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Updated 2025-08-18 15:15
"Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism
We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated structural racism" in Chicago.
Standoff in South Dakota: Cheyenne River Sioux Refuse Governor's Demand to Remove COVID Checkpoints
There's a standoff brewing in South Dakota, where two Native American Indian tribes are upholding their sovereignty by defying orders by Governor Kristi Noem to remove COVID-19 checkpoints from their territories. The Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes say the checkpoints are the best way to protect against the coronavirus entering their communities, which are not equipped to handle an outbreak. The governor says the checkpoints — which are set up on highways on tribal land — are illegal. We speak with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's Chairman Harold Frazier, who says he is defending his people's "right to live."
Headlines for May 12, 2020
Dr. Fauci to Warn Lawmakers of "Needless Suffering and Death" If Lockdowns End Too Soon, European Countries Report New Spikes as They Reopen Economies, Trump Makes False Claim About Testing Capacity, Tells Reporter Weijia Jiang to "Ask China" About Coronavirus, PA Plant Canceled Trump Visit over Concern for Worker Health, New Study Finds Hydroxychloroquine Does Not Help COVID-19, Can Cause Heart Attacks, China Threatens "Countermeasures" for U.S. Journalist Visa Restrictions, Meatpacking Union Condemns Reopening of Factories Amid Pandemic, India Starts to Ease Lockdown as Cases Mount, Coronavirus Cases Mount in War-Ravaged Yemen, Coronavirus Compounds Food Insecurity as Locusts Ravage East African Crops, WHO Warns AIDS Deaths Could Soar During Pandemic, Progressive Groups Call on Joe Biden to Adopt Progressive Foreign Policy, Joe Biden Supports Unelected Juan Guaidó in Venezuela, Says U.S. Should Keep Sanctions Against Cuba, Bolivians Protest Lack of Food Assistance During Pandemic, 21-Year-Old Oaxacan Environmental Activist Eugui Roy Assassinated, Protests Mount in Indianapolis over String of Killings by Police, SCOTUS to Hear Arguments Around Trump's Tax Returns
Trump Death Clock: Creator Eugene Jarecki Says "Reckless Mishandling" of COVID-19 Must Be Quantified
As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000, an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock in New York City’s Times Square keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction. “What we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team, and we felt that ought to be quantified,” says Eugene Jarecki, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and activist behind the project.
"Weaponized and Racialized": Police Departments Use COVID-19 to Target Black & Brown Communities
Viral images have shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks — and apparently arresting no one. Meanwhile, videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. We continue our look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's enforcement measures during the pandemic, and also discuss how officers have ordered protesters to disband, citing executive orders from the mayor and the governor that ban "any non-essential gathering of individuals of any size for any reason." We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson, who was recently arrested when she used chalk to write "Trump = Plague" on an abandoned building, and with Norman Siegel, civil rights lawyer for Nelson and former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"COVID-19 Has Been Racialized": Black Scholar Jill Nelson Arrested for Chalking "Trump = Plague"
Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's response to the spread of COVID-19. We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson, who was herself arrested by NYPD in April for writing "Trump = Plague" in chalk on an abandoned building in her Washington Heights neighborhood. The 67-year-old scholar was handcuffed, taken to the police station and held for five hours. Now she is speaking out. The president is "telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die," says Nelson. "It's ridiculous."
Headlines for May 11, 2020
COVID-19 Cases Mount as States Reopen Economies, NY Investigating Deaths of at Least 3 Children Linked to COVID-19, Bronx Hospital Investigating Nurse Who Shared Video of Medical Staff Speaking Out About Lack of PPE, Cheyenne River Sioux Defies South Dakota Order to Remove Coronavirus Checkpoints, Another COVID-19 Case Confirmed at White House as Barack Obama Blasts Trump's "Chaotic" Response, Hunger-Striking Immigrant Women Released from California Prison, U.S. Continues to Deport Haitian Immigrants, Including Those with COVID-19 Infections, WSJ: Trump Planning to Ban H-1B Visas, Three Prisoners Die at Chino Facility as COVID-19 Cases Surge in Prisons, Mixed Messages Across the U.K. as Boris Johnson Moves to Relax Lockdown, France Eases Lockdown, Requires Mandatory Masks on Public Transportation, Spain Starts Reopening Businesses for Half the Country, Fire in Russian Coronavirus Hospital Kills Patient, South Korea Closes Bars and Nightclubs After New Coronavirus Cases Erupt, Afghans Demand Justice After Police Kill Six at Food Distribution Center, Syrian Refugees Face Mounting Hunger in Lebanon Amid Pandemic, Economic Crisis, U.S. Blocks U.N. Security Council Resolution Calling for Global Ceasefire, New Iraqi Prime Minister Promises Payments to Family Members of Slain Protesters, Turkey Warns Libyan Rebel Leader over Escalation in Fighting, Georgia Attorney General Asks DOJ to Investigate Killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Black Trans Woman, Murdered in Missouri
As States Loosen Pandemic Restrictions, Dr. Leana Wen Warns "We Are Not Ready for a Safe Reopening"
As more than 40 states begin to reopen, President Trump is downplaying the need for mass COVID-19 testing, even as he himself is now being tested every day for the virus. We speak with emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen, who says, "Widespread testing is so critical. … Why shouldn't this testing be available to all Americans?"
