Democracy Now!

"Ask for Jane." Those were the magic words that provided thousands of women access to safe abortions before the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. With abortion services outlawed in most of the country, women often had to risk their own lives in order to terminate pregnancy. So, in 1969, a group of women in Chicago decided to take matters into their own hands and set up a hotline, offering counseling and eventually providing abortion services themselves. To reach the underground feminist abortion service, all you had to do was call a phone number and ask for Jane. We speak with two former members of Jane: Laura Kaplan and Alice Fox. Laura Kaplan is the author of "The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service."

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture is warning that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is suffering from the effects of "psychological torture" due to his ongoing detention and threats of possible extradition to the United States. The U.N. expert, Nils Melzer, also warned that Assange would likely face a "politicized show trial" if he were to be extradited to the United States. Melzer writes, "In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time." Julian Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in 2012 at London's Belmarsh Prison, after he was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorean Embassy by British police last month. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department announced it was charging Assange with 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act for his role in publishing U.S. classified military and diplomatic documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange, who had already been charged on one count of hacking a government computer, now faces up to 170 additional years in prison under the new charges—10 years for each count of violating the Espionage Act. Assange was due to appear by video link before a magistrates' court on Thursday but failed to appear, reportedly due to health problems. We speak with U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer.

Trump Threatens Tariffs on Mexican Goods in Bid to Halt Migrants, Trump Administration Plan Would Bar Most Central Americans from Seeking Asylum, Louisiana Governor Signs Anti-Choice Bill as Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Is Set to Close, GOP Gerrymandering Expert Led Push to Add Citizenship Question to Census, Civilians Flee Russian-Backed Syrian Assault on Last Rebel-Held Province, North Korea Executes Special Envoy to the U.S. After Failed Trump Summit, Colombia Releases Ex-Guerrilla Leader Wanted by the U.S. on Drug Charges, U.S. Drug Agency Targeted Honduran President in Cocaine Trafficking Probe, Hondurans Continue Massive Protests Against Privatization Plans, Hundreds of Thousands of Brazilian Students Protest Education Cuts, Bangladesh Charges 16 in Murder of Student Who Reported Sexual Assault, Trump Attacks Robert Mueller While Admitting Russia Aided His Election, Commodity Prices Surge as Severe Weather Hampers Spring Planting, Lone Republican Stalls $19 Billion Disaster Relief Bill, New Hampshire Abolishes the Death Penalty, House Committee to Convene Hearings on D.C. Statehood, Navy SEAL Accused of War Crimes Released Ahead of Murder Trial, Exonerated Death Row Prisoner Harold Wilson Dies at 61

The Trump administration is under fire for delaying plans to replace Andrew Jackson's portrait on the $20 bill with abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement last week, saying Tubman won't appear on the bill until at least 2026. Under a 2016 Obama initiative, Tubman was originally scheduled to replace Andrew Jackson by 2020—the 100th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote. She will be the first woman in over a century and the first African American to appear on the front of a U.S. banknote. Andrew Jackson was a slaveholder who in 1830 signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced 16,000 Native Americans from their lands in what became known as the Trail of Tears. We speak with Kate Clifford Larson, the author of "Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero."

For the first time, a pharmaceutical company is on trial for its role in the opioid crisis in Oklahoma this week. Johnson & Johnson—the corporate giant better known for its baby products—produces a fentanyl patch and previously also manufactured an opioid pill. In opening statements Tuesday, lawyers made a sweeping case against the company, accusing it of driving demand for opioids while the drug ravaged Oklahoma. The state says Johnson & Johnson targeted children and veterans to sell opioids. In court filings, Attorney General Mike Hunter likened Johnson & Johnson to a "kingpin" that has been targeting an unsuspecting public since the 1990s. Purdue Pharma settled with Oklahoma in March for $270 million, and Teva Pharmaceuticals reached an $85 million settlement deal Sunday, just ahead of the landmark trial. This leaves Johnson & Johnson as the only defendant in the first civil trial of its kind. The trial is expected to last two months, and will set the stage for the nearly 1,900 federal and state lawsuits targeting drug makers and distributors pending around the country. We speak with Jan Hoffman, a reporter for The New York Times who is covering the landmark opioid trial in Oklahoma.

