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"Advocate": Israeli Attorney Lea Tsemel Reflects on Defending Palestinians Who Resist Occupation
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:41:37 -0400
Attorney Lea Tsemel has defended Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts for nearly half a century, insisting on their humanity and their right to a fair trial. Her work has earned her the scorn and reprobation of many Israelis, as well as death threats. A staunch critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Tsemel has long argued that Palestinians who carry out politically motivated violence are freedom fighters, not "terrorists." In 1999, Tsemel won a landmark case in the Israeli Supreme Court, making it illegal for Israeli officials to torture detained Palestinians during interrogations. The documentary "Advocate" narrates the remarkable life story of Tsemel. The film premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and screened in New York City for the first time Thursday night at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. We speak with Lea Tsemel and the director of "Advocate," Rachel Leah Jones.

Ola Bini Was Friends with Julian Assange. He Has Spent Two Months in Jail Without Charge in Ecuador
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:27:24 -0400
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared before a magistrates' court in London Friday, saying his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors an extradition request from the United States, where he faces 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. Meanwhile, a friend of Assange's, Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, is still in prison in Ecuador, after being arrested April 11, the same day Assange was forcibly taken by British authorities from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and has been jailed ever since without charges. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and a friend of Ola Bini.

Vijay Prashad: U.S. Rushes to Blame Iran for Tanker Attacks as Much of World Pushes for Diplomacy
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:13:01 -0400
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are again ratcheting up as the Trump administration accused Iran of orchestrating an attack Thursday on Japanese and Norwegian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denied any involvement and accused the Trump administration of trying to sabotage diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly accused Iran of attacking the oil tankers, and the U.S. released video of what it claimed was Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of the Japanese oil tanker that was attacked. However, the president of the Japanese company that owns the ship said it was not attacked by mines but two flying objects. He also said he doesn't believe any objects were attached to the side of the ship. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Headlines for June 14, 2019
Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Accuses Iran of Attacking Oil Tankers, Federal Elections Commissioner Warns Trump over Foreign Help for Re-election, Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Step Down as White House Press Secretary, Federal Watchdog Recommends Kellyanne Conway Be Fired for Hatch Act Violations, Teen Mother and Premature Baby Found Neglected in Border Patrol Custody, Whole Villages Evacuated Amid Record Heat and Drought in India, Study Finds U.S. Pentagon Emits More Greenhouse Gas Than Portugal, Accused New Zealand Mosque Shooter Pleads Not Guilty to Terrorism and Murder, Palestinian Medic, Shot in the Head by Israeli Snipers, Dies, Julian Assange Says His Life Is at Stake as U.S. Seeks His Extradition, Michigan Prosecutors Drop Flint Lead Poisoning Charges, Pledging Expanded Case, As Measles Spreads, New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Vaccinations, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Bill Would Cancel Student Loan Debt for Millions of Americans, Democratic National Committee Approves 20 Candidates for June Debates

"Pose" Star Indya Moore Demands Justice for Killed Trans Women: "We Are All Worthy of Safety"
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:51:46 -0400
Transgender actor and model Indya Moore addressed a crowd of protesters gathered in New York City's Foley Square Monday to demand justice for Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. "We are worthy of legal aid, liberty, justice, resources. And we are worthy of life. We are worthy of love," Moore told the crowd. "If the sight of us using our bodies, our voices and our defiance to protest this oppressive administration and the people who endorse it, and the religions that are fighting for the right to dispose us as a spiritual practice, and police, prison and the political system that is giving the world permission to dispose of us, disturbs and frightens you more than our mysteriously dead bodies in the custody of Rikers Island ... we will not back down and rest in peace no more." Indya Moore was recently named one of the world's 100 most influential people of 2019 by Time magazine. We're also joined in studio by Raquel Willis, a transgender activist and writer, executive editor of _Out_ magazine.

Justice for Layleen Polanco: Community Demands Answers After Trans Black Latinx Woman Died at Rikers
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:41:46 -0400
Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to so-called restrictive housing, an arrangement Polanco's lawyer says amounts to solitary confinement. Layleen's death came at the beginning of Pride Month and just one day after the NYPD apologized for the first time for its raid a half-century ago on the Stonewall Inn, a gay- and trans-friendly bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. In June of 1969, the inn was the site of a violent police raid that triggered an uprising and helped launch the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement. We speak with Raquel Willis, a transgender activist and writer, executive editor of Out magazine, and Joel Wertheimer, an attorney representing the family of Layleen Polanco.

