Democracy Now!

Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 4,000 with Over 113,000 Confirmed Infections as Italy Goes into Nationwide Lockdown, Six States Head to Polls as Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden Battle for 352 Delegates , Women Strike in Mexico, Take to Streets in Chile and Argentina to Demand Equality and an End to Violence, U.S. Begins Afghan Troop Withdrawal Amid Political Leadership Crisis, New Reports Find Boeing at Fault for Fatal Crashes of Boeing 737 MAX Jets, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Puerto Rican Revolutionary, Dies at 89, 2020 Izzy Awards Honor Journalist Matt Taibbi, News Inside and The Center for Investigative Journalism

Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, helped recruit former spies to infiltrate and gather intelligence about Democratic campaigns and labor organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, according to an explosive report by The New York Times. The story exposes previously unreported details about the ties between Prince and Project Veritas, a right-wing group that often sets up sting operations targeting the media and journalists by recording covert videos. According to documents and interviews, one former spy recruited by Erik Prince helped run an operation to secretly tape leaders in the Michigan office of the American Federation of Teachers in 2017. In another instance, in 2018, the same undercover operative who gathered information about the AFT infiltrated the congressional campaign of former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger, who was running for Congress representing Virginia as a Democrat. We are joined by The Intercept's investigative reporter Matthew Cole, who first broke the story of Erik Prince's ties to the Trump administration last year.

Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock has just won a George Polk Award for Military Reporting for his in-depth investigation called "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War." He joins us to describe how, after getting a tip, he fought for three years to get the federal government to release a trove of confidential interviews it conducted with people directly involved in the nearly two-decade-long war. He ultimately obtained more than 2,000 documents that revealed how presidents, generals and diplomats across three administrations had intentionally misled the American public about the longest war in U.S. history.

Since last month's U.S.-Taliban peace plan, there have been nearly 80 attacks in Afghanistan. The violence could derail the deal that calls for U.S. troops to withdraw over the next 14 months. This comes as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and top political leader Abdullah Abdullah both claimed that they won the presidential election at dual inauguration ceremonies today in Kabul, and members of the Taliban and the Afghan government were set to start direct negotiations on Tuesday. We speak with Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock, who recently won the George Polk Award for Military Reporting for his in-depth investigation called "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War."

Coronavirus Cases Surge Worldwide, But True Numbers in U.S. Unknown Due to Lack of Testing, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Rack Up Endorsements, Appeal to Voters Ahead of New Wave of Voting, NYT: Erik Prince Recruited Spies to Infiltrate Democratic Campaign and Teachers' Union, Tensions High in Lesbos as Asylum Center Burns Down, Greek Authorities Attack Refugees, Millions Take to Streets Around the World for International Women's Day, Guatemalan Woman Dies in ICE Custody, Trump Taps Rep. Mark Meadows as New Chief of Staff, House Dems Ask Court to Reconsider Enforcing Subpoena for Don McGahn, Bernie Sanders Releases Reproductive Justice Plan, Hachette Drops Woody Allen Memoir After Backlash from Staff, Ronan Farrow

The makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court has come under intense criticism in recent years after two Trump-nominated justices joined the bench. Senate Republicans confirmed Neil Gorsuch in 2017 after having refused to consider President Barack Obama's nominee in his final year in office, and they confirmed Brett Kavanaugh a year later despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the judge. During the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, several candidates floated the idea of "packing the court" — appointing more than nine justices — in order to counter the court's rightward drift. But while the current Supreme Court often earns the ire of progressive lawmakers and activists, our guest Adam Cohen says it has actually been a force for injustice for the last 50 years, despite what Americans are taught about the court's role in protecting the rights of marginalized people. "The Supreme Court — which is an institution that we think of as the bastion of fairness, the advocate for the underdog — has actually been a major driver of inequality," says Cohen. His new book is "Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America."

Senator Elizabeth Warren suspended her bid for the presidency Thursday, leaving the 2020 Democratic presidential race down to two older white men: former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. Warren's decision to end her campaign comes after she failed to perform as well as she had hoped in early primary states and on Super Tuesday, including placing third in her home state of Massachusetts. Warren gave no indication whether she will endorse either of her former rivals. Supporters of Sanders say they hope she will throw her support behind their candidate in order to form a united "progressive front" and take on powerful corporate forces now lined up behind Biden. Six more states are set to hold presidential primaries and caucuses on March 10, including delegate-rich states of Michigan, Washington and Missouri. We get response from Raquel Willis, a journalist and activist and former executive editor of Out magazine who had endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president. We are also joined by Norman Solomon, co-founder and national coordinator of RootsAction.org, which is supporting Bernie Sanders,