Israel will hold new elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government in six weeks of negotiations following the April 9 election. This marks the first time in Israeli history a prime minister-designate has failed to form a coalition government. The news comes as the United States is continuing to promote a controversial Middle East peace plan drawn up by President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is in Israel today along with special envoy Jason Greenblatt. But the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the political crisis in Israel could kill the U.S. plan, which will be partially unveiled at a conference in Bahrain next month. Palestinian officials have vowed to boycott the conference and dismissed any attempts to tackle peace talks in the region without addressing human rights and the Israeli occupation. We speak with longtime Palestinian diplomat Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee. The United States recently denied Ashrawi a visa to enter the country.

Robert Mueller Says His Report Did Not Exonerate President Trump, Mueller's Public Remarks Stoke Calls for Trump's Impeachment, Israeli Knesset Dissolved as PM Netanyahu Fails to Form Ruling Coalition, Without Evidence, John Bolton Blames Iran for Oil Tanker Sabotage, Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Ban on Most Abortions, Disney May Halt Filming in Georgia If State Abortion Ban Takes Effect, Latin American Rape Survivors Who Were Denied Abortions Appeal to U.N., Argentines Hold One-Day Strike Against IMF-Imposed Austerity, Argentine Lawmakers Consider Bill to Decriminalize Abortion, Honduran Protesters Mobilize Against Privatization Plans, U.S. Battered by Extreme Weather, with 500+ Tornadoes in 30 Days, Energy Department Attempts to Rebrand Methane as "Freedom Gas", USS John McCain Moved Out of View Ahead of Trump's Visit to Naval Base, WikiLeaks Says Health of Jailed Founder Julian Assange Is "Deteriorating", Joe Biden Puts Hands on Shoulders of 10-Year-Old Girl, Saying "You're Good-Looking", Yemeni Journalist Denied Visa to Come to U.S. to Receive Pulitzer Prize

An Arizona humanitarian aid volunteer goes to trial today for providing water, food, clean clothes and beds to two undocumented migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. If convicted, Scott Warren could spend up to 20 years in prison. Warren, an activist with the Tucson-based No More Deaths, is charged with three felony counts of allegedly "harboring" undocumented immigrants. For years, No More Deaths and other humanitarian aid groups in southern Arizona have left water and food in the harsh Sonoran Desert, where the temperature often reaches three digits during summer, to help refugees and migrants survive the deadly journey across the U.S. border. Warren was arrested on January 17, 2018, just hours after No More Deaths released a report detailing how U.S. Border Patrol agents had intentionally destroyed more than 3,000 gallons of water left out for migrants crossing the border. The group also published a video showing border agents dumping out jugs of water in the desert. Hours after the report was published, authorities raided the Barn, a No More Deaths aid camp in Ajo, where they found two migrants who had sought temporary refuge. We speak with Scott Warren and his fellow No More Deaths volunteer and activist Catherine Gaffney in Tucson.

As states around the country ramp up their attacks on reproductive rights, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to rule on an Indiana law that would bar abortions based on the sex, race or disability of the fetus. The decision will keep in place a lower court's injunction on the measure. However, the Supreme Court decided to allow Indiana's so-called fetal burial law to go into effect, which stipulates that abortion clinics must dispose of fetal remains either through burial or cremation. The measure was signed into law by then-Governor Mike Pence in 2016. We speak with Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, about the significance of the Supreme Court decision and the growing threat to Roe v. Wade. "What's happening this year is definitely a national and concerted effort by politicians, who have really been a emboldened by President Trump's anti-abortion agenda, to really ratchet it up a notch and now take direct aim at Roe v. Wade with abortion bans," she said. We also speak with Dr. Erin King, a gynecologist and the executive director of Hope Clinic for Women in Illinois, about the dangers abortion providers face every day.

"This is not a drill. This is not a warning. This is real, and it's a public health crisis." Those were the words of Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen Tuesday, when news broke that Missouri's only abortion clinic might be forced to close by the end of the week, effectively ending access to legal abortion in the state. Planned Parenthood says that Missouri's health department is threatening not to renew its license over a series of unreasonable demands, including interviewing seven of the clinic's doctors. Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an abortion provider at the clinic, told reporters, "This is harassment and attempted intimidation of doctors at the highest levels of government." Missouri is one of six states in the country with just one abortion clinic left. If it fails to renew the license by May 31, it will become the first state without any abortion services since Roe v. Wade recognized the constitutional right to an abortion in 1973. Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit to stop the clinic's closure. A hearing is scheduled for this afternoon in St. Louis. This comes less than a week after Missouri's Republican Governor Mike Parson signed a law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The law will trigger a total ban if Roe v. Wade is overturned. We speak with Dr. Erin King, a gynecologist and the executive director of Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, about 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