No More Deaths: Mistrial Declared After Jury Refuses to Convict Scott Warren for Aiding Migrants
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:28:08 -0400
In Tucson, Arizona, a jury has refused to convict humanitarian activist Scott Warren, who faced up to 20 years in prison for providing water, food, clean clothes and beds to two undocumented migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. Warren's trial ended Tuesday in a mistrial after a deadlocked jury was unable to deliver a verdict. Eight jurors thought Warren was not guilty; four thought he was guilty. A status hearing is scheduled for July 2. Prosecutors have declined to comment on whether they would seek a retrial against Warren. We speak with Ryan Devereaux, a staff reporter at The Intercept who has covered Warren's case extensively.

Despite Police Crackdown, Historic Hong Kong Protests Against New Extradition Law Continue
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:14:52 -0400
Authorities in Hong Kong have shut down government offices and postponed debate in the Legislative Council, one day after riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at tens of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to protest a bill that would allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. On Wednesday, demonstrators attempted to storm the Legislative Council Building, where lawmakers are debating the extradition bill. Human Rights Watch criticized Hong Kong authorities for using what it described as "excessive force" to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Protesters described police using indiscriminate force. We speak with Mary Hui, a Hong Kong-based writer and reporter for the news outlet Quartz. She has reported on the extradition bill and has been covering the protests.

Headlines for June 13, 2019
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Two Oil Tankers Evacuated Near Strait of Hormuz After Reported Explosions, House Panel Holds Trump Officials in Contempt for Refusing Subpoenas on 2020 Census, Trump Jr. Testifies to Senate Intel Committee on Russia Trump Tower Meeting, Trump Says He'd Accept Dirt on Campaign Rivals from Foreigners, Trump Welcomes Polish President with F-35 Flyover of the White House, Houthi Rebel Attack on Saudi Airport Injures 26 Civilians, House Panel Grills Assistant Secretary of State over Saudi Weapon Sales, Hong Kong Lawmakers Delay Debate on Extradition Bill Amid Mass Protests, Reporter Norma Sarabia Becomes 6th Mexican Journalist Murdered This Year, Mexican Immigration Activists Released from Jail Ahead of Trial, Congo's Ebola Epidemic, 2nd Worst in History, Spreads to Uganda, Cheyenne River Sioux Order Keystone XL Pipeline Workers Off Reservation, Former Stanford Coach Avoids Prison in First Sentencing of College Admissions Scandal, British Home Secretary Signs Extradition Papers for Julian Assange, Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Socialism Needed to Defeat "Corporate Socialism for the Rich"

Overcrowding, Rotten Food & Nooses: DHS Watchdog Confirms Horrific Conditions at Immigrant Jails
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:46:15 -0400
We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has announced it plans to hold some 1,400 immigrant children at a site on Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma that was once used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. We get an update from Aura Bogado, immigration reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, who has been speaking with migrants held in these facilities.

Secret Files Show How Brazil's Elites Jailed Former President Lula and Cleared the Way for Bolsonaro
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:16:26 -0400
A political crisis is growing in Brazil after The Intercept revealed that the judge who helped jail former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likely aided federal prosecutors in their corruption case in an attempt to prevent Lula's Workers' Party from winning the presidency. Leaked cellphone messages among Brazilian law enforcement officials and other data obtained by The Intercept point to an ongoing collaboration between Judge Sérgio Moro and the prosecutors investigating a sweeping corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash. Lula was considered a favorite in the lead-up to the 2018 presidential election until he was put in jail and forced out of the race on what many say were trumped-up corruption charges. The leaked documents also reveal prosecutors had serious doubts about Lula's guilt. The jailing of Lula helped pave the way for the election of the far-right former military officer Jair Bolsonaro, who then named Judge Sérgio Moro to be his justice minister. We get an update from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, whose reporting is based on a trove of internal files and private conversations from the prosecutorial team behind Operation Car Wash.

Facing Affordable Housing Crisis & Record Homelessness, New York Passes Landmark Rent Protection Law
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:14:22 -0400
In New York, housing rights advocates are celebrating after state lawmakers announced an agreement that would provide the strongest tenant protections in over a quarter of a century. The deal came just days ahead of the expiration of the current rent laws at the end of this week. Democracy Now! co-host Juan González explains how lawmakers agreed to abolish laws allowing landlords to deregulate rents on apartments after they exceed a certain limit, and to curb provisions allowing landlords to raise the rent of rent-controlled apartments after renovations. The law is one of several similar efforts nationwide and is expected to give municipalities around the state more authority to regulate rents and ensure greater access to affordable housing.