"A Terrible Price": Mardi Gras Story Lays Bare How COVID-19 Is Devastating Black America
We look at the deadly disparate impact of the pandemic on African Americans as told through an in-depth story for The New York Times Magazine by writer Linda Villarosa in her new piece, "'A Terrible Price': The Deadly Racial Disparities of Covid-19 in America," that tells what happened to the Zulu club, a Black social organization in New Orleans, during and after Mardi Gras. She reports that the experience is usually a joy, but the coronavirus made it a tragedy.
"A Lynch Mob": After Months of Inaction, 2 White Men Are Charged with Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in GA
The two white men caught on camera shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder. The arrests came two days after video of the attack in February was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. Today would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Arbery family and formerly represented Trayvon Martin.
Trump Death Clock: Times Square Billboard Tallies Lives Lost to COVID-19 Inaction
A 56-foot billboard called the Trump Death Clock was unveiled in Times Square in New York City. The tally of lives lost to government inaction was created by filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who says, "On behalf of all of those who needlessly lost their lives to this failed leadership in a pandemic, we need a symbol, a symbol that cries out not only for accountability, but also for more responsible and responsive stewardship, going forward." As of the Friday morning broadcast, the death toll count was nearly 47,000 and growing.
Headlines for May 8, 2020
U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000 as Trump Sidelines Top Medical Experts, Trump to Be Tested for Coronavirus Daily After Valet Tests Positive, Vigil at White House Honors 88 Who Died from "Trump's Abhorrent Failure to Protect Nurses", U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic, Democrats Promise "Rooseveltian" Coronavirus Relief Bill, Mitch McConnell Prioritizes Judicial Confirmations as Senate Returns Amid Pandemic, Data Shows 35 of 40 People Arrested in NY for Social Distancing Violations Are Black, Texas Stops Jailing Lockdown Violators; Nebraska Ends Reporting on Meat Plant COVID-19 Cases, 2 White Men Charged in Georgia With Murdering Black Jogger Ahmaud Arbery, DOJ Drops Charges Against Disgraced Ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn , Supreme Court Overturns Convictions of Senior Aides to Former NJ Gov Chris Christie, Black U.K. Residents Far More Likely to Die of COVID-19 Than Whites, European Leaders Hold Low-Key VE Day Commemorations as Belarus Plans Parade, Tara Reade Urges Joe Biden End Presidential Bid over Alleged Sexual Assault
Profiting from the Pandemic: Will Pharmaceutical Giants Use Patents to Limit Access to COVID Drugs?
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide approaches 4 million and the pandemic could be with us for months or years, we look at who can access drugs like remdesivir, being developed by pharmaceutical giant Gilead, which has the patent for the drug and is poised to make massive profits. We look at how much drugs like remdesivir will cost, and who can access them, with writer Achal Prabhala, coordinator of the AccessIBSA project, which campaigns for access to medicines in India, Brazil and South Africa.
How Russia Became the Next COVID-19 Hot Spot: Infection Rate Soars with 10,000 New Cases Each Day
We go to Moscow for an update on the pandemic in Russia, where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, with at least 10,000 new cases a day and the second-highest infection rate in the world, and more than 100 medical workers have died fighting the virus, and many have reported lack of personal protective equipment. Meanwhile, three Russian healthcare workers mysteriously fell from hospital windows over the past two weeks. Two died, and the one who is hospitalized had posted a video online to note the lack of medical equipment and said he had to keep working despite testing positive. We speak with Joshua Yaffa, Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker magazine.