SCOTUS Makes 2 Key Decisions on Indiana Abortion Laws, Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic May Shut Down This Week, Netflix Considers Georgia Production Boycott After Abortion Ban, Sen. Kamala Harris Announces Plan for Gov't Oversight of New State Abortion Laws, Rights Groups Challenge Rule Allowing Providers to Refuse Healthcare Based on Religious Belief, PA Policy Allowing Students to Choose Bathroom Remains in Place After SCOTUS Declines Challenge, Sen. McConnell Would Confirm a Trump SCOTUS Nominee in 2020, Angela Merkel Warns Against Rise of Nationalism, At Least 20 Civilians Killed in Syria as U.N. Warns of Humanitarian Crisis, 55 Prisoners Killed After Fighting Breaks Out in Brazilian Prisons, Deforestation of Amazon Up by 20% Over 9 Months, Malaysia to Send Back "Dumped" Plastic Waste to U.S. and Other Countries, House Republicans Block Disaster Relief Bill, Study: Flavored E-Cigarettes May Increase Heart Attack Risk, 940 Measles Cases Confirmed as Outbreak Reaches Over Half of U.S. States

Earlier this month, the billionaire investor Robert Smith stunned many when he offered to pay off the student loans of the 2019 graduating class at the historically black Morehouse College. The average student debt is now $32,000. Nationwide, 44 million people owe nearly $1.5 trillion. Student debt is expected to increase to $2 trillion by 2022. We speak with Ben Jealous, former national president of the NAACP, and De'Jaun Davis-Correia, a 2019 Morehouse graduate who will benefit from Smith's donation.

On the heels of Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation, the Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage came in first place in Britain's European parliamentary elections with 31% of the vote. The ruling Tory Party placed fifth. We speak with journalist Paul Mason about what the election means for the Labour Party and the future of Brexit. We also speak with David Adler, the policy coordinator for the Democracy in Europe Movement, or DiEM25.

The Green Party soared in popularity in many nations in the European parliamentary elections, placing second in Germany and making gains in Finland, France and Ireland. The next president of the European Commission will likely be Bas Eickhout of the Dutch Green Party. We speak with Luisa Neubauer, a youth climate activist and member of the German Green Party, about the party's next steps.

The European Union elections concluded over the weekend, with centrist parties losing dozens of seat while far-right and Green candidates made significant strides. In France, the far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen narrowly beat the centrist alliance led by French President Emmanuel Macron. In Italy, the far-right nationalist League party placed first, winning 34% of the vote. The party is led by Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. While right-wing euroskeptic parties slightly increased their power in the EU assembly, about 75% of voters still backed parties that support Europe. We speak with David Adler, the policy coordinator for the Democracy in Europe Movement, or DiEM25.

Missouri Gov. Signs 8-Week Abortion Ban as Federal Judge Blocks Mississippi Abortion Ban, Judge Blocks Redirecting of Federal Funds to Build Parts of Border Wall, European Parliament Elections See Greens and Far-Right Gain Ground But Pro-EU Parties Retain Majority, Trump Says Regime Change in Iran Not the Goal After Sending 1,500 More Troops to Region, Trump Dismisses North Korean Missile Tests, Welcomes Anti-Biden Comments, Saudi Airstrike in Yemen Kills 12 Civilians, Including 7 Children, Head of Citizenship & Immigration Agency Resigns as Trump Admin Purge Continues, Landmark Oklahoma Opioid Trial Against Johnson & Johnson Starts After Settlement with Teva, TSA Allows Epilepsy Drug Containing Cannabis on Flights, Trump Admin Escalates Multi-Pronged Attack on Climate Science, Tornadoes, Extreme Weather Tear Through Midwest as Heat Wave Grips Southeast, 2 Members of MOVE 9 Freed After 40 Years Behind Bars

As the Democrats consider launching impeachment inquiries, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky about what he sees as the political perils of "Russiagate."

Supporters of the Green New Deal recently staged a nationwide tour to build support for the congressional resolution to transform the U.S. economy through funding renewable energy while ending U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Democracy Now! spoke with Noam Chomsky about the Green New Deal and the lessons of the old New Deal in Boston in April.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun a record fifth term in office after narrowing defeating former military chief Benny Gantz. In a discussion with Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky talks about how President Trump directly interfered with the Israel election by repeatedly helping Netanyahu, from moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem to recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights in defiance of international law.