Headlines for June 12, 2019
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Police Crack Down on Second Wave of Hong Kong Mass Protests, Trial Against Humanitarian Activist Scott Warren Ends in Hung Jury, House Votes to Sue Trump Admin over AG Barr and Don McGahn Subpoenas, DOJ Advises Trump to Block Possible Contempt Motions Against Wilbur Ross and Barr over 2020 Census, Donald Trump Jr. Testifies Before Senate, Mass Arrests in Russia After Protests over Detention of Journalist, Reports of Injuries After Houthi Missile Hits Saudi Airport, Sudanese Protesters and Military Gov't to Resume Talks After Bloody Crackdown, Botswana Decriminalizes Homosexuality, DHS Secretary Testifies to Congress as Senate Prepares to Vote on Trump Border Funding, Hard-Liner Cuccinelli in as Acting Head of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Jon Stewart Blasts Congress over Funding for 9/11 Responders, Alabama Gov. Signs Chemical Castration Bill into Law, Vermont and Maine Expand Abortion Rights, New York Agrees to New Tenant Protection Measures, Marking Historic Win for Housing Advocates

Press Freedom Under Attack: Australian Police Raid Network for Exposing War Crimes in Afghanistan
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:46:33 -0400
Press freedom groups are sounding the alarm over a pair of police raids on journalists. On Wednesday, Australian Federal Police swept into the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, reviewing thousands of documents for information about a 2017 report that found Australian special forces soldiers may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The raid came one day after police in Melbourne raided the home of Annika Smethurst, a reporter with the Herald Sun newspaper. We speak to Australian professor Joseph Fernandez and Peter Greste, founding director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. Greste was imprisoned for 400 days in 2013 to 2014 while covering the political crisis in Egypt.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Climate Refugees, Tax Breaks for Boeing & Why He Feels Trump Is a Racist
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:30:03 -0400
We speak with Washington Governor Jay Inslee about his bid for the 2020 presidency, immigration and the military-industrial complex. Inslee has also vowed to allow in a record number of refugees and to end President Trump's Muslim travel ban. In 2017, Washington became the first state to file a lawsuit to challenge Trump's initial travel ban.

"We Are Facing an Existential Crisis": Gov. Inslee Slams DNC for Refusing to Hold Climate Debate
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:13:00 -0400
The Democratic National Committee is facing criticism after rejecting calls to host a debate solely focused on the climate crisis and for threatening to blacklist any candidate who takes part in a non-DNC debate on the issue. DNC Chair Tom Perez recently told climate activists that it is not practical to hold debates on specific issues. We speak with Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who was the first Democratic presidential candidate to call for a climate-focused debate. He's accusing the DNC of attempting to silence the voices of those who want to debate climate solutions. "This is our last chance to defeat climate change," Inslee said. "We will not have another chance after the next administration. We will either act now, or it will be cataclysm."

Headlines for June 11, 2019
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
The Intercept: Judge Collaborated with Prosecutors to Put Ex-President Lula and Others Behind Bars, DOJ Agrees to Hand Over Some Mueller Docs to House Dems, Trump Touts Trade Deal with Mexico, Renews Tariff Threats Against China, Kushner-Owned Co. Received $90 Million from Unknown Foreign Sources Since Start of Trump WH, Transportation Sec. Chao Helped Boost Projects Favorable to Husband Sen. McConnell, Migrants Held in Cramped Cells for 2.5 Weeks After Asylum Hearings as Part of "Remain in Mexico" Plan, Judge Offers Temporary Relief to Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic, Model Karlie Kloss Asks Fans to Support Planned Parenthood in Abortion Ban Fight, Canada to Ban Single-Use Plastic by 2021, At Least 95 Dead in Mali as Ethnic Tensions Mount, India Sentences 3 Men Who Raped and Killed 8-Year-Old Muslim Girl to Life in Prison, U.S. Ambassador: Israel Has Right to Annex West Bank, U.S. Submits Extradition Request for Julian Assange, California to Offer Healthcare to Some Undocumented Adults, NRA Gave Money to 18 Board Members, NYC Trans Community and Allies Demand Justice for Layleen Polanco After Rikers Death

Rev. William Barber: Racist Gerrymandering Created a GOP Stronghold in the South. We Must Fight Back
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:37:15 -0400
Longtime civil rights leader Rev. Dr. William Barber joins us to respond to his conviction Thursday for trespassing during a 2017 protest against gerrymandering and attacks on healthcare at the North Carolina Legislature. Barber had refused to leave the General Assembly as ordered, after he organized a sit-in at the legislative building when Republican leaders refused to meet with him about concerns with voter ID requirements and redistricting plans that would weaken the power of the black vote. "We must start connecting systemic racism, most seen through systemic voter suppression and gerrymandering, poverty, the lack of healthcare, environmental devastation and the war economy," says Barber, the former president of the North Carolina NAACP and a leader of the national Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. This Wednesday he will join faith leaders and religious groups in Washington, D.C., for a march to the White House to protest the Trump administration's attacks on the nation's most vulnerable communities, and next week he hosts the three-day Poor People's Campaign Moral Action Congress in Washington, D.C., that will draw hundreds of people from across the country for a presidential forum, where both Republican and Democratic candidates will speak.

