC at Largest Presidential Rally of 2019
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:10:57 -0400
Vermont independent senator and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders held the largest campaign rally of the primary season so far on Saturday. An estimated 26,000 supporters packed into Queensbridge Park in New York City. The event was held in the shadow of the nation's largest public housing development. It was Sanders's first campaign rally since he suffered a heart attack earlier this month. Sanders was joined on stage by three prominent supporters: Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico; filmmaker Michael Moore; and Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who volunteered on Sanders's 2016 campaign before being elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Sanders at the rally.

Headlines for October 21, 2019
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
U.S. Troops Leaving Syria Headed for Iraq, Anti-Government Protests Sweep the Globe, Bolivia Presidential Election Appears to Head for a Runoff, Brother of Honduran President Found Guilty of Cocaine Trafficking, Trump Says G7 Will Not Be Held at His Private Golf Course, Hillary Clinton Accuses Jill Stein, Tulsi Gabbard of Being Linked to Russia, Landmark Trial over Opioid Epidemic in Cleveland, Ohio, Tornado Rages Through Dallas, Leaving 100,000 Without Power, Judge Temporarily Blocks Florida Law Limiting Voting by Ex-Felons

Sentenced to Life in Prison as a Teen, How Cyntoia Brown Survived Sex Trafficking & Won Her Freedom
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:14:06 -0400
At the age of 16, she was arrested for killing a man who had picked her up for sex, after she had been forced into sexual slavery as a child. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for shooting the man who bought her for sex when she feared for her life. Today Cyntoia Brown-Long joins us to share her experience, what has happened in the 15 years she was incarcerated, and how she won her release. In an incredible development, after a years-long campaign to win her freedom, Cyntoia was granted clemency in January after former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam commuted her sentence. She was released from prison in August. We spend the hour discussing her experience as she recounts in her memoir, published this week, "Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System."

Headlines for October 18, 2019
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Under U.S. Deal, Turkish Occupation of Northern Syria Continues; Ethnic Cleansing Feared, "We Do That All the Time": Mulvaney Admits to Quid Pro Quo over Ukraine, Ambassador Sondland Confirms Giuliani Pushed Ukraine Policy, Energy Secretary Rick Perry to Resign, U.S. to Host G7 at Trump Resort in Possible Violation of Constitution, Civilian Casualties Reach New High in Afghanistan, Corbyn Urges Labour Party Members to Reject New Brexit Deal, Chicago Teacher Strike Enters Second Day, NYC City Council Backs Plan to Close Rikers as Activists Call for No New Jails, Cuban Asylum Seeker Dies in Solitary Confinement in Louisiana, General Strike Shuts Down Barcelona Following Sentencing of Catalan Separatist Leaders, Mass Protests Continue in Lebanon over Economic Crisis, Mexican Forces Release El Chapo's Son After Coming Under Deadly Attack by Cartels, Cuban Ballerina Alicia Alonso, 98, Dies

Rep. Ro Khanna: We Need a Responsible Withdrawal from Syria, Not One Oblivious to Human Life
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:45:31 -0400
As hundreds of thousands of civilians face displacement and violence amid Turkey's assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, the House of Representatives voted to condemn Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. support for the Kurds on Wednesday. The measure passed 354 to 60. We speak with Representative Ro Khanna, who says, "We can't just get involved in a place and then walk away and not have some moral responsibility. We have a moral responsibility not just to the Kurds who fought with us against ISIS. We have a moral responsibility to accept Syrian refugees. We have a moral responsibility to help rebuild a society that was ravaged by civil war, where we were involved." We also speak with Ozlem Goner, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at the City University of New York. She is a member of the Emergency Committee of Rojava.

"Meltdown": Trump Defends Syria Withdrawal as House Votes 354 to 60 to Condemn His Actions
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:33:21 -0400
As the displacement of 300,000 civilians over Turkey's assault on Kurdish-controlled areas continues in northern Syria, the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to condemn President Trump's actions. Turkey invaded the region on October 9, shortly after Trump virtually greenlit the Turkey assault by abruptly withdrawing a small number of U.S. troops who were protecting Kurdish areas in northern Syria. Since then, the Kurds have aligned themselves with the Syrian government, and a number of former ISIS fighters who were being held by the Kurds have escaped. We speak with Ozlem Goner, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at the City University of New York. She is a member of the Emergency Committee of Rojava.