Attorneys for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are vowing to fight his possible extradition to the United States following his arrest in London, when British police forcibly removed Assange from the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he had taken asylum for almost seven years. In April, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke to Noam Chomsky about Assange's arrest, WikiLeaks and American power.

As President Trump pulls out of key nuclear agreements with Russia and moves to expand the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Noam Chomsky looks at how the threat of nuclear war remains one of the most pressing issues facing mankind. In a speech at the Old South Church in Boston, Chomsky also discusses the threat of climate change and the undermining of democracy across the globe.

In April, hundreds of people packed into the Old South Church in Boston to hear the world-renowned dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky speak. He looked back at the rise of fascism in the 20th century and the growing ultranationalist movements of today, from Brazil and the United States to Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Espionage Act charges filed against Julian Assange mark just the latest attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize journalism and whistleblowers. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning is back in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury. Two weeks ago, drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was arrested in Tennessee. We air a new video by The Intercept titled "Why You Should Care About Trump's War on Whistleblowers," featuring Jeremy Scahill. We also speak to Scahill and Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about how the corporate media has failed to stand up for Assange and others.

As the Justice Department charges WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act, we speak to Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. In 1971, he was charged with violating the Espionage Act for leaking a top-secret report on U.S. involvement in Vietnam to The New York Times and other publications. At the time, Ellsberg faced over 100 years in prison. He tells Democracy Now!, "There hasn't actually been such a significant attack on the freedom of the press … since my case in 1971."

In an unprecedented move, the Justice Department has indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 17 charges of violating the Espionage Act for his role in publishing U.S. classified military and diplomatic documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. The documents were leaked by U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The Espionage Act of 1917 has never been used to prosecute a journalist or media outlet. The new charges come just over a month after British police forcibly removed Assange from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he took asylum in 2012. Initially the Trump administration indicted Assange on a single count of helping Manning hack a government computer, but Assange faces up to 170 additional years in prison under the new charges—10 years for each count of violating the Espionage Act. We speak with Jennifer Robinson, an attorney for Julian Assange. "It is a grave threat to press freedom and should be cause for concern for journalists and publishers everywhere," Robinson says.

Julian Assange Indicted Under Espionage Act in "Terrifying Threat" to 1st Amendment, British Prime Minister Theresa May to Resign June 7, Trump Preparing to Circumvent Congress on Saudi, UAE Weapons Sales, Trump Grants Attorney General Sweeping Powers to Investigate Mueller Probe Origins, Trump Calls Nancy Pelosi "Crazy" After She Calls Out Trump's "Temper Tantrum", Doctored Video Showing "Drunk" Nancy Pelosi Retweeted by Trump Lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Trump Calls Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "Dumb as a Rock", Banker Accused of Bribing Paul Manafort to Win Trump Administration Post, Trump Pledges $16 Billion to Aid Farmers Harmed by U.S.-China Trade War, Trump Preparing to Name Ken Cuccinelli Immigration Czar, Family of Migrant Teen Who Died in U.S. Border Patrol Custody Demands Answers, Nicaraguan Opposition Holds General Strike to Demand Prisoner Release, New Campaign Calls on 2020 Candidates to "Put People Over the Pentagon", Sen. Bernie Sanders Proposes Tax on Wall Street Speculation, Harvey Weinstein and Accusers Reach $44 Million Deal over Sex Assault Claims, Record Number of Students Walk Out of Classes in Global Strike for the Climate

Amnesty International is calling for the United States to pay reparations to survivors of the U.S.-led military coalition attack on Raqqa. A recent investigation by Amnesty International and Airwars showed the U.S.-led coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians during the 2017 offensive to oust ISIS militants from the Syrian city. The coalition launched thousands of airstrikes and tens of thousands of artillery strikes on the city. U.S. troops fired more artillery in Raqqa than anywhere since the Vietnam War. At the time, the United States claimed it was the "most precise air campaign in history." We speak with Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA. She returned earlier this week from a research trip to Raqqa.