Tariff Temper Tantrum: Trump "Created a Fake Crisis & Has Announced a Fake Solution" with Mexico
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:15:15 -0400
Facing an escalating showdown with Mexico and an insurrection from his own party, President Trump said Friday the United States had reached a deal with Mexico to avert a 5% tariff on all imported Mexican goods that was due to take effect today and increase to 25% by October. Trump's announcement came after three days of Mexico-U.S. negotiations in Washington. Officials said it was based around Mexico's commitment to deploy National Guard forces throughout the country, in particular to its southern border, in order to stem the flow of northbound migrants headed toward the US. Under the deal, they said Mexico also agreed to expand what is known as the Remain in Mexico policy, which allows the U.S. to send back Central American asylum-seeking migrants to Mexico while their cases make their way through immigration courts. However, on Saturday, The New York Times reported that the plan to send troops to the border had already been agreed to in March. We speak with Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch and author of "The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority."

Headlines for June 10, 2019
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
U.S.-Mexico Deal Averts Trade Crisis with Plan to Deploy Mexican Troops to Curb Migration, Dem Lawmakers Call Out Migrant Prison Co. for Hiring John Kelly, Bipartisan Senators Oppose U.S.-Saudi Arms Deal with Flurry of Resolutions, Up to 1 Million Protesters Take to Hong Kong Streets Against Chinese Extradition Bill, 2 Reported Deaths as Haitian Protesters Call for Resignation of President Moïse, WaPo: WH Barred Science-Based Climate Change Testimony, Transgender Prisoner Layleen Polanco Found Dead at Rikers Island, North Carolina Transgender Woman Chanel Scurlock Fatally Shot, Detroit Police Charge 18-Year-Old with Murdering 2 Gay Men, 1 Transgender Woman, Diplomatic Buildings Display LGBT Symbols for Pride, Defying Anti-Equality Trump Policy, Publisher Drops Ex-NYC Prosecutor Linda Fairstein over "Central Park 5" Case, Minneapolis Sentences Ex-Cop Who Killed Unarmed Australian Woman, Ali Stroker Makes History as First Wheelchair User to Win Tony Award

"They Are Not the Central Park 5": Ava DuVernay's Series Restores Humanity of Wrongly Convicted Boys
Fri, 07 Jun 2019 08:13:42 -0400
We spend the hour with Ava DuVernay, whose damning new four-part television series "When They See Us" tells the story of five teenagers of color from Harlem—four African-American and one Latino—who were wrongfully accused and convicted of raping and nearly killing a white woman out for a jog in New York City's Central Park. The night that would come to define the boys' lives was April 19, 1989, more than 30 years ago. In the sensational trial that followed, they became known as the "Central Park Five." Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana served between six and seven years, and Korey Wise, the only teenager tried as an adult, served more than 13 years. In agonizing detail, "When They See Us" exposes the inner workings of a criminal justice system designed to fail people of color, laying bare the decades of trauma triggered by the boys' wrongful convictions. It also looks unsparingly at those responsible for the miscarriage of justice, including Linda Fairstein, the head of the Sex Crimes Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, who spearheaded the case, played by Felicity Huffman. Since the series premiered, Fairstein has been forced to resign from several boards, including Safe Horizon, the Joyful Heart Foundation and her alma mater, Vassar College. Glamour magazine, which named Fairstein Woman of the Year in 1993, issued a statement saying, "Unequivocally, Glamour would not bestow this honor on her today." Ava DuVernay says that her series reveals that "the system's not broken; the system was built this way."