3,500 Cruise Ship Passengers Quarantined Off California Coast over Coronavirus Fears, Seattle Area Residents Urged to Work from Home as Coronavirus Spreads Across U.S., World Health Organization's Coronavirus Warning: "This Is Not a Drill", Stocks Tumble as Coronavirus Rattles Global Economy, Sen. Elizabeth Warren Suspends 2020 Presidential Bid, Bernie Sanders Campaign Rally Disrupted by Protester with Nazi Flag, Russia and Turkey Agree to a Ceasefire in Syria's War-Torn Idlib, Israel Accused of Collective Punishment After Demolishing Palestinian Homes, Israeli Opposition Parties Bidding to Unseat Netanyahu After Inconclusive Elections, Secretary of State Pompeo Condemns Probe of U.S. War Crimes in Afghanistan, Cameroonian Asylum Seekers Transferred After Protesting Conditions in ICE Custody, Alabama Executes Prisoner Who Professed Innocence, After Supreme Court Denies Stay

Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where many polling places reported problems with a brand-new $300 million voting system. The Sanders campaign sued to keep polling places open an extra two hours, saying voters were denied their constitutional right. The county registrar denied that request. For more, we speak with Ari Berman, senior writer at Mother Jones magazine and author of "Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America."

On Wednesday, House lawmakers passed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package for combating coronavirus, as the death toll from coronavirus has reached 11 in the United States. California recorded its first coronavirus death yesterday. The virus has also spread to New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive requiring health insurers to waive cost sharing for coronavirus tests. We go to two ground zeroes of the COVID-19 outbreak — New York and Seattle — and host a roundtable on whether coronavirus presents a clear argument for healthcare for all. We are joined by Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a primary care physician and the co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program; New York state Senator Alessandra Biaggi, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester, where four people have been diagnosed with coronavirus; Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York and co-founder of the Health Care for All New York campaign; and Kshama Sawant, socialist city councilmember in Seattle, where a ninth person has died from the virus.

Coronavirus Cases Near 100,000 Worldwide as U.S. Death Toll Reaches 11, President Trump Contradicts WHO's Warning over Coronavirus Death Rate, Billionaire Mike Bloomberg Ends Presidential Bid, Endorses Joe Biden, Bernie Bashes Biden's Billionaire Backers as Healthcare Stocks Surge Post-Super Tuesday, International Criminal Court to Investigate Taliban, Afghan and U.S. Troops for War Crimes, 15 Civilians Killed in Latest Syrian Airstrikes in Idlib, Turkey Accuses Greece of Killing Migrant as Greek Riot Police Fire Tear Gas at Border, EU Ministers Support Greek Crackdown on Asylum Seekers Despite Protests, Federal Court Lengthens Stay on Its Ruling Against Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy, Tropical Rainforests on Pace to Become Net Carbon Emitters, Brazilian Officials Blame Climate Change as Landslides Kill at Least 29, Alabama Set to Execute Nathaniel Woods, Despite Evidence of Innocence, SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments in Challenge to Louisiana Anti-Choice Law

Following his Super Tuesday wins, we look closely at the record of former Vice President Joe Biden, from his central role in supporting the Iraq War to expanding the so-called war on drugs. We speak with Branko Marcetic, the author of "Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden." Biden's approach to politics is based on "appeasing the right" and "taking the platform of his Republican opponent and trying to make it his own," Marcetic says.

On Super Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden swept the South and Midwest, winning Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, propelled by a huge majority of African-American votes in several states. We host a roundtable discussion on the results with Barbara Ransby, historian, author and activist; Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach; and Elie Mystal, the justice correspondent for The Nation.

The biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary has ended in a two-person race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. With more than a third of delegates at stake, Biden swept the Midwest and the South, winning Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas. Sanders saw victories in Colorado, Utah, his home state of Vermont, and the grand prize of the night, California, where Latinx voters account for nearly 40% of the population. His campaign had 23 field offices in the state. Latinx voters could also play a key role in upcoming primaries in Arizona and Florida. We are joined by Chuck Rocha, a senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign who has been called the architect of Sanders's campaign strategy to mobilize Latinx voters.