The State Department said Tuesday that the Syrian government may have used chemical weapons during recent fighting in Idlib. The State Department warned that the United States and its allies would respond quickly and appropriately if it is determined that chemical weapons have been used. This all comes as new questions are being raised about an alleged chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma last year. The Syrian government was accused of dropping two gas cylinders on the city, killing dozens of people. The U.S. and allies responded by carrying out airstrikes. But a newly leaked internal document from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reveals there were conflicting views within the organization as to what happened. The leaked document suggests the cylinders were "manually placed" on the ground and were not dropped from the air. We speak to journalist Brian Whitaker, former Middle East editor at The Guardian.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to enter a second term in a landslide victory. Election results show Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party leading in 325 of the 543 seats in Parliament. At this rate, these numbers will give him an even greater majority than in 2014, when his party claimed the first outright majority in decades. Most analysts had predicted Modi's BJP party would lose seats in this election. Modi's government has been criticized for a crackdown on civil society, targeting political opponents, journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and writers. Human rights groups have also raised the alarm on attacks against vulnerable populations, especially Dalits and Muslims. We speak to award-winning Indian author and journalist Siddhartha Deb.

As a growing number of House Democrats are backing the impeachment of President Trump, we speak with investigative journalist Allan Nairn. He says an impeachment inquiry should focus on "the atrocities that Trump is committing daily"—from the death of children on the border to the gutting of environmental protections.

In Indonesia, at least six people have died and hundreds have been injured after supporters of former military commander Prabowo Subianto took to the streets to protest his election defeat. The protests began after authorities announced President Joko Widodo—who is known as Jokowi—had won re-election after receiving 55% of the vote. Prabowo has refused to concede and is preparing to challenge the results. We speak to journalist Allan Nairn, who recently returned from Indonesia.

Trump Administration Says Sixth Migrant Child Died After Crossing Border, Lawmaker Says "Intentional" Trump Admin Policy Led to Child Migrant Deaths, Federal Judge Clears Path for Congressional Subpoena of Trump Financial Records, New York Lawmakers Approve Bill Granting Congress Access to Trump Tax Records, President Trump Storms Out of Meeting with Top Democrats over "Phony" Inquiries, Pentagon Planning to Deploy Ships, Missiles and 10,000 More Troops to Middle East, Indian PM Narendra Modi Headed for Second Term as Hindu Nationalists Surge, Tornadoes Tear Through Missouri, Damaging State Capitol Building, "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh Released on Parole After 17 Years, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Will Delay Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Until At Least 2026

A new investigation by The New York Times has exposed the financial schemes at the root of the New York City taxi driver crisis. While the advent of apps like Uber and Lyft contributed to a loss of income for licensed taxi drivers, the exposé finds that a taxi medallion bubble helped lay the groundwork for their economic devastation. A group of industry leaders artificially inflated the cost of taxi medallions and orchestrated a predatory lending scheme, collecting millions of dollars in the process and putting many drivers into debilitating debt. City agencies did little to curb the system, which a Harvard professor called "modern-day indentured servitude." In response to the report, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would launch an investigation into the predatory practices of taxi medallion brokers. New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced her office is also initiating an investigation. At least eight drivers have died by suicide—including three taxi medallion owners—since the start of 2018, with at least some of the drivers linking the decision to their crushing debt. We speak with investigative reporter Brian Rosenthal, who wrote the report.

Since 2012, ICE has used solitary confinement as a routine punishment for thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers locked up in immigration jails across the country. We look at a new, damning investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that has revealed this widespread abusive use of solitary confinement in immigration jails overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture says solitary confinement should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and defines extended use of solitary as "inhuman and degrading treatment." Despite this, a review of more than 8,400 reports of solitary confinement in ICE detention found that immigration officers repeatedly used isolation cells to punish gay, transgender and disabled immigrants for their identities and to target other jailed immigrants for actions like kissing consensually or hunger striking. Almost a third of the people held in solitary confinement suffered from mental illness. In at least 373 cases, immigrants were put in isolation for being potentially suicidal. In nearly 200 instances, immigrants were held in solitary confinement for more than six months. The investigation is called "Solitary Voices." We speak to one of its lead authors, Spencer Woodman.