30,000+ Chicago Teachers & Support Staff Go on Strike Calling on City to Invest More in Schools
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:12:38 -0400
More than 30,000 workers are walking out of Chicago Public Schools today to demand better pay and benefits, smaller class sizes and more nurses, counselors, social workers and librarians. The historic strike has brought the country's third-largest school system to a standstill, with classes canceled for more than 350,000 students. The strike was confirmed Wednesday when the Chicago Teachers Union rejected a final offer by the city's new mayor, Lori Lightfoot, following months of labor negotiations. The city offered pay raises of 16% over a five-year period, while union representatives have been calling for a 15% increase over three years. Seven thousand five hundred public school workers with the Service Employees International Union are also striking today after rejecting their own offer from the city. From Chicago, we speak with Stacy Davis Gates, executive vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Science Meles, executive vice president of SEIU Local 73, about the strike and public school workers' demands.

Headlines for October 17, 2019
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Trump Has "Meltdown" After Lawmakers Rebuke His Actions on Syria, Gordon Sondland to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry Today, Britain and European Union Reach Brexit Deal, Protests Continue in Catalonia After Sentencing of Separatist Leaders, Trump Admin Proposes Opening Up Tongass National Forest to Logging, 500,000 Kids Could Lose Free School Lunches Under Changes to Food Stamp Program, Chicago Public School Teachers on Strike Today, General Motors and UAW Reach Tentative Deal Aimed at Ending Strike, NYC Council Slated to Vote on $8 Billion Plan to Close Rikers & Build New Jails, Maryland Congressmember Elijah Cummings Dies

It Was the Longest Debate So Far, But CNN & NYT Asked No Questions on Climate Crisis & Immigration
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:53:26 -0400
Despite ongoing climate chaos and a sustained humanitarian disaster at the southern border, The New York Times and CNN failed to ask candidates directly about immigration or the climate crisis at Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate. We speak with Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, who says the lack of attention to immigraton "was a major gap in the three-hour debate." We also speak with journalist Kate Aronoff about the debate's failure to address the climate crisis.

Democrats Decry Trump's Syria Policy But Fail to Address Palestine, Yemen, China & Other Issues
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:49:22 -0400
At Tuesday's debate, Democratic candidates took aim at President Trump's recent move to withdraw support from the Kurds in northern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to invade the region. We speak with Intercept contributor Mehdi Hasan, host of the "Deconstructed" podcast, about the candidates' foreign policy proposals.

Dem Debate: "Disingenuous" Attacks on Medicare for All Distract from Cost of Today's Broken System
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:39:39 -0400
Democratic candidates sparred at Tuesday's debate over their healthcare platforms and Medicare for All. We speak with Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor at CUNY-Hunter College and the co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. Moderators in the CNN and New York Times debate repeatedly pressed Elizabeth Warren on whether taxes would increase under Medicare for All. "The framing of that question is crazy," says Dr. Woolhandler. "What really matters is how much a household is paying."

Warren and Sanders: A Wealth Tax Is Needed to Address Staggering Inequality
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:30:52 -0400
2020 progressive front-runners Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren pushed for a wealth tax at the fourth Democratic debate Tuesday night. We speak with senior contributor at The Intercept, Mehdi Hasan, who hosts their "Deconstructed" podcast, and David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. He is the founder and editor of DCReport.org.

Mehdi Hasan: "There Should Only Be Two Front-Runners Right Now: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren"
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:14:32 -0400
Twelve candidates took to the stage for the fourth round of the Democratic presidential debate in Westerville, Ohio, Tuesday to spar over healthcare, foreign policy, impeachment, gun violence, economic inequality and more. Senator Elizabeth Warren — who is now leading some national polls — repeatedly came under attack from her rivals. In the first debate since Senator Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack two weeks ago, the Vermont senator advocated for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and a wealth tax. Former Vice President Joe Biden attacked the proposals of both Sanders and Warren and faced scrutiny for his son Hunter's dealings in Ukraine. We host a roundtable with Intercept senior contributor Mehdi Hasan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston and journalist Kate Aronoff.