Bernie Sanders Wins California as Joe Biden Sweeps the South on Super Tuesday, GOP's Jeff Sessions Faces Runoff in Bid to Reclaim Alabama Senate Seat, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar Narrowly Beats Progressive Challenger Jessica Cisneros, San Diego Progressive Georgette Gómez to Face Billionaire Heiress Sara Jacobs for CA House Seat, Health Officials Warn Coronavirus Is Far Deadlier Than the Flu, Syrian Forces Recapture Strategic City as Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Warplane, Iranian Security Forces Killed 23 Children During November Protests, At Least 24 Killed as Tornadoes Lash Central Tennessee, Wells Fargo Says It Won't Invest in Arctic Oil and Gas Drilling, Clearview AI Probed for Selling Facial Recognition Software to Repressive Regimes, White House to Require Trump Loyalty Test for Political Appointees, Virginia Becomes 20th State to Ban LGBTQ "Conversion Therapy", Ronan Farrow Blasts Hachette for Publishing Woody Allen's Memoir, Mexican Feminists Planning National Strike Against Femicide

Millions of voters in 14 states are heading to the polls today for Super Tuesday, as Democratic centrists coalesce around former Vice President Joe Biden as their best shot to defeat front-runner Bernie Sanders. Just ahead of the most decisive day of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar suspended her campaign and endorsed Biden on Monday. Her endorsement came one day after former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race. Both joined Biden on the campaign trail in Texas on Sunday. This comes as former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg — who has also presented himself as an alternative to Sanders — will be on the ballot for the first time, after passing half a billion dollars in campaign ad spending last week. Super Tuesday could also prove decisive for Elizabeth Warren, whose home state of Massachusetts heads to the polls today. We speak with Ryan Grim, D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept. His recent book is titled "We've Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement."

Today people in 14 states and American Samoa go to the polls for Super Tuesday. About a third of the delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination are at stake. This comes after former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race on Sunday and Monday and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. As the race heats up, billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to stay in the race. This will be the first time he is on the ballot, and while he has not won a single race, he does lead his challengers in one key sense: he leads in campaign spending by a wide margin. He recently crossed the $500 million mark in ad spending alone — more than 10 times that of any of his Democratic rivals. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders remains the front-runner. We host a debate on Sanders versus Bloomberg with Cornel West, professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University, who has endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary and is his surrogate, and Congressmember Bobby Rush of Illinois, who is national co-chair for the Mike Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign. Rush has served in office for more than two decades — since 1992. He got his start as a civil rights activist in the 1960s. His background includes being both a co-founder of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers and the only member of the Democratic Party to have defeated Barack Obama in an election, in the 2000 Democratic congressional primary.

Super Tuesday Kicks Off as Moderate Dems Coalesce in Support of Joe Biden, 6 Dead in Washington from Coronavirus, as Criticism Mounts over CDC Handling of Outbreak, U.S. to Start Troop Withdrawal as Taliban Vows to Resume Attacks and Afghan Gov't Rejects Prisoner Swap, Migrant Child Drowns Off Greek Coast, Refugees Attacked as Asylum Crisis Deepens, Iraqi Power Vacuum as Caretaker PM and Designated Successor Both Walk Away from Post, Benjamin Netanyahu Holds Lead Over Rival Benny Gantz But Falls Short of Outright Majority, Report: 80,000+ Uyghur Muslims Forced into Factory Labor for Nike, Apple, Revolutionary Nicaraguan Priest and Poet Ernesto Cardenal Dies at 95, SCOTUS to Hear Case That Could Determine Fate of Obamacare, SCOTUS to Decide First Major Abortion Case Since Trump's Conservative Justices Joined Bench, Argentina Set to Become Largest Latin American Country to Legalize Abortion, Chris Matthews Resigns After String of Controversies, Accusations of Sexist Behavior, ICE Transfers Cameroonian Migrant Prisoners in Retaliation for Protest, Interior Dept. Official Peppers Reports with Lies About Climate Change, Husband of Los Angeles DA Threatens, Points Gun at Black Lives Matter Activists

The official coronavirus death toll in Iran, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, has risen to at least 54 — the highest number of fatalities outside of China, where the outbreak began. Experts say the real number of people who died from the disease may be as high as 200. This comes after Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, posted a video on social media last week acknowledging he contracted coronavirus. Just one day before, he seemed ill at a press conference, where he downplayed the spread of coronavirus in the city of Qom and said mass quarantines were unnecessary. Iranian authorities announced new efforts to combat the coronavirus on Sunday, calling on people not to use public transportation, and closing schools, universities and cultural centers. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. We speak with Dr. Kamiar Alaei, Iranian global health policy expert and co-founder and co-president of the Institute for International Health and Education. He is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford.