A growing number of House Democrats are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Pelosi has called for a closed-door special caucus meeting this morning to discuss the impeachment question, which has deeply divided House Democrats. The House speaker has long opposed opening an impeachment inquiry, arguing that focusing on impeachment could hurt the chances of Democrats winning in the 2020 election. But she is facing growing pushback from other members of the House as President Trump continues to block congressional oversight efforts by refusing to hand over documents and by barring officials from testifying. On Tuesday, former White House counsel Don McGahn defied a congressional subpoena and skipped a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the request of the White House. Earlier this month, Attorney General William Barr also skipped a House Judiciary Committee hearing. We go to Capitol Hill to speak with Democratic Congressmember Al Green of Texas. In 2017, he became the first member of Congress to call for President Trump's impeachment.

Calls for Impeachment Mount Among Democrats But Party Remains Divided, Dems Subpoena Ex-WH Communications Dir. Hope Hicks After Don McGahn Skips Hearing, Ex-Sec. of State Rex Tillerson Quietly Meets with House Foreign Affairs Cmte., IRS Memo Says Only Exec. Privilege Can Stop Congress from Obtaining Tax Returns, Lawmakers Are Briefed by Trump Admin on Iran Situation, Protesters Take to the Streets Nationwide to Condemn Abortion Bans, States Sue to Stop Rule Allowing Medical Providers to Refuse Care Based on Religious Belief, Vermont Dems Approve Bill Prohibiting Gov't from Interfering with Abortion Access, CBP Halts Migrant Prisoner Intake at McAllen Ctr. After Death of Sick Guatemalan Teen, U.S. Warns Syria over Chemical Weapon Use as Leaked OPCW Report Suggests Douma Attack Was Staged, House Democrats Grill HUD Sec. Ben Carson in Tense Hearing, Senate Confirms Conservative Big Oil Defender to Lifetime Judgeship, NYC Launches Investigations into Taxi Medallion Scam, Austin Eubanks, Survivor of Columbine and Advocate for Addicts, Found Dead, Roz Payne, Activist and Founding Member of Newsreel Film Collective, Dies

It's been a year since women's right activist Loujain Al-Hathloul was detained and jailed in Saudi Arabia for leading a movement to lift the kingdom's ban on female drivers and overhaul its male "guardianship" system. Despite international outcry, she's been imprisoned ever since. During that time, her family says, she's been held in solitary confinement and faced abuse, including electric shocks, flogging and threats of sexual violence. The Saudi government has resisted calls from human rights groups and lawmakers from around the world to release Loujain and the other jailed activists. We speak with two of Loujain's siblings, Walid and Lina Al-Hathloul.

Five Guatemalan children have died after being apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol since December. We look at the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the border and its ties to decades of bloody U.S. intervention in Latin America with human rights attorney Jennifer Harbury. Her husband, Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, was a Mayan comandante and guerrilla who was disappeared after he was captured by the Guatemalan army in the 1980s. After a long campaign, she found there was U.S. involvement in the cover-up of her husband's murder and torture. "We trained them. We taught them torture techniques. We funded them, and we armed them," Harbury says of the Guatemalan military. "They're devouring the country using the same techniques of torture and the terror that they used before. Once again, everyone is roaring north." We also speak with Fernando Garcia, the founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an advocacy organization based in El Paso.

A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died in U.S. custody Monday after spending a week in immigration jail. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was found dead at a Border Patrol station at Weslaco, Texas, just one day after being diagnosed with the flu. He was not hospitalized. This marks the fifth death of a Guatemalan child apprehended by Border Patrol since December. Before last year, it had been more than a decade since a child died in the custody of U.S. immigration officials. We speak with Fernando Garcia, the founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an advocacy organization based in El Paso, and Jennifer Harbury, a longtime human rights lawyer based in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

Iran Responds to Trump Threat While U.N. Urges All Parties to De-escalate Rhetoric, Houthis Launch Drone Attack on Saudi Airport, U.N. Warns Yemen Food Aid May Be Suspended Due to Instability, Guatemalan Teen Becomes 5th Migrant Child to Die in U.S. Custody Since December, Trump Orders McGahn to Defy Congressional Subpoena, D.C. Judge Orders Accounting Firm to Hand Over Trump Financial Docs, NY Prosecutors Examining Financial Records from Trump's Inauguration, New Zealand Police Charge Christchurch Massacre Suspect with Terrorism, Defeated Prabowo Challenges Re-election of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, New Boeing Lawsuit Alleges Company Hid Design Flaws in 737 MAX Planes, San Francisco Journalist Who Was Raided by SF Police to Appear in Court, Muhlaysia Booker, a Black Transgender Woman, Is Found Dead a Month After Mob Attack, Intense Storms and Floods Hit Central U.S., Report: Climate Change-Induced Sea Level Rise Could Displace Over 180 Million, Guardian Updates Language, Replacing "Climate Change" with "Climate Crisis", EPA to Introduce New Counting Model That Downplays Projected Death Toll from Trump Coal Plan, Mayor Pete Buttigieg Blasts Fox News Stars During Fox News Town Hall, Sen. Kamala Harris Proposes Penalizing Companies with Gender Pay Gap, Gov. Inslee Rolls Out 2020 Climate Proposal, Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin, Running for Public Office in Miami