Headlines for October 16, 2019
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
12 Democratic Candidates Take to the Stage in Ohio, Pence Heads to Turkey as Erdogan Vows No Ceasefire in Northern Syria, State Dept. Official: White House Put "Three Amigos" in Charge of Ukraine Policy, Activists Arrested in D.C. over Trump Plan to Gut Refugee Resettlement, British Family Detained for a Week After Mistakenly Driving Across U.S.-Canada Border, Egypt Tortured Journalist & Activist Esraa Abdel Fattah in Custody, Worst Fires in Decades Rage Across Lebanon, Mexican Senate Slated to Vote on Bill to Legalize Marijuana, Man Launches Hunger Strike Amid Mohawk Land Dispute with Real Estate Developers, California: Fuel Storage Tanks Explode at NuStar Facility Outside San Francisco, MSNBC's Chris Hayes Criticizes Own Network & Praises Ronan Farrow Book, Tarana Burke Launches #MeTooVoter Campaign Ahead of 2020

Homewreckers: How Wall Street, Banks & Trump's Inner Circle Used the 2008 Housing Crash to Get Rich
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 08:39:31 -0400
We speak with investigative reporter Aaron Glantz about his new book "Homewreckers," which looks at the devastating legacy of the foreclosure crisis and how much of the so-called recovery is a result of large private equity firms buying up hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes. "Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream" reveals how the 2008 housing crash decimated millions of Americans' family wealth but enriched President Donald Trump's inner circle, including Trump Cabinet members Steven Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross, Trump's longtime friend and confidant Tom Barrack, and billionaire Republican donor Stephen Schwarzman. Glantz writes, "Now, ensconced in power following Trump's election, these capitalists are creating new financial products that threaten to make the wealth transfers of the [housing] bust permanent." Aaron Glantzis a senior reporter at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize this year for his reporting on modern-day redlining.

Botham Jean, Then Atatiana Jefferson: Outrage in Texas as Police Kill Another Black Resident at Home
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 08:13:24 -0400
A white police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, has been arrested and charged with murder, after he shot and killed an African-American woman who was inside her own home. Officer Aaron Dean was responding to a non-emergency call for a wellness check after a neighbor had called the Fort Worth police to report that 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson's front door was open at around 2:30 in the morning on Saturday. Soon after the officers arrived, Dean, who never identified himself to be a police officer, shouted through Jefferson's bedroom window to put her hands up, and then immediately opened fire, killing her. Minutes before the shooting, Jefferson had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew, who witnessed the shooting but was not physically injured. Atatiana Jefferson is the seventh person since June who has been killed by one of the police department's officers. From Dallas, we speak with Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing the family of Atatiana Jefferson.

Headlines for October 15, 2019
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Syrian Troops Advance Across Northern Syria After Deal with Kurds, Ex-Top Russia Adviser Testified Bolton Called Giuliani a "Hand Grenade", 12 Democrats Will Take the Stage for Presidential Debate in Ohio Tonight, Fort Worth Cop Charged for Murder After Killing Atatiana Jefferson, Judge: Trump Broke Law by Declaring Emergency to Secure Border Funding, Arizona: Bulldozers Destroyed Protected Cacti to Clear Way for Trump Wall, 8-Year-Old Girl Easily Scales Replica of Trump's "Impenetrable" Border Wall, Protests Erupt at Barcelona Airport over Sentencing of Catalan Leaders, Mexico: 14 Police Officers Killed in Ambush in Michoacán, Hong Kong: Pro-Democracy Protesters Demand Support from U.S. Lawmakers, London Bans All Extinction Rebellion Protests, But Direct Actions Continue, Ecuador: President Signs Decree to Revert Fuel Prices Back to Subsidized Levels, General Motors Workers Enter Fifth Week of Strike, Native Americans Mark Indigenous Peoples' Day

Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, Awarded Nobel Prize, Celebrated for "Remarkable Change" in Horn of Africa
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:48:44 -0400
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 100th Nobel Peace Prize in an announcement Friday morning. The prime minister last year helped broker a historic peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea, where leaders of the neighboring countries signed a "Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship" and declared an end to nearly two decades of a "state of war" that lasted from 1998 to 2000 and killed 70,000 people. Soon after the peace declaration was signed, the first direct flights between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 20 years took off from Addis Ababa, headed to Eritrea's capital Asmara. Ahmed has also lifted the state of emergency, released thousands of political dissidents from prison and appointed women to a record 50% of cabinet positions. We speak with Awol Allo, an associate professor at the Keele University School of Law in the U.K. His recent article for Al Jazeera is titled "Why I nominated Abiy Ahmed for the Nobel Peace Prize."