A wave of young progressives are campaigning in races across the U.S., following in the footsteps of Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who unseated a 10-term incumbent Democrat in New York City two years ago. A key candidate to watch is 26-year-old Jessica Cisneros, who is running in a South Texas Democratic primary to replace Rep. Henry Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress. The 64-year-old centrist is backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Cisneros has branded him "Trump's favorite Democrat" because he voted with Donald Trump nearly 70% of the time. Much of the outside support pouring into the contentious race has been for Cuellar, who received at least $40,000 from the conservative Koch brothers' political action committee and has major support from pharmaceutical companies. In contrast, Cisneros supports Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and "creating a humane border and immigration policy." She has also been endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. We speak with Jessica Cisneros, an immigration attorney who is running for Congress along the border in South Texas. We also invited Cuellar to join us, but he declined.

British Judge Vanessa Baraitser has suspended the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange until mid-May. This comes after four days of intense deliberations last week between Assange's legal team and attorneys representing the United States government. Assange faces 18 charges of attempted hacking and breaches of the Espionage Act for his role in publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. He could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh prison since last April, when he was removed from the embassy by British police. We speak with Jennifer Robinson, a human rights attorney who has been advising Julian Assange and WikiLeaks since 2010.

The U.S. has signed a deal with the Taliban aimed at drawing down its military presence and ending its 18-year war in Afghanistan. The long-anticipated deal comes after a year and a half of negotiations and following a week-long partial truce. Officials hope the accord will set the stage for a more detailed peace plan that creates a power-sharing arrangement and lasting ceasefire, but the deal did not include a key player: the U.S.-backed Afghanistan government. The Taliban has long refused to speak to the government, calling it a "puppet regime." Under the deal, nearly 5,000 of the 12,000 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan will leave the country in 135 days. The rest of the troops will withdraw 14 months later, if the Taliban comply with the terms of the agreement. We discuss details of the deal with Azmat Khan, award-winning investigative reporter, a New York Times Magazine contributing writer and a Future of War fellow at New America.

U.S. Sees First 2 Coronavirus Deaths in Washington as Cases Worldwide Mount, U.S. and Taliban Sign Deal Aimed at Ending 18-Year War, Joe Biden Claims Decisive South Carolina Victory, Buttigieg & Steyer Drop Out Ahead of Super Tuesday, North Korea Fires Projectiles as It Carries Out Military Drill, Study Reveals No Fraud in 2019 Bolivian Election That Ousted Evo Morales, Voters in Israel Go to Polls for 3rd Time in Under a Year, Greece Attacks Refugees After Turkey Loosens Restrictions on Border, Assange Extradition Hearings Suspended Until May, Wet'suwet'en Chiefs in Talks with Canadian Ministers as Fight Against Pipeline Continues, Cayuga Nation Condemns Destruction of School and Other Structures on Indigenous Land, Trump to Nominate Rep. Ratcliffe for DNI After Lawmakers Found He Was Underqualified in 2019, Court Rules Trump Appointment of USCIS Head Ken Cuccinelli Unlawful, Court Rules Against Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy, Then Stays Decision, Climate Activists Win Landmark Victory in Oregon After Presenting Necessity Defense, Over 80 Student Workers at UC Santa Cruz Fired for Striking for Living Stipend, Harry Belafonte, Icon & Activist, Turns 93

In New Jersey, hundreds rallied at the New Brunswick Board of Education meeting Tuesday night against plans to demolish a public school to make way for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Rutgers University to build a new cancer center. Protesters included families and more than 30 children, who held signs reading "Save our School!" and "Stop Gentrification." If approved, 760 third-through-eighth-graders at Lincoln Annex School would be moved to a former warehouse building on the outskirts of town as they await construction of a replacement school. Even worse, the proposed new school site is located on a "brownfield site" with possible contamination from hazardous chemicals. We speak with Democracy Now! co-host and Rutgers professor Juan González, who has been following the fight closely.

Thousands in the Dominican Republic took to the streets of the capital Santo Domingo Thursday to protest the abrupt suspension of local elections earlier this month and to commemorate the country's Independence Day. Protests have been ongoing since February 16, after the government suspended the municipal elections four hours after voting began, alleging there were "technical glitches" in the electronic ballot machines used. The machines were previously used in October 2019, and they cost the Dominican government $19 million. The Dominican people believe the alleged technical glitch is just an attempt by the ruling party, the Dominican Liberation Party, to hold onto power as they've lost support. Protesters are now demanding an independent investigation into what happened in the local elections, as well as for the resignation of Dominican election board officials. Dozens of solidarity protests have emerged around the world, from Spain and France to New Jersey and here in New York City. We get an update from Amanda Alcántara, Dominican-American journalist and digital media editor at "Latino USA."