Generic drugs amount to 90% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., most of them made in plants in India and China. Generic drugs can be more affordable, but in her new explosive book "Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom," investigative journalist Katherine Eban works with two industry whistleblowers to expose how some manufacturers are cutting corners at the cost of quality and safety. This comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just issued its own update on the state of pharmaceutical quality that found the drug quality of factories in India and China scored below the world average. FDA officials say that's because more robust inspections have uncovered problems and that "the quality of the drug supply has never been higher."

Trump Threatens "Official End of Iran" Via Tweet If It Provokes the U.S., First Phase of Kushner's Middle East Peace Plan to Focus on Palestinian Economy, Sweden Requests Detention of Assange as WikiLeaks Accuses U.S. of Illegally Seizing His Property, Australian Voters Choose Conservative PM Morrison Over Opponent Who Vowed to Tackle Climate Change, Austria Calls Snap Election After Far-Right Leader Caught in Corruption Scandal, Protesters Take to the Streets Ahead of European Parliament Elections, Narendra Modi on Track for Second Term as Prime Minister as Voting Ends in India, Taiwan Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in Historic First for Asian Continent, Protesters in Alabama, Missouri Defend Reproductive Rights from Recent Abortion Bans, Trump Considering Memorial Day Pardons for War Criminals, Deutsche Bank Ignored Internal Warnings About "Suspicious" Trump & Kushner-Related Transactions, Rep. Justin Amash Becomes First Republican Congressmember to Suggest Impeachment, NYT: Industry Leaders Helped Bury NYC Taxi Drivers Under Mountains of Debt, Billionaire Robert F. Smith Will Pay Student Debt of Entire Graduating Class of Morehouse College, Boeing Admits Flight Simulators for Faulty 737 MAX Jets Did Not Adequately Prepare Pilots, Protesters Call on Whitney Museum to Remove Tear Gas Manufacturer's CEO from Board

President Trump has unveiled plans for a new, so-called “merit-based" immigration system that would prioritize "highly-skilled" and English-speaking workers, while further restricting asylum seekers and immigrants who have family living in the United States. Although no legislative details for the plan have been revealed, Trump's proposal is likely to hit a wall in Congress, where the Democratically-led House has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration over immigration policy. Trump's immigration policies have led to dire conditions for asylum seekers to the U.S. On Wednesday, a two-and-a-half year-old migrant boy died in U.S. custody, three days after he and his family were detained by Customs and Border Protection. Immigrant communities already established in the U.S. are also being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with activists claiming they have been targeted for speaking out against the Trump administration. We speak with two prominent and outspoken immigration activists who are fighting their own deportation and have been targeted for their activism: Maru Mora-Villalpando and Ravi Ragbir. Mora-Villalpando is an activist with La Resistencia and Mijente and Ragbir is executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Ragbir in a free speech case, saying the First Amendment bars ICE from targeting activists for deportation based on their political speech.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench this week, implying that Roe v. Wade — the landmark ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion — is in danger. He wrote the comments in a dissent for an unrelated case in which the court voted to overturn a 40 year-old precedent. Breyer wrote “Today’s decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the Court will overrule next.” We speak to journalist Robin Marty about what a post-Roe America would look like, and how many people are already cut off from abortion access across the country.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban into law on Wednesday, effectively banning the procedure except in cases where a pregnant person's life is at serious risk. The law does not make exceptions in cases of rape or incest and doctors could face 99 years in prison for performing abortions. We speak with Dr. Yashica Robinson, the medical director of the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, one of only three clinics left in the state that offer patients abortion services. She is one of only two abortion providers living and working in Alabama. Under the new Alabama law, she could spend the rest of her life in prison for doing her job.