Headlines for June 7, 2019
Fri, 07 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Bowing to U.S. Pressure, Mexico to Deploy 6,000 Troops to Guatemala Border, House Judiciary Chair Pushes for Presidential Impeachment Inquiry, House Ways and Means Chair Has No Plans to Acquire Trump's New York Tax Records, Russian President Says U.S. Is Shunning Negotiations on Nuclear Arms Treaty, African Union Suspends Sudan over Massacre of Sit-in Protesters, Study Finds Limiting Climate Change Would Save Thousands from Heat-Related Deaths, Jay Inslee: Democratic National Committee Refusing to Hold Debate on Climate, SEIU Becomes First Major Union to Endorse Green New Deal, Report: Earth's Oceans More Contaminated with Plastic Than Previously Known, Trump Administration Plans to Reclassify High-Level Radioactive Waste as Low-Risk, Biden Retracts Long-Standing Support of Federal Funding Ban on Abortions, Ex-NYC Prosecutor Linda Fairstein Under Fire for Role in "Central Park 5" Case, Disciplinary Hearing Wraps Up for NYPD Officer Who Choked Eric Garner to Death, 50 Years Later, NYPD Apologizes to LGBTQ Community for Stonewall Raids, WA State Supreme Court Sides with Same-Sex Couple in Discrimination Case, Animal Rights Activist Confronts Amazon CEO over Cruelty at Chicken Farms, Dr. John, Legendary New Orleans Songwriter and Performer, Dead at 77

Meet the Animal Rights Activists Facing Prison Time for Rescuing Ducks, Piglets from Factory Farms
Thu, 06 Jun 2019 08:39:53 -0400
Nearly 100 animal rights activists were freed today, after being arrested by police in riot gear for carrying out a rescue mission and protest at the Reichardt Duck Farm in Petaluma, California, which they accuse of engaging in animal torture. More than 600 activists with Direct Action Everywhere stormed the slaughterhouse Monday, fanning out in teams to chain themselves together at the entrance, freeing dozens of ducks and in some cases locking themselves by the neck to the slaughter line. Several of the activists made it inside the slaughterhouse, where they began trying to rescue ducks that were hanging upside down by their feet. Inside the slaughterhouse, the activists began using U-locks on their own necks, locking themselves to the metal duck slaughtering production line. An employee of the slaughterhouse then turned on the belt, threatening the lives of the activists and nearly asphyxiating Thomas Chiang, who was dragged by the neck and wedged against a metal pole. Chiang was later taken away by ambulance and treated for nerve damage and severe pain. He's since been released from the hospital. We speak with Priya Sawhney and Wayne Hsiung, co-founders and lead organizers at Direct Action Everywhere. Hsiung was arrested during Monday's action and was released late Wednesday. He is facing a total of 17 felony charges in jurisdictions around the country for his animal rescue actions. Sawhney is also facing felony charges.

Trump Escalates Economic Attack on Cuba, Banning Americans from Educational, Cultural Trips
Thu, 06 Jun 2019 08:27:38 -0400
In the latest attempt by the Trump administration to squeeze the Cuban economy, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it is ending the people-to-people program, which has been the most popular way for Americans to visit the country, through organized group trips in spite of the embargo. Private cruises to the island will also be banned. On Wednesday, the cruise companies Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian all said they will no longer travel to Cuba, affecting nearly 800,000 bookings. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed the ban is in retaliation for Cuba "providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up U.S. adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua." Cuba supports the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while the U.S. has backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó and demands to overthrow the Maduro government. In April, the administration also moved to allow U.S. nationals to sue any company that does business in Cuba using private property seized during the Cuban revolution. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded to the news by saying, "Cuba will not be frightened or distracted with new threats and restrictions. Work, creativity, efforts and resistance is our response. They haven't been able to suffocate us. They won't be able to stop us." We speak with Cuban political science professor Arturo Lopez-Levy, co-author of the book "Raúl Castro and the New Cuba: A Close-Up View of Change."

"Massacre" in Sudan: Protesters Continue Call for Civilian Rule After Military Kills 100+ at Sit-in
Thu, 06 Jun 2019 08:14:40 -0400
The death toll in Sudan has risen to more than 100 following a deadly military raid on a nonviolent sit-in in Khartoum Monday morning. According to doctors who have been taking part in the ongoing anti-government uprising, at least 40 bodies were dredged up from the Nile River in the aftermath of the carnage. Meanwhile, the state news agency reported Thursday that the death toll was no more than 46. On Wednesday, the Transitional Military Council said it had launched an investigation into the violence and offered to resume a dialogue on a transition to democracy, just a day after scrapping all agreements with an opposition alliance. But the opposition has rejected the military's calls to negotiate, citing ongoing violence against civilians. Demonstrators from a range of civil society groups are continuing to demand a civilian transitional government following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April, after a months-long popular uprising, and the military's subsequent government takeover. We speak with Marine Alneel, a Sudanese activist recently back from Khartoum. She was at the sit-in just days before it was raided.