A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières — or Doctors Without Borders USA — shows how migration policies imposed by the United States and Mexico have trapped thousands of Central American migrants in dangerous conditions. Called "No Way Out," it is based on nearly 500 interviews with Central American migrants and asylum seekers, most of whom say they were victims of extreme violence prior to leaving their home country or along the migration route through Mexico. Because of the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols, which serve to deter immigration, asylum seekers are often forced to remain in Mexico, where they are often targeted by criminal groups.

Across the U.S., officials report a severe shortage of test kits for coronavirus. New York officials say they're preparing their own kits, after kits distributed by the Centers for Disease Control failed validation tests. Meanwhile, new cases of coronavirus continue to spring up worldwide, with Nigeria reporting its first case and one of Iran's vice presidents testing positive. We discuss how MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA, is responding to coronavirus, with the organization's executive director, Avril Benoît.

In Syria, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by Russia-backed Syrian forces in rebel-held Idlib in a major escalation on Thursday. Turkey has vowed to respond in kind, as U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying "the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly spoke by phone on Friday to discuss the crisis, as NATO urged rapid deescalation. The all-out offensive by the Syrian government is the single largest displacement in a nine-year war that has forced 13 million to flee and left hundreds of thousands dead. Since December alone, some 900,000 people, at least half of them children, have been displaced from northwestern Syria. As the humanitarian catastrophe deepens, aid workers are describing scenes of chaos and devastation on the ground, with families scrambling for shelter as temperatures fall below freezing. We speak with Avril Benoît, the executive director of MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA.

California Monitoring 8,400 People for Coronavirus as Fears of Pandemic Grow, Syrian Airstrike Kills 33 Turkish Soldiers in Idlib, Escalating Tensions, New Justice Department Task Force Seeks to Strip Naturalized Immigrants of Citizenship, Joe Biden's Campaign Walks Back False Claims of Arrest in 1970s South Africa, Democratic Superdelegates Overwhelmingly Oppose Bernie Sanders Campaign, Mike Bloomberg Refuses to Apologize for Spying on Muslims, As NYC Mayor, Mike Bloomberg Called for Cuts to Social Security "Ponzi Scheme", ProPublica: Mike Bloomberg Advised Billionaire Sackler Family on Opioid Crisis, Emails Show Georgia's Republican Governor Mocked Reports of Voter Suppression, Watchdog Probing Whether VA Secretary Sought to Smear Adviser Who Reported Sexual Assault, Report Finds USC Mishandled Decades of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Gynecologist, Colombian Social Leader Cristóbal Anaya González Found Murdered, Costa Rican Indigenous Land Defender Yehry Rivera Murdered by Mob, Accomplice Sentenced in Murder of Mexican Journalist Javier Valdez, Strike Spreads as University of California Graduate Students Demand Living Wages

In India, the death toll from anti-Muslim violence in Delhi has risen to at least 34, with police accused of turning a blind eye to assaults on Muslims committed by Hindu nationalist mobs. The violence began Sunday, when groups of Hindus attacked peaceful sit-ins of Muslims protesting against Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law, which widely restricts Muslim immigration to India. Modi said nothing as the violence continued for days, instead hosting President Donald Trump on a two-day state visit in which Trump heaped praise on the Indian prime minister. We speak with Neha Dixit, independent Indian journalist, and Priya Gopal, lecturer at the University of Cambridge and author of "Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent."

Sonia Shah is an investigative science journalist and author of "Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond." Her new book is titled "The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move" and will be published in June. She says the climate crisis is making outbreaks of infectious diseases more common, with the destruction of natural animal habitats and the changes in migration bringing humans and animals into ever-closer contact and making new pathogens more likely. Her latest article, published in The Nation, is titled "Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Think Again."

The coronavirus disease that was first diagnosed in China's Hubei province has now spread to at least 47 countries and every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. President Trump sought to play down the threat from coronavirus and announced Vice President Mike Pence would be his point person to coordinate government efforts to prevent a widespread outbreak. As Trump spoke, a new milestone in the novel coronavirus outbreak was reported, in a possible example of community spread: A person was diagnosed with the virus in Northern California who had not traveled to any of the affected regions of the world, nor had known contact with anyone else who did. We speak with Laurie Garrett, former senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer. She is the author of several books, including "Ebola: Story of an Outbreak," "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" and "Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health."

Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Grow as U.S. Cites First "Community Spread" of Pathogen, Trump Blames "Caronavirus" Fears on Democrats and Fake News Reporting, Trump Taps VP Mike Pence, Who's Blamed for Indiana HIV Outbreak, to Lead Coronavirus Response, Gunman Kills 5 at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Physicians Group Calls U.S. Migrant Family Separations "Torture", U.S. Drops Charge Against Scott Warren, Who Aided Migrants Crossing Desert, House Approves Emmett Till Act to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime, Feds Arrest Five Neo-Nazis for Threatening Journalists and Activists, ABC Suspends David Wright over Remarks Secretly Recorded by Far-Right Group, U.S. Holds Joint Military Exercises in Saudi Arabia as Yemen War Escalates, Buttigieg and Klobuchar to Skip AIPAC Conference, Joining Warren and Sanders, Trans Woman Murdered in Puerto Rico After Using McDonald's Bathroom, Trump Cancels NYC Climate Resiliency Study After Mocking Planned Sea Wall, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reads Green New Deal into Congressional Record

We speak with Bob Hennelly, an award-winning reporter for The Chief-Leader, who says that billionaire Michael Bloomberg lied during the past two Democratic presidential debates when he claimed he released his taxes while he was mayor of New York City. Hennelly covered Bloomberg during his time as mayor as a reporter for WNYC, New York's main public radio station. In 2012, he had an exchange with Bloomberg after a press conference in which the then-mayor said he didn't have to disclose his federal taxes. We hear that audio recording and discuss Bloomberg's record.

Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate comes just four days before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary — and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. Billionaire Tom Steyer has poured money into outreach to African-American voters, who make up more than half of South Carolina's Democratic electorate. He may help front-runner Bernie Sanders build an insurmountable delegate lead. A new Reuters poll shows Senator Sanders has overtaken former Vice President Joe Biden in support among African Americans. We speak with three guests in South Carolina: Kevin Alexander Gray, a longtime civil rights activist and community organizer, author of "Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics," and Jesse Jackson's South Carolina campaign manager in 1988; Democratic state Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter, president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, as well as a senior national adviser for Tom Steyer; and Adolph Reed Jr., professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, a columnist with The New Republic and an organizer for the "I'm a Medicare for All Voter" campaign in South Carolina.

The 10th Democratic presidential debate took place Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, and two billionaires were at either end of the stage: Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. Front-runner Bernie Sanders, who has made attacking the power of the "billionaire class" a central theme of his campaign, stood in the middle. It was a visual representation of the split within the Democratic Party, in which a growing number of people are "rising up against plutocracy," says Anand Giridharadas, editor-at-large at Time magazine and author of "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World." His recent piece for The New York Times is titled "The Billionaire Election: Does the world belong to them or to us?

CDC Warns of "Severe" Disruption to Daily Life in U.S. as Coronavirus Spreads, DHS Secretary Grilled over Coronavirus Preparedness as Trump Downplays Risks, Two Billionaires Join Democratic Debate in SC as Rivals Target Bernie Sanders, At Least 24 Killed in India After Hindu Nationalists Attack Muslim Demonstrators, President Trump Wraps India Trip with Praise for $3.5 Billion Weapons Deal, 20 Civilians Killed in Syria's Idlib as the Red Cross Pleads for a Ceasefire, Airwars Reports U.S.-Led Strikes Killed Up to 139 Somali Civilians Since 2007, Supreme Court Rules Border Patrol Agents Who Shoot into Mexico Can't Be Sued, Drug Maker Mallinckrodt Reaches $1.6B Settlement for Role in Opioid Crisis, Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Prepare for Los Angeles Rape Trial, Opera Star Plácido Domingo Apologizes for Sexual Misconduct, Orlando Police Release Video Showing Arrest of 6-Year-Old Girl

Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign continues to ride the wave of its decisive victory Saturday in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada. Sanders's win came with support from young voters, union members and Latinx voters, who strengthened his status as Democratic presidential front-runner. He won 73% of the Latino vote in Nevada, a remarkable victory that supporters hope will bode well heading into Super Tuesday and beyond. Through March 17, the Democratic primary calendar will run through seven of the 12 states where Latinx communities constitute at least 10% of the total eligible voting population.We speak to the architect of Sanders's stunning success in Nevada, campaign senior adviser Chuck Rocha. He's a political strategist, a self-described "Tex/Mex Redneck" and founder of Solidarity Strategies, the largest Latino-owned and -operated political consulting firm in the country.

Disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of first-degree commission of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape, but acquitted of two more serious charges. "If we turn a blind eye to the systems that they operate in, then we'll just have another Harvey Weinstein. … That's why we have to upend the systems," says Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement. We also speak with award-winning actress Rosanna Arquette, who was one of the first women to share details of Weinstein's sexual misconduct.

A jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault, following a seven-week trial in Manhattan. The jurors convicted the disgraced Hollywood producer Monday of raping then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a hotel room in 2013 and of sexually assaulting production assistant Miriam Haley at his apartment in 2006 by forcibly performing oral sex on her. Weinstein was convicted of first-degree commission of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. But he was acquitted of two more serious charges of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape. He faces a total sentence of up to 29 years in prison. His sentencing has been set for March 11. "It's a beginning," says Rosanna Arquette, award-winning actress, filmmaker and activist. She was one of the first women to share details of Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct. We are also joined by Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement and now the executive director of the newly established organization of the same name, known as "Me Too" International.

Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Rape, 2020 Democratic Candidates Gear Up for Debate as More Damning Comments by Bloomberg Surface, Bernie Sanders Defends Praise for Fidel Castro's Literacy Program, Protests in India Kill At Least 7 as Trump Continues Visit, Former Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak Dies, U.K. Court Opens Deliberations on Julian Assange's Extradition Case, As Coronavirus Spreads Around the Globe, White House Requests Emergency Funding, China Sentences Bookseller Critical of Chinese Government to 10 Years in Prison, Clashes Between Haitian Police and Soldiers Leave One Dead as Anti-Gov't Protests Rage On, Canadian Police Clear Indigenous Protests Blocking Railways, Equinor Abandons Plans to Drill for Oil in Australia's Bight Marine Park, JPMorgan to Stop Funding Arctic Drilling, Will Continue to Fund Oil and Gas Projects Elsewhere, Appeals Court Upholds Trump "Gag Rule" on Abortion Referrals, SCOTUS to Take Up Discrimination Case Involving Gay Foster Parents, Bernie Sanders Unveils Universal Child Care Plan, MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Apologizes for Comparing NV Victory to Nazi Takeover of France, UC Santa Cruz Says It Will Provide Stipend to Graduate Workers in Response to Strike, Katherine Johnson, Pioneering African-American NASA Mathematician, Dies at 101

As Bernie Sanders's runaway win in Nevada cements his position as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, the Democratic Party establishment and much of the mainstream media are openly expressing concern about a self-described democratic socialist leading the presidential ticket. His opponents have also attacked his ambitious agenda. Last week during the primary debate in Las Vegas, Bernie Sanders addressed misconceptions about socialism. Invoking the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Sanders decried what he called "socialism for the very rich, rugged individualism for the poor."For more, we host a debate on Bernie Sanders and democratic socialism, featuring two well-known economists. Paul Krugman is a New York Times op-ed columnist and author of many books, including his latest, "Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future." One of his recent columns is headlined "Bernie Sanders Isn't a Socialist." Richard Wolff is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and visiting professor at The New School. He is the founder of Democracy at Work and hosts the weekly national television and radio program "Economic Update." He's the author of several books, including "Understanding Socialism."

Senator Bernie Sanders scored a decisive victory Saturday in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada, riding a wave of support from young voters, union members and Latinx voters, who strengthened his status as front-runner. His win shows the potential for the nation's largest minority group to reshape the next stage of the Democratic presidential race. In the next four weeks, six more of the 12 states with a large Latinx population will vote in the Democratic primary. On Super Tuesday, Texas, California and Colorado go to the polls. Arizona, Florida and Illinois will vote on March 17. We speak with Erika Andiola, chief advocacy officer for RAICES Action, the advocacy arm for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and Cristina Beltrán, associate professor and director of graduate studies at New York University's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Her latest book is "The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity."

Bernie Sanders Wins Nevada Caucuses by a Landslide, Calls for MSNBC's Chris Matthews to Resign After He Likens Sanders's NV Win to Nazi Takeover of France, Global Coronavirus Cases Surge, Trump Touts Defense Deal, Praises Modi at Massive Indian Rally, In Afghanistan, U.S. and Taliban Start Partial Truce, Iran: Conservatives Pick Up Bulk of Parliament Seats After 1,000s of Candidates Barred from Running, Outrage After Video Shows Israeli Bulldozer Removing Body of Killed Palestinian, Teck Resources Withdraws Application for Contested Alberta Oil Sands After Sustained Protests, Reports: Trump Admin Out to Purge Disloyal Staffers, Justice Sotomayor Slams SCOTUS Ruling on Trump's Hard-Line Immigration Policies, 34-Year-Old Mexican Man Dies in ICE Custody, Thousands Protest Suspension of Municipal Elections in Dominican Republic