"We're Still Here": Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration Reflects Ongoing Resistance to Colonization
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:36:50 -0400
Christopher Columbus arrived in the Bahamas 527 years ago this week, unleashing a brutal genocide that killed tens of millions of Native people across the hemisphere. Cities and states across the country are acknowledging this devastating history by rejecting the federal holiday of Columbus Day and celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day instead to honor centuries of indigenous resistance. Alaska, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin have all officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day. So have more than 130 cities and counties, from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas to smaller places like Livingston, Kentucky, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Last week, Washington, D.C., became one of the latest to recognize the holiday. Washington, D.C., the District of Columbia, takes its name from Columbus. We speak with Iakowi:he'ne' Oakes of the Snipe Clan. She is a Mohawk of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She is the executive director of the American Indian Community House in New York.

Kurds Turn to Bashar al-Assad for Protection as U.S. Abandons Former Allies to Turkish Assault
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:14:28 -0400
Syrian troops are massing near the Turkish border, one day after Bashar al-Assad's government reached a deal to help protect the Kurds from Turkey's deadly air and ground assault. On Sunday, the Kurds agreed, in a deal brokered by Russia, to hand over two border towns to the Syrian government in exchange for protection. The Kurds had been allied with the United States up until last week, when President Trump abruptly pulled U.S. troops from northern Syria, paving the way for Turkey's assault. More than 130,000 people have already been displaced over the past five days since Turkey invaded northern Syria. The death toll is unknown. Turkey is facing increasing international condemnation for invading northern Syria. The European Union has called on all member states to stop selling arms to Ankara. We speak with Ozlem Goner, an assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at the City University of New York and a member of the Emergency Committee of Rojava.

Headlines for October 14, 2019
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Syrian Troops Mass at Turkish Border After Striking Deal with Kurds, Pentagon Deploying Additional 1,800 Troops to Saudi Arabia, NYT: Russian Warplanes Bomb 4 Hospitals in Syria over 12 Hours, Appeals Court Rules Trump Must Turn Over Financial Records, Video Shows Fake Trump Shooting Journalists, Political Rivals, Fox News' Shepard Smith Has Quit Network, Hunter Biden to Step Down from Chinese Company Board, White Cop Kills Black Woman by Shooting Through Her Bedroom Window, Japan: 40 Have Died in Typhoon Hagibis, Ecuador: Indigenous Protests Force Government to Reinstate Fuel Subsidies, Uganda LGBT Activists Fight Possible Reintroduction of "Kill the Gays" Law, Tunisia: Law Professor Kaïs Saïed Poised to Be Next President, Spanish Supreme Court Sentences 9 Catalan Separatist Leaders to Prison, Julian Assange Appears by Videolink for London Court Hearing, Simone Biles Becomes Most Decorated Gymnast in History, Communities Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day from Coast to Coast

The Stanford Sexual Assault Case Made Her "Emily Doe." In New Memoir, Chanel Miller Tells Her Story
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:10:43 -0400
We spend the hour with author Chanel Miller speaking about her recently published remarkable memoir, "Know My Name." The book chronicles how Miller reclaimed her name, her story and her life after being sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, a member of the Stanford University swim team, in 2015. At the time, she was known as "Emily Doe." The case gained national prominence when a California judge sentence Turner to just six months in a county jail after he was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault. He ended up spending only three months locked up. The sentencing sparked outrage. Voters in California later recalled the judge in the case. During the trial, Miller read a victim impact statement addressed to her assailant. The text of the letter later went viral, being read by millions around the world.

Headlines for October 11, 2019
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Civilians Killed & Forced to Flee Turkish Military Offensive in Northern Syria, Two Associates of Trump's Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Arrested at Dulles Airport, Prince Estate Slams Trump for Using "Purple Rain" at Minneapolis Rally, "Trans Lives Matter": Activists Interrupt CNN Democratic Town Hall, Ethiopian Prime Minister Wins 100th Nobel Peace Prize, Olga Tokarczuk & Peter Handke Win Nobel Prize for Literature, Iranian Oil Tanker Struck in Red Sea, Ecuador: Five Killed Amid Anti-Austerity Protests, News Outlet Splinter Shutting Down, Asylum Seekers Protest "Remain in Mexico" Policy on Brownsville Bridge, Gymnast Simone Biles Wins 5th All-Around World Championship, Multiple Wildfires Raging Across California, Over 60 People Arrested in Extinction Rebellion Protests in New York City