Headlines for May 7, 2020
U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 73,400 as 41 States Begin Reopening, White House Shelves Guidelines on Reopening, as Experts Warn U.S. Failing to Stem COVID-19 Deaths, Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Children Going Hungry as Unemployment Surges to Great Depression Levels, State Budget Cuts Loom as Trump Rails Against "Blue State Bailouts" , United Nations Seeks $6.7 Billion for Coronavirus Aid to Poor Countries, EU Warns Pandemic Economic Recession Will Be Worst in History, Closing Ceremony of Spanish Coronavirus Field Hospital Marred by Tightly Packed Crowds, Venezuelan TV Airs Video of Arrested U.S. Mercenary Confessing to Attempted Coup, Trump Vetoes Senate Resolution Limiting President's Military Power to Attack Iran, Trump Gets in Heated Exchange with Nurse Denouncing Shortage of PPE for Hospital Workers, Black Michigan Lawmaker Escorted by Armed Volunteers After Anti-Lockdown Protests, Beloved Colorado Pastor Released from VA Hospital After Long Battle with COVID-19, Top Republican Fundraiser & Trump Ally Named Postmaster General, Brother-in-Law of Sen. Richard Burr Also Dumped Stocks Ahead of Coronavirus Market Crash, Salvadoran Immigrant Is First Person to Die of COVID-19 in ICE Custody, Anger Mounts over Killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Black Jogger Shot to Death by 2 White Men in GA, Viral Video Shows LAPD Officer Violently Punching a Man Arrested for Trespassing , Chemical Gas Leak in India Kills at Least 9, Hundreds Others Hospitalized, New Campus Sexual Assault Rules Bolster Protection for Accused Students
U.S. Mercenaries Captured in Venezuela After Failed Coup Attempt Compared to a "Bad Rambo Movie"
We look at an incredible story unfolding in Venezuela of a failed coup attempt. Did a former Green Beret mastermind it? Two Americans have been arrested in Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro claims the U.S. was behind the plot. "It looks like a bad Rambo movie, or a really bad telenovela," says Miguel Tinker Salas, author of "The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela." He notes that "the U.S. is seeking regime change ... and the consequences for Venezuela could be very dire going forward.”
As Trump Claims "Fantastic Job" on COVID, Reporter Laurie Garrett Warns Pandemic May Last 36+ Months
As President Trump starts to reopen the country, Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Laurie Garrett predicts the pandemic will last at least 36 months. Meanwhile, a top government vaccine specialist says he was forced from his job after he resisted the administration's promotion of untested treatments for COVID-19. Garrett predicted the pandemic. In an extended interview, she discusses what's next.
Headlines for May 6, 2020
White House to Wind Down Coronavirus Task Force Even as U.S. Cases Surge, Trump Meets Tribal Leaders, Promising to Distribute Long-Delayed Coronavirus Relief Funds, Ousted Scientist's Whistleblower Complaint Cites "Political Connections and Cronyism", Trump Lashes Out Against "Mourning in America" Advertisement, Researchers Say Coronavirus May Have Mutated in Europe to Become More Contagious, Amazon Worker Dies of COVID-19; Wisconsin Supreme Court May Revoke Remain-at-Home Order, Michigan Security Guard Shot After Enforcing Mask Policy, As Meatpackers Fall Ill from COVID-19, Wendy's Faces Hamburger Shortage, Senators Return to Capitol Hill Despite COVID-19 Concerns, Republicans Set to Confirm John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence, Federal Judge Allows ICE to Transfer Jailed Migrants Despite Spread of Coronavirus, U.S.-Owned Factories in Mexico Reopen Despite Spread of Coronavirus, Hundreds of People Imprisoned in El Salvador Quarantine Centers Demand Release, Philippines Broadcaster Forced Off Air After Criticism by President Duterte, Climate Study Projects 3 Billion Will Suffer from Extreme Heat by 2070, Shocking Video Shows White Men Chasing and Killing Black Jogger in Georgia, Federal Judge Orders New York to Restore Presidential Primary Vote, Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized with Gallbladder Condition, Activists Remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Despite Lockdowns
The Case for Prison Abolition: Ruth Wilson Gilmore on COVID-19, Racial Capitalism & Decarceration
The spread of COVID-19 threatens the lives of more than 2.3 million people locked up in prisons and jails throughout the United States. We look at how the call to release prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic makes the case for prison abolition, with scholar Ruth Wilson Gilmore, co-founder of California Prison Moratorium Project and Critical Resistance and the author of "Golden Gulag: Prison, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California." Her forthcoming book is "Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition."
Calls Grow for Mass Release from Ohio's Marion Prison as 80% of Prisoners Test Positive for COVID-19
We get an update on one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the United States, at the Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio, where 11 prisoners and one staff member have died, and at least 80% of prisoners and half of the prison staff tested positive. Despite growing calls to release thousands of Ohio's nearly 50,000 incarcerated people as the coronavirus spreads, Governor Mike DeWine has only approved the release of more than 100 people in the state's prisons. "We're seeing a few people being released … but not anywhere near the 20,000 [we are] demanding," says Azzurra Crispino, whose husband, James, is incarcerated at Marion. She is co-founder of Prison Abolition Prisoner Support.