Fifty-five years ago today, Malcolm X was assassinated. The civil rights leader was shot to death on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was only 39 years old. Details of his assassination remain disputed to this day. Earlier this month, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said he was considering reopening the investigation, just days after a new documentary series about the assassination was released on Netflix called "Who Killed Malcolm X?" It makes the case that two of the three men who were convicted for Malcolm X's murder are actually innocent and that his uncaught killers were four members of a Nation of Islam mosque in Newark, New Jersey. We are joined by Ilyasah Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X, who was just 2 years old when her father was assassinated in front of her, her siblings and her mother. We also speak with award-winning author Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, independent scholar, historian, journalist, writer and activist, who is widely regarded as one of the most respected authorities on the life and legacy of Malcolm X and is featured in the new documentary series, and Shayla Harris, a producer for the series and an award-winning filmmaker and journalist.

Roger Stone Sentenced to 40-Month Prison Term, Trump Lashed at Intel Chief over Warning of Russian Meddling in 2020 Election, Germany Mourns Victims of Right-Wing Terror Attacks, Suspect Arrested in Stabbing at London Mosque, U.K. to Close Borders to "Unskilled" and Non-English-Speaking Immigrants, Protests Erupt as Acting ICE Director Challenges New York Pro-Immigrant Laws, Mexican Radio Journalist Murdered in Ciudad Juárez, February Flowers Bloom in Moscow Amid Record-High Winter Temperatures, 28 Arrested in Seattle Protesting Chase Bank Fossil Fuel Ties, Rail Blockades Continue as Protests Grow Against Coastal GasLink Pipeline, South Korea Reports First Two Coronavirus Deaths, Report: 20 Million Americans Used Crowdfunding to Pay Medical Expenses, California Apologizes for WWII-Era Incarceration of Japanese Americans

As the primary season heads into the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, we unpack the ninth Democratic presidential debate in a roundtable on the tensions at work on the Las Vegas debate stage. Senator Bernie Sanders, currently the front-runner in the race, said the candidate with the most delegates should become the nominee; all his rivals on stage suggested they would be open to a brokered convention, with superdelegates and other party insiders potentially deciding the nomination. We continue our discussion with Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation; Raquel Willis, journalist, activist and executive editor of Out magazine; Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy; and Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston and president of the Victory Fund.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, just awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump, has attacked former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in recent days as a "37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband onstage," suggesting the Democrat would look weak next to Trump, whom he described as "Mr. Man." Buttigieg condemned the radio host's homophobic comments, saying he would take no lessons on family values from Limbaugh or Trump. "One thing about my marriage is it's never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse," Buttigieg told CNN's Erin Burnett this week. Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate ever to win delegates in a presidential nominating contest, but his candidacy has been criticized by many progressive LGBTQ Democrats who say his centrist politics do not reflect the needs of the queer community. We continue our roundtable discussion on Wednesday's Democratic debate in Nevada. Our guests are Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, and a columnist for WashingtonPost.com; journalist and activist Raquel Willis, executive editor of Out magazine, who has endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren for president; Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group that has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders; Annise Parker, the former mayor of Houston, now president of the Victory Fund, which works to increase the number of openly LGBTQ officials in government and has endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president.

Healthcare continues to be a central issue of the Democratic nomination fight, with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren repeating their calls for Medicare for All on the debate stage Wednesday night while their rivals proposed more incremental approaches. We continue our roundtable discussion on Wednesday's Democratic debate in Nevada. Our guests are Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, and a columnist for WashingtonPost.com; journalist and activist Raquel Willis, executive editor of Out magazine, who has endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren for president; Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group that has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders; Annise Parker, the former mayor of Houston, now president of the Victory Fund, which works to increase the number of openly LGBTQ officials in government and has endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president.

Tensions flared at the ninth Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Senator Bernie Sanders sought to defend his position as front-runner in the Democrats' nomination fight, and former Vice President Joe Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar tried to attract more supporters. Senator Elizabeth Warren led a night full of attacks on the new person on stage: billionaire former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg faced questions about his vast wealth, his defense of stop-and-frisk and his treatment of women. We host a roundtable on the debate and Saturday's Nevada caucuses: Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, and a columnist for WashingtonPost.com; journalist and activist Raquel Willis is executive editor of Out magazine, as well as a supporter of Senator Elizabeth Warren; Ana María Archila is co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group that has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders; Annise Parker is the former mayor of Houston, now president of the Victory Fund, which works to increase the number of openly LGBTQ officials in government and has endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president. The Victory Fund is the largest LGBTQ political action committee in the United States.