Trump Immigration Plan Favors Job Skills Over Asylum Claims and Family Ties, Trump Officials Reportedly Clash Over U.S. Sabre-Rattling With Iran, UNICEF Chief Calls Yemen War "a Test of Our Humanity" That "We Are Badly Failing", Venezuelan Government Blasts U.S. Seizure of Embassy as Vienna Convention Violation, Brazilian Teachers and Students March Against Education Cuts, Mexican Journalist Francisco Romero Killed in Playa del Carmen, Lawyer Says Tennessee Prisoner "Suffered Excruciating Pain" During Execution, Alabama Prisoner Put to Death After "Pro-Life" Governor Denies Reprieve, Senate Confirms Anti-Choice Activist Wendy Vitter as a Federal Judge, NYPD Commander Called Killing of Eric Garner "Not a Big Deal", Father of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Buys $91 Million Sculpture, Trump Administration Plan to Redefine Poverty Would Cut Benefits to Millions, New York Blocks Construction of Fracked Gas Pipeline, Defiant Chelsea Manning Sent Back to Jail For Refusing to Testify About WikiLeaks

Nearly every country in the world except the United States took a historic step to curb plastic waste last week, when more than 180 nations agreed to add plastic to the Basel Convention, a treaty that regulates the movement of hazardous materials between countries. The U.S. is one of just two countries that has not ratified the 30 year-old treaty. During negotiations last week in Geneva, the Environmental Protection Agency and State Department joined the plastics industry in trying to thwart the landmark, legally-binding agreement. Despite this, the United States will still be affected by the agreement, because countries will be able to block the dumping of mixed or unrecyclable plastic wastes from other nations. The amended treaty will make it much more difficult for wealthy countries to send their plastic waste to poorer nations by prohibiting countries from exporting plastic waste that is not ready for recycling. The U.N. estimates there are 100 million tons of plastic waste in the world’s oceans. We speak with Pam Miller, co-chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network and executive director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.

U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto has been ordered to pay its highest damages yet in a massive lawsuit over the popular weedkiller Roundup. A jury ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2 billion in punitive damages to Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a couple who were both diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer after using Roundup on their properties for decades. Monsanto is owned by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer. The main ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, glyphosate, is said to cause the cancer. Attorneys estimate that there are thousands of similar cases against Roundup pending in courts around the country. Last year, a jury in California ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a school groundskeeper who developed cancer after regularly using Roundup. The 46-year-old man, Dewayne Johnson, also has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The EPA says that glyphosate is not carcinogenic, but other scientific studies and the World Health Organization have found that human exposure can in fact lead to cancer. We speak with attorney Brent Wisner, co-lead trial counsel for Alva and Alberta Pilliod.

A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad’s government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secret torture and detention program, more evidence — including internal Syrian government documents — has emerged showing the extent of the torture program. A United Nations panel has said the conditions in the prison —including the paucity of toilet facilities, rampant illness, minimal and rotten food, and the absence of medical treatment — are tantamount to "extermination." We speak with the report's author Anne Barnard. She's a reporter at _The New York Times_ and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Alabama Governor Signs Nation's Most Restrictive Anti-Choice Law, Missouri Senate Votes to Ban Most Abortions After 8 Weeks, Trump Declares National Emergency, Blacklisting Chinese Telecom Huawei, Trump Delays Plans for Tariffs on Foreign Cars and Auto Parts, Trump to Announce "Merit-Based" Immigration Plan to Limit Asylum Cases, Family Reunifications, White House Refuses House Judiciary Committee Request for Documents, U.S. Won't Join "Christchurch Call" Against Online Extremism, Six Civilians Killed in Yemen as Saudi-Led Coalition Bombs Fall on Sana'a, Sudanese Troops Fire on Pro-Democracy Protesters as Military Rulers Suspend Talks, Israeli Forces Fire on Gaza Protesters Marking Nakba Day, Trump Officials Claim Photos of Iranian Missile Boats Sparked Tensions, Top British Commander Denies U.S. Claims of Increased Threat Posed by Iran, DOT Orders a Halt to Flights Between the U.S. and Venezuela, Arctic Ocean Temperatures Soar as Nearly All Old Arctic Sea Ice Has Vanished, California Investigators Find PG&E Sparked Worst Wildfire in State History, NYC's Met and Natural History Museum Sever Sackler Family Ties Over Opioid Epidemic, Trump Pardons Media Baron Conrad Black, Who Authored Glowing Biography of Trump, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Joins 2020 Race Pledging to Fight for Working Families