Navajo Nation Suffers Third-Highest COVID-19 Infection Rate in U.S. with Limited Healthcare & Water
We get an update from two doctors treating patients with the Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous reservation in the country, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Michelle Tom is a member of the Navajo Nation and a family physician treating COVID-19 patients at the Winslow Indian Health Care Center and Little Colorado Medical Center in northern Arizona near the Navajo reservation. In Gallup, New Mexico, Dr. Sriram Shamasunder is leading a medical volunteer group of 21 nurses and doctors from the University of California, San Francisco as part of the HEAL Initiative. He says the coronavirus hit harder on the Navajo Nation due to a "trajectory of an underfunded health system," and notes the Indian Health Service is funded at one-third the rate per capita as Medicare. "The level of inequity that you're seeing … it's part of this pattern."
Remembering Valentina Blackhorse, Beloved 28-Year-Old Navajo Community Activist Who Died of COVID-19
After New York and New Jersey, the next highest number of coronavirus infections per capita in the United States is in the Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous reservation in the country. We go to Kayenta, Arizona, to speak with Robby Jones, a member of the Navajo Nation and the partner of one of those to die from the virus: 28-year-old Valentina Blackhorse, a beloved community leader who promoted Navajo culture and left behind a daughter named Poet.
Headlines for May 5, 2020
Dire Forecasts Warn U.S. Death Toll Could Surge in Coming Weeks as States Move to Relax Restrictions, China Rebukes Trump Admin Claim That Coronavirus Was Man-Made, Report Says Brooklyn Jail Destroying Medical Records to Hide Toll of COVID-19, J. Crew Files for Bankruptcy, Betsy DeVos Sued for Garnishing Wages of Student Loan Holders During Pandemic, EU, World Leaders Pledge Billions to Fund Coronavirus Vaccine; U.S. Sits Out, Questions Raised After 3 Doctors in Russia Fall from Hospital Windows, U.K. May Have Second-Highest Coronavirus Death Toll; France Identifies COVID-19 Case from December, Venezuela Detains Ex-U.S. Special Forces After Failed Coup, Report: Colombia Spied and Collected Data on Journalists, Union Leaders, Politicians, Sudan Outlaws Female Genital Mutilation, Senate Rejects Request to Search Records for Tara Reade Complaints Against Joe Biden, Amazon VP Quits over Retaliatory Firings of Protesting Workers, King County, WA, Apologizes, Reaches Settlement for 2017 Police Killing of Black Teen, José Soler, Puerto Rican Independence Activist and Labor Journalist, Dies at 75, 2020 Pulitzer Prizes Recognize Work on Immigration, Sex Crimes, Labor and Slavery
ER Doctor: Pulse Oximeters Detect Oxygen Deprivation Earlier from COVID-19, Help Avoid Ventilators
We speak with Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician based in Littleton, New Hampshire, who volunteered at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for 10 days at the height of the COVID-19 surge in April. Based on what he saw, he argues patients should be going to hospitals sooner and that medical professionals could use a small device you clip on your fingertip, called a pulse oximeter, to help detect the virus earlier by revealing oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates. "A pulse oximeter is just a measure of identifying how well the lungs are working, and, I believe, can be basically an early warning system in terms of patients to know who has COVID pneumonia," says Dr. Levitan.
As Workers Get Sick & Die from COVID-19, McConnell Demands Corporate Immunity in New Stimulus Bill
As the Senate reconvenes today, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding that Congress use the next stimulus bill to protect corporations from liability for workers. "He wants to protect their right to engage in egregious misconduct," says Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen.
"It's Very Scary": COVID Surges in Meat Plants as Activists Demand Worker Safety & Meatless Mondays
At least 20 workers at meat processing plants have died from COVID-19, and around 5,000 have tested positive, but President Trump invoked an executive order to bar local governments from closing meat plants. We hear from meat plant workers and organizers about conditions during the pandemic and speak with Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is supporting the workers with a virtual town hall on food worker safety with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and calling for Meatless May Mondays.