Headlines for June 6, 2019
Thu, 06 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
U.S.-Mexico Immigration Talks Continue as Trump's Tariff Deadline Nears, Trump Admin to Cut School, Legal Aid and Recreation for Migrant Children, Mexican Police Arrest Immigration Activists Cristóbal Sánchez and Irineo Mujica, Trump Visits Normandy, France, on 75th Anniversary of D-Day Invasion, Trump Compares Future Irish Border to U.S.-Mexico Border Wall, Irish Protesters Decry Trump's Racism, Misogyny and Climate Denial, Pressed on Climate Change, Trump Says Weather "Changes Both Ways", Yemen's Houthi Rebels Claim They've Seized Territory in Saudi Arabia, CNN: Trump Admin Withheld Intelligence on China-Backed Saudi Missile Program, Sudan Death Toll Tops 100 as Bodies of Protesters Dredged from Nile River, Australian Police Raids Target Reporter and Broadcaster over Leaked Documents, Denmark's Social Democrats Win Most Seats in Election as Far-Right Support Collapses, Millions of Pigs to Be Killed as Swine Fever Sweeps Southeast Asia, YouTube Says It Will Purge White Supremacist Content, Trump Cancels Funding for Fetal Tissue Research That Could Lead to Life-Saving Cures, Biden Campaign Says He Still Supports Anti-Abortion Hyde Amendment, Bernie Sanders Confronts Walmart Execs over "Starvation Wages"

"We're Left to Defend Ourselves on the Margins": 8 Black Trans Women Have Been Murdered This Year
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:49:28 -0400
The body of 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey was recovered Saturday from a lake in Northeast Dallas. Police said they are investigating her death as a homicide. Chynal is the third transgender black woman killed in Dallas since October, including the high-profile death of Muhlaysia Booker just two weeks ago. Another Dallas trans woman was stabbed multiple times in April but survived. Trans rights activists say the violence in Dallas is indicative of the larger threat to black transgender women. At least eight black trans women have been murdered in the U.S. this year. According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 26 transgender murders were recorded last year, although it's likely the actual number is higher; the majority of those were black transgender women. We speak with Ashlee Marie Preston, a media personality and civil rights activist. She made history as the first transgender editor-in-chief of a national publication—Wear Your Voice magazine—as well as the first openly trans person to run for state office in California. She says, "Our law enforcement are looking at black trans women as women who are breaking the law, instead of looking at the laws that are breaking black trans women."

Trans Activist: ICE Must Be Held Accountable for Trans Salvadoran Asylum Seeker's Death
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:40:01 -0400
Johana Medina, a 25-year-old transgender asylum seeker from El Salvador, died at an El Paso, Texas, hospital this weekend after spending seven weeks in immigration jail, according to several LGBTQ groups and advocates who knew her. Medina had sought medical treatment for nearly two months for complications related to HIV/AIDS before finally being transferred to the hospital last week. She died four days later. Medina is believed to be the second transgender migrant to die in or after being released from ICE custody since Trump became president. The other is Roxsana Hernández Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Honduran transgender woman who died while in ICE custody in May of last year. An autopsy revealed that she was physically assaulted prior to her death. We speak with Isa Noyola, deputy director at Mijente and prominent transgender and immigrant rights activist based in Pheonix, Arizona.

Republicans Clash with Trump over Proposed Tariffs of Up to 25% on All Mexican Imports
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:24:01 -0400
Mexican officials are meeting with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today in Washington, D.C., to discuss President Trump's plan to impose a 5% tariff on all imported Mexican goods. Over time, tariffs could increase to as much as 25%. Trump announced tariffs over what he claims is Mexico's failure to stem the flow of Central American asylum seekers and migrants into the United States. Citing potentially devastating consequences to the U.S. economy, Senate Republicans defied the president Tuesday, announcing their opposition to the tariffs. We speak with Laura Carlsen, director of the Mexico City-based Americas Program of the Center for International Policy.

"I Don't See Any Protests": Trump Cries "Fake News" as 75,000 March in London
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:12:08 -0400
President Trump met with Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to discuss Brexit and a future trade deal, while protests rocked London. In a wide-ranging press conference, Trump laid out plans for a post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom, saying that the U.S. should have access to all sectors of the British economy, including the National Health Service. Trump later walked back his comments after they sparked outrage. Trump's state visit comes just days before May is scheduled to resign her post on Friday after repeated failed attempts to strike a Brexit deal. Thousands took to the streets of London to protest Trump's visit—a fact that Trump denied on Tuesday, calling the demonstrations "fake news." We speak with Cambridge professor Priya Gopal, who says Trump's claim about the protests is "an outright lie."