Justice for Kaysera: Native Teen's Mysterious Death Highlights Epidemic of Murdered Indigenous Women
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:51:11 -0400
The family of Native American teenager Kaysera Stops Pretty Places is demanding justice after she was found dead in Hardin, Montana, in late August, just two weeks after her 18th birthday. Kaysera was a member of the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal communities in Montana. She lived with her grandmother. According to her family, Kaysera was reported missing after she never came home on the night of August 24. On August 29, the body of a young woman was found in the town of Hardin. It wasn't until two weeks later that local law enforcement confirmed it was Kaysera. The circumstances surrounding her death and disappearance remain a mystery. Her family believes she was murdered, but says local law enforcement is not treating her sudden disappearance and death as foul play. Kaysera is among at least 27 indigenous girls and women reported missing or murdered in Big Horn County in the past decade. Since 2010, there have also been at least 134 cases of missing or murdered indigenous girls and women in the state of Montana. We speak with Grace Bulltail, Kaysera's aunt and an assistant professor in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We also speak with the family's lawyer, Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of Cherokee Nation and a partner at Pipestem Law, P.C., a law firm dedicated to the restoration of tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Turkey Moves to Crush Rojava, the Kurds' Radical Experiment Based on Democracy, Feminism & Ecology
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:36:24 -0400
As Turkey launches an aerial and ground assault on northern Syria targeting Kurdish-controlled areas, we look at how the offensive threatens the Kurdish region of Rojava with Debbie Bookchin, co-founder of the Emergency Committee for Rojava. She is a journalist and author who co-edited a book of essays by her father, Murray Bookchin, "The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy." We also speak with Elif Sarican, a Kurdish Women's Movement activist and anthropologist at the London School of Economics, and ErtuÄŸrul KürkÃ§ü, honorary chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey, known as the HDP. He is a former member of Parliament in Turkey.

After Trump Abandoned Kurds, Turkish Invasion Raises Fear of Kurdish Genocide & ISIS Resurgence
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:12:34 -0400
Turkey has launched an aerial and ground assault on northern Syria targeting Kurdish-controlled areas. The offensive began Wednesday, just days after President Trump ordered U.S. troops to fall back from their positions on the Turkish-Syrian border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 16 Kurds have been killed so far. Turkey is claiming the death toll is far higher. The Trump administration has faced widespread criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers for abandoning the stateless Kurds who had helped the U.S. fight ISIS. Turkey is claiming the assault is needed to establish a "safe zone" in northern Syria where Turkey could relocate Syrian refugees who fled over the past eight years of fighting, but the Kurds see the offensive as part of a decades-long attack by Turkey to crush their attempts at greater autonomy. The Kurds have been responsible for holding over 10,000 ISIS fighters and their families in detention. While Trump has claimed Turkey will take control of the makeshift jails, there is growing concern many former ISIS fighters will be able to escape during the Turkish assault. At least one Kurdish prison has already been shelled. To discuss the implications of Turkey's assault, we speak with Elif Sarican, a Kurdish Women's Movement activist and anthropologist at the London School of Economics. We also speak with ErtuÄŸrul KürkÃ§ü, honorary chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey, known as the HDP. He is a former member of Parliament in Turkey.

Headlines for October 10, 2019
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Turkey Launches Ground Offensive in Northern Syria, WH Budget Office Refuses to Comply with Subpoena for Impeachment Probe, Biden Joins Majority of 2020 Field in Calling for Trump's Impeachment, Trump Faces Dozens of New Allegations of Sexual Misconduct, Matt Lauer Denies Raping NBC Producer Brooke Nevils in 2014, Germany: 2 Killed in Anti-Semitic Attack Outside Temple on Yom Kippur, U.N.: U.S. Military Killed 30+ Afghan Civilians in Airstrikes in May, Amnesty: Death Toll in Anti-Government Protests in Iraq Surpasses 150, Protests Erupt in Algeria over Corruption & Army's Role in Politics, Egyptian Dissident Alaa Abd El-Fattah Beaten in Custody, Says Family, National Strike Paralyzes Ecuador as Anti-Austerity Protests Build, Argentina: Dozens of Indigenous Women Protest at Interior Ministry, Honduras: Protesters Accuse President of Drug Trafficking Ties, FBI Carried Out Thousands of Unconstitutional Searches of NSA Archives, U.S. Blacklists Chinese Companies over Imprisonment of Uyghurs, Extinction Rebellion Protests Hit London Airport, Demanding Climate Change Action