Headlines for May 4, 2020
U.S. Makes Up a Third of Known Cases as Trump Revises Predicted Death Toll, NYC Nursing Home Reports Nearly 100 Deaths Linked to COVID-19, Trump Admin Continues Attack on China, Insists COVID-19 Developed in Wuhan Lab, White House Blocks Anthony Fauci from Testifying to House, Senators Return to Work in Coronavirus Hot Spot Washington, D.C., SCOTUS to Hear Cases by Phone, Arguments Will Be Open to Public, NYPD Violently Attack Two Black Men During Social Distancing Enforcement, Guards Sue ICE Jail for Failing to Protect Workers, Georgia Restaurants Refuse to Reopen After Gov. Kemp Lifts Lockdown, Spain, Italy Ease Coronavirus Restrictions , Children in Afghanistan Facing Severe Hunger Risk Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, India Extends Lockdown, Introduces Tracking App to Trace Coronavirus, Pakistan Medical Workers Score Win as Gov't Says It Will Ensure PPE, U.N. Calls for Countries to Accept Rohingya Refugees as They Flee Burma by Boat, South African Nurses Call on Gov't to Deliver PPE, May Day Protests Call for Housing Protections, Workers' Rights and Immigrant Rights Amid Pandemic, Unhoused Activists Take Over San Francisco Vacant Home in May Day Protest, North and South Korea Exchange Gunfire 2 Days After Kim Jong-un Makes Public Appearance, "They Deserve More Than Thoughts and Prayers": Canada Bans Assault Weapons After Nova Scotia Massacre, Venezuela Says It Foiled Coup Attempt by "Mercenary Terrorists", 100+ Killed, Thousands Displaced in Kenya from Massive Flooding, Valentina Blackhorse, Pageant Winner and Prominent Navajo Nation Figure, Dies of COVID-19, Kent State Marks 50 Years Since National Guard Shot and Killed 4 Students
Caravan for Life: Protesters in Puerto Rico Demand More Tests & Resources to Combat the Coronavirus
On Thursday in Puerto Rico, activists in dozens of cars held a "Caravan Por La Vida," or "Caravan for Life," through San Juan to demand the government provide more COVID-19 tests and sufficient resources for people to stay at home during the pandemic. At least 92 people have died from COVID-19 in Puerto Rico, and last week the island was reporting a testing rate lower than any U.S. state, at an abysmal average of 15 tests a day for every 100,000 people. No one in Puerto Rico has received $1,200 checks from the government, according to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. Police stopped the caravan and said their sound trucks were illegal. When organizer Giovanni Roberto demanded that police describe the laws they were breaking, he was arrested. Roberto was released later in the night, and his charges of obstruction of justice were dropped. We hear voices from the protest. Special thanks to _Democracy Now!_ correspondent Juan Carlos Dávila.
Tara Reade's Ex-Neighbor on Biden Sexual Assault Allegation: I Believed Her Then & I Believe Her Now
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden denied sexual assault allegations against him on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday, breaking his silence after weeks of mounting pressure to respond to claims put forward by former staffer Tara Reade, who says he sexually assaulted her in 1993. In a statement, Biden said, "I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren't true. This never happened." Tara Reade first came forward with her allegations in March, saying Biden pushed her up against a wall and digitally penetrated her. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we speak with Reade's former neighbor Lynda LaCasse, who says that Reade told her about the encounter and described it in detail in the 1990s. LaCasse is a lifelong Democrat and Biden supporter. She says of Tara Reade, "I believe her 100%." We also speak with investigative journalist Rich McHugh, who first interviewed LaCasse for Business Insider.
May Day People's Strike! Target, Amazon, Instacart Workers Demand Safe Conditions & Pandemic Relief
This May Day, an unprecedented coalition of essential workers from Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target and FedEx are calling out sick or walking out during their lunch break to demand better health and safety conditions, along with hazard pay. Others are joining them for May Day actions that include rent strikes, car caravan protests and online organizing calling for a "People's Bailout" and economic recovery plan that prioritizes workers. We speak with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, which issued a call for a people's strike starting May 1. "The corporations and the government are willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of us," Akuno says. "We have to put people before profits."