Headlines for June 5, 2019
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
GOP Mounts Possible Trump Challenge as Threat of U.S.-Mexico Trade War Looms, House Passes Dream and Promise Act, Which Could Grant Citizenship to 2.5 Million, Dozens of Children Forced to Spend Up to 39 Hours in Hot Vans After Botched ICE Family Reunification, U.K.: Trump Calls for New Trade Deal, Calls Protests "Fake News" as 10,000s Demonstrate Against His Visit, Sudan: Death Toll Rises to 60+ as Struggle Between Military and Protesters Mounts, Chynal Lindsey Is the 3rd Black Trans Woman to Be Killed in Dallas in Past Year, Virginia Governor Calls for Gun Control Reforms After VA Beach Mass Shooting, Police Arrest Deputy Accused of Inaction & Neglect During Parkland Massacre, Hope Hicks to Hand Over 2016 Campaign Documents to Congress, Record Flooding Grips Midwest, Killing 3 and Displacing 10,000s, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams Arrested at Housing Rights Protest, 100 Animal Rights Activists Arrested After Protest Action at NorCal Duck Slaughterhouse, Court Hears Arguments in Historic Climate Lawsuit Pitting Youth Against U.S. Gov., Trump Admin Restricts Travel to Cuba, Ending People-to-People Program

Democratic Divide: Ryan Grim on the New Progressives in the Party at Odds with the Establishment
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:40:12 -0400
As the 2020 election heats up and calls for President Trump's impeachment continue, we look at the deepening divide within the Democratic Party with Ryan Grim, Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Intercept. He is the author of the new book "We've Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement." In it, he writes, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may seem like she came from nowhere, but the movement that propelled her to office—and to global political stardom—has been building for 30 years."

Damning Canadian Inquiry Calls the Murder and Disappearance of Indigenous Women & Girls Genocide
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:16:46 -0400
A chilling national inquiry has determined that the frequent and widespread disappearance and murder of indigenous girls and women in Canada is a genocide that the government itself is responsible for. The findings were announced by the Canadian National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at a ceremony on Monday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the families of victims. Many in the audience held red flowers to commemorate the dead. The national inquiry was convened after the body of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine from the Sagkeeng First Nation was found in the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2014. The report follows decades of anguish and anger as indigenous communities have called for greater attention to the epidemic of dead and missing indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual people. Some 1,500 family members of victims and survivors gave testimony to the commission, painting a picture of violence, state-sanctioned neglect, and "pervasive racist and sexist stereotypes" that led nearly 1,200 indigenous women and girls to die or go missing between 1980 and 2012. Indigenous activists say this number could be a massive undercount, as many deaths go unreported and unnoticed. We speak with Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and Robyn Bourgeois, assistant professor in the Centre for Women's and Gender Studies at Brock University.

Headlines for June 4, 2019
Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
CBP Confirms 2 More Migrants' Deaths in Recent Days, Judge Denies Dem Request to Block Funding of Border Wall, Mexico, U.S. Lawmakers Hope to Avert Trump Tariff on Mexican Goods, U.S. Sends Border Patrol Agents to Guatemala, Trump Meets with Theresa May as Protesters Blast His U.K. Visit, Sudan: Death Toll from Anti-Protest Raid Mounts, as Transitional Gov't Sets Timeline for Election, Reports: Car Bomb Kills At Least 14 People in Northern Syria, Swedish Court Rejects Detention Request for Julian Assange, New Images Appear to Contradict Reports of Killings of High-Level North Korean Officials, House Passes Disaster Relief Package After GOP Attempts to Stall Bill, Kushner Refuses to Disavow Birtherism, Defends Trump Tower Mtg., Says Palestine Not Ready to Self-Govern, SCOTUS Rejects DOJ Request to Expedite Decision on DACA, Antitrust Probes Hit Tech Industry, House Prepares for Contempt Votes on AG Barr, Wilbur Ross & Don McGahn over Census & Mueller Report, Trump Admin Lifts Summer Ban on Highly Polluting, Ethanol-Based E15 Fuel, Nevada, Illinois Pass Bills Protecting Reproductive Rights