Divided Supreme Court Hears Landmark LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Case
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:53:47 -0400
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in three cases that will determine whether LGBTQ people can be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Among the court's conservative justices, only Neil Gorsuch appeared open to prohibiting such workplace discrimination. One of the cases centers on a transgender woman from Michigan named Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home in 2013. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the three cases by early next summer. We speak to James Esseks, director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, who attended Tuesday's oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

Julián Castro Backs Impeachment Effort & Condemns Trump's "Betrayal" of Kurds in Northern Syria
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:49:16 -0400
Turkey's government says its troops are prepared for an imminent assault on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, after President Trump ordered U.S. troops to fall back from their positions on the Turkish-Syrian border. Kurdish fighters said they're bracing for a "humanitarian catastrophe." This follows warnings that former Kurdish allies of the U.S. who feel betrayed by President Trump will abandon thousands of prisoners captured during the U.S.-backed war against ISIS over the past two years. We speak to former housing secretary and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, who says Trump's move is a "stunning betrayal of allies."

Julián Castro Slams Trump's "Deranged" Immigration Policies After Escorting Asylum Seekers to Border
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:37:30 -0400
On Monday, 2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro escorted a dozen asylum seekers to the U.S. port of entry at Brownsville, Texas, in a challenge to President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy. The group included a disabled Salvadoran woman and her relatives, as well as nine LGBTQ people from Cuba, Guatemala and Honduras. Many of them report they've been threatened and assaulted while they've been forced to wait in the Mexican border city of Matamoros. The asylum seekers were refused entry into the United States. Castro speaks with us from San Antonio, where he served as mayor from 2009 to 2014.

Indigenous-Led Anti-Austerity Protests Shut Down Quito Forcing Ecuadorian Government to Move Capital
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:15:10 -0400
Tens of thousands of people, led by indigenous leaders, are expected to again bring Ecuador to a standstill today in massive ongoing anti-government protests. Demonstrators flooded the streets of Quito Tuesday to decry government-imposed austerity measures and a steep hike in fuel prices, despite a severe police crackdown. Civil unrest has been growing since President Lenín Moreno ended a decades-old fuel subsidy program last week as part of a so-called reform plan imposed by the International Monetary Fund after Ecuador took a $4.2 billion loan from the IMF earlier this year. Hundreds of people have been arrested as the government cracks down on protesters and the media. Tuesday's mass demonstrations come one day after Moreno said he was temporarily moving government operations from Quito to the southern city of Guayaquil. We go to Quito to speak with David Cordero Heredia, a law professor at Pontifical Catholic University. He is one of the lawyers representing protesters who have been detained in this latest round of protests.

Headlines for October 9, 2019
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Trump Won't Cooperate with Impeachment Probe, Prompting Constitutional Crisis, Turkish Attack on Kurds in Syria Imminent After U.S. Steps Aside, Afghanistan Claims al-Qaeda Leader Died in U.S.-Led Attack That Killed 40 Civilians, Trump Admin Planning Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty, Wife of U.S. Diplomat Claims Immunity After Crash That Killed Motorcyclist, Supreme Court Hears Arguments in LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Cases, 800,000 Californians Face Blackouts as PG&E Cuts Power Amid Wildfire Fears, Steven Reed Elected First Black Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, NBC Producer Says Matt Lauer Raped Her in 2014, U.S. Billionaires Paid Lower Taxes Than Working Americans in 2018, Bernie Sanders to Scale Back Campaign Events After Heart Attack, Brazil's Uncontacted Tribes Face "Genocide" Under President Jair Bolsonaro, Pope Francis Warns of "New Forms of Colonialism" in Amazon Rainforest, Oil Slick Fouls Nearly 1,000 Miles of Beaches in Brazil, Canada's Justin Trudeau to Appeal Reparations Payments for Indigenous Youth, Uranium Poisoning Navajo Women and Babies Decades After Mining Ended, Greta Thunberg Lends Support to Indigenous Climate Activists at Standing Rock

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