Headlines for May 1, 2020
Trump Touts "Very, Very Strong" U.S. Coronavirus Death Totals as States Begin Reopening, Trump Claims Pandemic Began in Chinese Laboratory, Offers No Evidence, Trump Blames Obama for Shortage of Tests for Virus That Emerged in 2019, Maryland National Guard Defends Coronavirus Tests from Feds in "Undisclosed Location", Texas Won't Name Nursing Homes with COVID-19 Cases; California Closes Beaches in OC, Michael Bloomberg to Lead New York Contact Tracing Program as NYC Subway Ends 24/7 Service, Medical Professionals Stage Die-in Outside SF Mayor's Home Demanding Hotels for the Unhoused, Armed Protesters Storm Michigan State Capitol Demanding End to Stay-at-Home Orders, Puerto Rican Activist Freed from Jail After Dozens Hold Car Rally Demanding COVID-19 Relief, Report Finds 12.7 Million U.S. Workers Have Lost Employer-Based Insurance in 2020, Amazon Workers Join May Day Strikes Demanding Safe Workplaces, Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Attempts to Block Funding for Sanctuary Cities, Immigrants in Adelanto ICE Jail Continue Hunger Strike Demanding Release During Pandemic, Vietnam Declares Coronavirus Outbreak Contained After Quick Response, Mass Testing, U.S. Indicts Honduran Former National Police Chief on Cocaine Trafficking Charges , Joe Biden Denies Sexually Assaulting Tara Reade in First Interview Addressing Accusations, Record 8% Drop in Global Carbon Emissions Predicted Due to COVID-19 Restrictions, Renowned Mexican Protest Singer Óscar Chávez Dies of COVID-19
WHO Adviser on Meat Plants: If We're at War, the Weapons We Need Are Tests and PPE, Not Pork
As President Trump invokes the Defense Production Act to bar local governments from closing meatpacking plants around the United States, we get response from a longtime adviser to the World Health Organization. "When Congress passed that act, it certainly did not have in mind that the president has the power or the right to put workers' lives and health at risk," says Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Center on National and Global Health Law. Gostin also discusses why he joined 40 leading center directors in a declaration this week that urges Trump and Congress to restore and increase WHO funding.
Economist Thomas Piketty: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the "Violence of Social Inequality"
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," looked at economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. His new book, "Capital and Ideology," has been described as a manifesto for political change.
Headlines for April 30, 2020
Jared Kushner Hails "Great Success Story" as U.S. Deaths Top 60,000, Dozens of Decomposing Bodies Found in Trucks Outside Brooklyn Funeral Home, President Trump Claims Coronavirus Will Be "Eradicated" from U.S., FDA to Approve Emergency Use of Remdesivir After the Drug Shows Promise Treating COVID-19, More Than 30 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Six Weeks, International Labour Organization Warns Pandemic Threatens Livelihoods of 1.6 Billion, South Korea Reports No New Domestic Coronavirus Cases , U.K. Now Has Europe's Second-Highest COVID-19 Death Toll, Femicides and Domestic Violence Surge in Mexico Amid Coronavirus Lockdown, Kenya Cuts Off Refugee Camps over Fears of Catastrophic COVID-19 Outbreak, Meatpackers and Others to Lose Jobless Benefits If They Refuse Return-to-Work Orders, New York Bars Unhoused People from Sheltering in Subways, Survey Finds Over 80% of COVID-19 Patients in GA Hospitals Are Black, 50+ People Who Participated in April Wisconsin Election Test Positive for COVID-19, 6 Women Freed from El Paso Immigration Jail After Suing ICE over COVID-19 Spread, Emails Reveal ICE Systematically Retaliates Against Immigration Activists, Georgia's Stacey Abrams Defends Joe Biden over Sexual Assault Allegations
Education Crisis: From Pre-K to Higher Ed, Students Face Unequal Access During Coronavirus Shutdown
We look at the impact of the pandemic on schools, universities, students, parents, teachers and professors — and who is at the table to shape what happens next. "We now have an economic crisis on top of the public health crisis, and the ways that we're choosing to educate children is simply unequal and is going to lead to an educational crisis,” says education scholar and Cornell University professor Noliwe Rooks, author of "Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education."
Vote by Mail: Head of Postal Union Says Mailed Ballots Are Best Way to Secure 2020 Election
President Trump calls the U.S. Postal Service "a joke," and as millions face orders to stay home, his attacks on the agency could also threaten efforts to vote by mail, a method Trump has called "a terrible thing." "We're talking now about basic access to the ballot box," says American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein, who notes "the Post Office is the most trusted federal agency."
Trump Attacks Post Office While Carriers & Clerks Die from COVID-19
President Trump has lashed out at the U.S. Postal Service as the pandemic brings it to the brink of collapse and more people than ever are relying on the mail. Trump claims the agency is only losing money because it is undercharging Amazon and other companies for shipping. "It just isn't true," says American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein.