Iraq Combat Veteran: Pardon of War Criminals Sends Disturbing Message to U.S. Military
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:42:36 -0400
President Trump is considering pardoning American military members convicted of war crimes. One of the requests for a pardon is reportedly for Navy SEALs Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who is facing charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing a wounded captive teenage fighter by stabbing him with a knife and then staging a re-enlistment ceremony over the dead teen's body. On Thursday, a military judge in San Diego ordered Gallagher free from custody, citing prosecutorial misconduct in his murder trial for war crimes. The court has yet to rule on whether to remove prosecutors or to throw out the case entirely. One of the attorneys for Gallagher also represents the Trump Organization. Republican Congressmember Duncan Hunter, one of Gallagher's most vocal supporters, recently admitted in a podcast to killing hundreds of civilians while serving in the U.S. military during his deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. This comes as Trump may also consider a pardon request for Blackwater contractor Nicholas Slatten, who was twice found guilty of first-degree murder in the deadly 2007 Nisoor Square massacre in Baghdad, which killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians. We speak with Waitman Wade Beorn, a combat veteran of Iraq and a Holocaust and genocide studies historian. In a May 9, 2019, opinion column in The Washington Post, headlined ""I led a platoon in Iraq. Trump is wrong to pardon war criminals."

Clarence Thomas Cited This Author's Book to Link Abortion to Eugenics. He Says "It's Just Not True"
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:28:50 -0400
Justice Clarence Thomas sparked harsh rebuke last week after claiming that abortion rights can be traced back to the 20th century eugenics movement. He made the comments in a 20-page opinion after the Supreme Court declined last week to take up a provision of an Indiana law that bars abortions based on the sex, race or disability of the fetus. The decision keeps in place a lower court injunction on the measure. But Justice Thomas indicated that he supports the law, writing in his opinion, "Enshrining a constitutional right to an abortion based solely on the race, sex, or disability of an unborn child, as Planned Parenthood advocates, would constitutionalize the views of the 20th-century eugenics movement." To make his case, Justice Thomas cited a book by Adam Cohen titled "Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck." We speak with Adam Cohen, who has since refuted the justice's claims. In a piece for _The Atlantic_ titled "Clarence Thomas Knows Nothing of My Work," Cohen writes, "Thomas is absolutely right that we need to remember our eugenics past and make sure that we do not make the same mistakes again. He is absolutely wrong that individual women making independent decisions about their pregnancies are the eugenicists of our time."

How Voter Suppression & Gerrymandering Cleared the Path for Unprecedented Abortion Bans
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:20:59 -0400
As Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia attempt to outlaw abortions after six weeks, Missouri legislators approve an eight-week ban and Alabama passes a near total ban on abortions, we speak to journalist Ari Berman about how the widespread attack on abortion rights across the country is tied directly to voter suppression. He writes in a recent piece for Mother Jones, "These states have something else in common: a systematic effort to distort the democratic process through voter suppression and gerrymandering. These tactics have greased the way for near-total bans on abortion and for other extreme right-wing policies."

Ari Berman: GOP Docs Prove Census Citizenship Question Is About Preserving White Political Power
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:12:32 -0400
Newly surfaced documents reveal that a now-dead senior Republican strategist who specialized in gerrymandering was secretly behind the Trump administration's efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The New York Times broke the story last week in an article that called Thomas Hofeller the "Michelangelo of gerrymandering." When Hofeller died last August, he left behind a computer hard drive full of his notes and records. Hofeller's estranged daughter found among the documents a 2015 study that said adding the citizenship question to the census "would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites" and "would clearly be a disadvantage to the Democrats." Census officials estimate 6.5 million people will not respond to the census if the citizenship question is added. This undercount could affect everything from the redrawing of congressional maps to the allocation of federal funding. We get an update from Ari Berman, senior writer at Mother Jones, whose new piece is "Architect of GOP Gerrymandering Was Behind Trump's Census Citizenship Question."

Headlines for June 3, 2019
Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0400
Gunman Kills 12 People During Virginia Beach Rampage, DHS Watchdog Warns of "Dangerous Overcrowding" at El Paso Migrant Prison, El Salvadoran Transgender Migrant Dies in ICE Custody After Denial of Medical Care, Judge Temporarily Keeps Missouri's Sole Abortion Clinic Open, Military Forces in Sudan Raid Sit-in, Killing At Least 9 Protesters, Protesters Set Fire Outside U.S. Embassy in Honduras, Police Tear-Gas, Arrest Palestinian Protesters as Israeli Settlers Enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, Trump Blasts Brexit, Insults Meghan Markle, While London Mayor Protests His U.K. Visit, Report: Disappearance and Murder of 1000s of Indigenous Women a "Canadian Genocide", U.S. Visa Applicants Must Now Submit 5 Years of Social Media Information, Over 300 Boeing Planes May Have Faulty Wing Parts, CA Rep. Duncan Hunter Says His Unit Probably Killed "Hundreds of Civilians" in Iraq

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