Headlines for April 29, 2020
U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops Number of Americans Killed in Vietnam War, Trump Orders Meat Plants to Remain Open as Worker Coronavirus Deaths Mount, Mayor of San Juan Says Puerto Ricans Haven't Received Relief Funds, Workers Plan May Day "People's Strike" to Demand Safer Workplaces, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Lends Support to May 1st Rent Strike, Report: 90% of Minority-Owned Businesses Shut Out of Paycheck Protection Program, U.S. House Cancels Plans to Reconvene in May as D.C. Remains COVID-19 Hot Spot, Pence Refuses to Wear Face Mask During Tour of Mayo Clinic, Riots, Escape Attempts Reported in U.S. Juvenile Jails as Coronavirus Spreads, Trump Admin Continues Deportation Hearings for Migrant Children Despite Pandemic, Brazil's COVID-19 Deaths Surpass China's Reported Toll, WHO to Slash Humanitarian Aid to Yemen After Trump Cuts Agency's Funding, Protests Erupt in Lebanon as Quarantined Residents Go Hungry, Viral Video Shows White Police Officer in California Punching African American Boy, Southwest U.S. Poised to Shatter April Heat Records; Wildfires Erupt in Siberia, Flooding in Canada's Tar Sands Region Forces 13,000 from Their Homes, Climate Scientists, Environmentalists Call New Film "Planet of the Humans" Misleading & Destructive
In Her Own Words: Fiona Apple on New Album "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" & Acknowledging Indigenous Lands
In a broadcast exclusive, world-renowned singer-songwriter Fiona Apple joins Democracy Now! for the hour to discuss her critically acclaimed new album, "Fetch the Bolt Cutters," which was released early amid the pandemic. "I've heard that it's actually making people feel free and happy," Apple says, "and it might be helping people feel alive or feel their anger or feel creative. And that's the best thing that I could hope for." Her record includes an acknowledgment that the album was "Made on unceded Tongva, Mescalero Apache, and Suma territories." We also speak with Native American activist Eryn Wise, an organizer with Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective that launched a rapid response initiative to help Indigenous communities affected by the outbreak.
Headlines for April 28, 2020
Known U.S. Deaths Top 56,000 as New Study Shows True Number Likely Much Higher, Trump Ignored Early Intelligence Reports as Coronavirus Spread, Trump Denies Responsibility for Spike in Disinfectant Poisonings, Texas Reopens Businesses, California Warns Against Violating Restrictions , Trump's Plan to Give Commencement Address at West Point Could Bring Back 1,000 Cadets to Campus, NY Cancels Primary After Removing Bernie Sanders from the Ballot , U.N. Calls for Release of Immigrant Prisoners as San Diego Facility Refuses to Allow Face Mask Delivery, More Cases Reported at Prisons as New Study Shows 96% of Inmates Who Test Positive Are Asymptomatic, Law Goes into Effect Requiring Germans to Wear Face Masks in Public, Boris Johnson Says Too Soon to End U.K. Lockdown, Swedish Ambassador Says Stockholm Is Close to Reaching "Herd Immunity", WHO Warns Pandemic Could Exacerbate Other Public Health Crises, Children Especially Vulnerable, Archbishop Tutu: Coronavirus Exposes South Africa's Inequalities, Immigrants Deported by the U.S. Make Up 20% of Guatemala's COVID-19 Cases, El Salvador Authorizes Lethal Force Against Suspected Gang Members as Prisons Go on Full Lockdown, Dozens of Protesters Arrested in Chile as Anti-Government Demonstrations Continue , Pakistani Medical Workers Launch Hunger Strike to Protest Lack of PPE, New Zealand Declares Coronavirus "Eliminated" as It Eases Lockdown, D.C. Activists Hold Car, Bike Caravans in Solidarity with Essential Workers, 2 More People Corroborate Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Accusations Against Joe Biden, Top NY ER Doctor Who Treated COVID-19 Patients Dies by Suicide , Jerry Givens, Virginia Anti-Death Penalty Activist and Former Executioner, Dies of COVID-19
Scientific American: As Trump Touts Dangerous Cures, Here's What We Know About COVID-19 Drug Tests
President Trump dangerously suggested injecting disinfectants could help patients sick with the coronavirus, then said he was being "sarcastic." But his remarks led to a spike in calls to helplines about taking disinfectants. We look at "What We Know About the Most Touted Drugs Tested for COVID-19" with Tanya Lewis, associate editor for health and medicine at Scientific American.
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always": New Film Follows Teenager's Perilous Journey to Access Abortion
As multiple states have moved to further restrict access to abortions during the pandemic, a powerful new dramatic film follows a 17-year-old girl as she travels from her small town in Pennsylvania to New York City to get an abortion without having to notify her parents. "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" director and writer Eliza Hittman joins us to discuss the making of the film, which is being distributed online while cinemas remain closed in most states due to the pandemic.
"Unconscionable": Planned Parenthood Pres. Condemns States Using Pandemic to Limit Abortion Access
As much of the U.S. remains on lockdown, abortion rights are under attack nationwide. We get an update on the fight for abortion access with Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Our bodies have literally been deemed essential," she says, "and yet the control of our bodies and the right to control our own bodies has not."
Headlines for April 27, 2020
Global Coronavirus Deaths Top 207,000 as Hard-Hit European Nations Start Relaxing Lockdowns, States Prepare to Reopen Economies as Cases Continue to Mount, Doctors See Rise in Strokes Caused by Coronavirus; CDC Expands List of Possible Symptoms, Oakland Police Tackle and Detain Unhoused Outreach Workers, Poison Control Center Calls Spike After President Trump Suggests Injections of Disinfectant, WHO Warns Against Issuing "Immunity Passports", Activists Hold "Cancel the Rent" Protests Around the Country, Coronavirus Outbreak Reported at Tyson Foods Meat Processing Plant, "Larry King Live" Tape from 1993 Supports Tara Reade's Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden, Progressives Demand Ouster of Larry Summers as Joe Biden's Economic Adviser, El Paso Walmart Shooting Victim Dies, Raising Death Toll to 23, Saudi Human Rights Activist Abdullah al-Hamid Dies a Political Prisoner, Separatists Declare Self-Rule in Southern Yemen, Deepening Political Crisis, Brazil's Justice Minister Resigns After President Bolsonaro Fires Federal Police Chief, Insect Populations Plummet Amid Urbanization and Deforestation
"We Don't Have the Capacity to Treat": Palestinian-Canadian Doctor Says Israel Must Lift Gaza Siege
As fears continue to grow about what a rampant outbreak of the coronavirus might do to the occupied Palestinian territory, already crippled by years of Israeli sanctions, we get an update from Dr. Tarek Loubani, Palestinian-Canadian doctor and emergency physician who volunteers in the Gaza Strip and returned from a trip there last month. "Testing is severely limited," he says. "There have been fewer tests in Gaza so far throughout the entire pandemic than there were in South Korea yesterday."
"Nobody Wants to Do This": Georgia Reopens Nonessential Businesses Despite Public Health Warnings
We go to Georgia, which is reopening nonessential businesses today — hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors and massage therapists — despite a rising number of COVID-19 deaths. The governor is opening the state over the objections of mayors in Savannah, Atlanta and Augusta. "This order has nothing to do with public health. It has everything to do with the financial health of the state," says George Chidi, columnist for Decaturish, and public policy director for PadSplit, an Atlanta-based affordable housing organization.
Organizer: Domestic Workers Make All Work Possible, But the Coronavirus Relief Bill Discounts Them
To talk more about how the coronavirus relief bills have affected essential workers, we speak with an organizer in Queens, New York, the epicenter of the epicenter of the pandemic. "Things are being done, but it's not enough to serve the domestic workers who are essential workers and keep this city running," says Riya Ortiz, lead organizer and case manager for the nonprofit Damayan Migrant Workers Association in New York City.
New $484B Relief Bill Lacks Funds for Food Aid, Rent Relief, US Postal Service, Election Protection
As the House passes a new $484 Billion coronavirus relief bill, Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the sole Democrat to vote no, saying it falls far short, failing to protect those at greatest health risk, including essential frontline workers, and could let millions go hungry. We get response from The American Prospect's David Dayen.
Headlines for April 24, 2020
U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Nears 50,000, as Pandemic Leaves 26 Million Unemployed, House Approves $484 Billion in Additional Coronavirus Relief Funding, House Members Wear Masks During Historic Vote as COVID-19 Impacts Lawmakers' Families, Trump Suggests Injecting COVID-19 Patients with Disinfectant, Leaving Doctors Aghast, "Trump Lies People Die": Protesters Dump Body Bags in Front of Trump D.C. Hotel, New York Governor Says 1 in 5 NYC Residents Have Coronavirus Antibodies in Blood, As Georgia Reopens Businesses, Hospitals Brace for New Wave of Coronavirus Deaths, Gov. Newsom Keeps Lockdown in Place as California Suffers Deadliest Day of Pandemic, Preliminary Findings Show No Benefits of Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, Researchers Estimate 28,000 Were Infected with Coronavirus in U.S. Cities by March 1, Health and Human Services Spokesperson Deletes Racist Tweets About Chinese People, Ecuador's Coronavirus Death Toll May Be 15 Times Higher Than Reported, Brazil Coronavirus Deaths Top 400 in a Day; Peru's Hospitals at Breaking Point, Mexican Medical Workers Face Harassment, Attacks over COVID-19 Fears, El Salvador Pandemic Response a "Death Sentence" for Poor Communities, Two Transgender Women Found Murdered in Puerto Rico
Global Health Doctor: Hire 1000s of Contact Tracers to Stop COVID-19, Save Lives and the Economy
As parts of the United States and Europe consider reopening, most of the world's population remains susceptible to the coronavirus. We look at new efforts to stop the deadly spread of COVID-19 with contact tracing — finding who infected patients have been in contact with so they can get tested and isolated. We'll speak with global health expert Dr. Joia Mukherjee, with Partners in Health, about a contact tracing project she is working on now in Massachusetts.
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