Democracy Now!

A group of more than 500 cities, counties and Native American tribes have filed a lawsuit against members of the Sackler family for their role in creating "the worst drug crisis in American history" by lying about the dangers of the opioid painkiller OxyContin and deceitful marketing of the drug. The lawsuit differs from others that target drug companies, because it names eight members of the Sackler family, which founded and owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. We speak with attorney Brendan Johnson, partner with the law firm Robins Kaplan and chair of its American Indian Law and Policy Group, about the federal lawsuit he filed on behalf of three Native American tribes from the Dakotas against major opioid manufacturers and distributors. We are also joined by Stacy Bohlen, CEO of the National Indian Health Board and a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

As Oklahoma and Purdue Pharma reach a $270 million agreement in a lawsuit claiming the company knowingly helped create the opioid crisis responsible for nearly 50,000 deaths per year in the United States, we look at how the opioid crisis affects communities of color with Abdullah Shihipar, a graduate student of public health at Brown University who wrote an op-ed about his research for The New York Times headlined "The Opioid Crisis Isn't White."

The state of Oklahoma has reached a $270 million agreement with Purdue Pharma—the makers of OxyContin—settling a lawsuit that claimed the company contributed to the deaths of thousands of Oklahoma residents by downplaying the risk of opioid addiction and overstating the drug's benefits. The state says more Oklahomans have died from opioids over the last decade than have been killed in vehicle accidents. More than $100 million from the settlement will fund a new addiction treatment and research center at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa. "It's really just the first move in what is a very complicated legal chess game," says Barry Meier, author of "Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic." Meier was the first journalist to shine a national spotlight on the abuse of OxyContin. He asks, "Is this money going to be used wisely in terms of treating addiction?"

OxyContin Maker Reaches $270 Million Settlement with Oklahoma, House Fails to Override Trump Veto on National Emergency Declaration, Senate Votes Down Green New Deal as Democrats Decry "Stunt Vote", Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rose to All-Time High in 2018, U.N. Secretary-General: Cyclone Idai Latest Warning Sign on Climate, Charity Condemns Saudi-Led Airstrike on Yemen Hospital That Killed 7, Study: 17,729 Yemeni Civilians Killed or Injured by U.S.-Backed Strikes, Israeli Warplanes Strike Gaza Despite Reports of Ceasefire, Brazil's Bolsonaro to Commemorate 1964 Coup That Led to Dictatorship, Europe Approves Copyright Laws as Critics Warn of Online Censorship, Interior Nominee Killed Study on Pesticides and Endangered Species, Betsy DeVos Won't Say Whether Schools Should Ban LGBTQ Discrimination, Trump Administration to Expand "Global Gag Rule" on Abortions, Federal Judge Strikes Down NC Law Banning Abortions at 20 Weeks, Joe Biden Says He Regrets Role in Treatment of Anita Hill in 1991, Prosecutors Drop Charges Against "Empire" Actor Jussie Smollett

The father of a 6-year-old girl who was killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was found dead by apparent suicide Monday. Jeremy Richman was a neuroscientist who, after the death of his daughter Avielle, founded the Avielle Foundation to support brain science research, with the ultimate goal of preventing violence and building compassion. The news of his death came just days after two students who survived last year's shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, died by suicide. An unnamed student died Saturday, according to local authorities, and 19-year-old Sydney Aiello died last weekend. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. We speak with Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, founder and director of The Columbia Lighthouse Project. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Israel has bombed Gaza for a third day in a row and mobilized dozens of tanks, raising fears that Israel could launch another invasion. The latest Israeli airstrikes came earlier this morning, after Hamas announced it had reached an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel. Tension has been escalating for days in Gaza. On Friday, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians taking part in the weekly Great March of Return protests. Sixty-two other Palestinians were injured. On Sunday, Israeli air raids struck parts of Gaza, including a refugee camp. Then, on Monday, militants inside Gaza launched a series of homemade rockets toward Israel. One rocket hit a house north of Tel Aviv, injuring seven members of a British-Israeli family. Israel blamed Hamas for the rocket attack and retaliated by launching heavy airstrikes in Gaza City targeting the office of Hamas's political leader and the group's military intelligence headquarters. Seven Palestinians were reportedly injured in the strikes. We speak with Budour Hassan, a Palestinian writer and project coordinator for the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights, and Jehad Abusalim, scholar and policy analyst from Gaza. He runs the Gaza Unlocked campaign for the United States for the American Friends Service Committee.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington on Monday to meet with President Trump, who signed an order officially recognizing Israel's control of the Golan Heights in defiance of international law. We speak with Budour Hassan, a Palestinian writer and project coordinator for the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights, and Jehad Abusalim, scholar and policy analyst from Gaza. He runs the Gaza Unlocked campaign for the United States for the American Friends Service Committee.

Israel Continues Airstrikes in Gaza Amid Fragile Truce, U.S. Officially Recognizes Golan Heights as Israeli Territory, Trump Suggests Probes into "Traitors" in Wake of Mueller Report, Pentagon Authorizes Diversion of $1 Billion to Build Border Wall, Father of 6-Year-Old Sandy Hook Victim Dies by Suicide, Parkland Survivors Urge Senators to Pass Background Check Act, DOJ Backs Full Repeal of Affordable Care Act, Mexico: Radio Reporter Killed Amid Spate of Journalist Murders, Venezuela: New Power Outage Hits Residents Amid Political Turmoil, Suspects in College Admissions Scam Plead Not Guilty, Green New Deal Goes to Senate Floor, Dems Call Out GOP "Stunt", Michael Avenatti Charged with Extortion and Fraud, SoCal Mosque Vandalized, Graffiti Cites NZ Christchurch Massacre, Mexican President Calls on Spain, Pope to Apologize for Colonial Past

As congressional Democrats call on the Justice Department to release the full Mueller report, we speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists who have closely followed the probes into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election: Glenn Greenwald, a founding editor of The Intercept and a leading critic of the media coverage of alleged Russian collusion, and David Cay Johnston, formerly of The New York Times, now founder and editor of DCReport.org, who has written critically about Donald Trump for decades. His most recent book is "It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America."

There was no collusion. That was the key finding of special counsel Robert Mueller's long-awaited report into whether President Trump and members of his campaign conspired with the Russian government to win the 2016 election. While the full report on Mueller's 22-month investigation has not yet been made public, Attorney General William Barr sent a four-page letter to congressional leaders on Sunday laying out his interpretation of Mueller's findings. Barr wrote that the report concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 election but that "the Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts." Mueller also examined whether Trump could be criminally charged for obstructing justice, but he did not come to a definitive conclusion. Barr quoted a passage from the Mueller report saying that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." In his letter Barr - who became attorney general just last month - announced that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had concluded there is not enough sufficient evidence to “establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.”

Special Counsel Finds No Collusion btw. Trump & Russia; Dems Call for Release of Report, Cyclone Idai Death Toll Rises as Officials Warn of Health Risks, Brexit: 1 Million Take to Streets to Call for 2nd Referendum, France: Protesters Take to Streets for 19th Week Amid Gov't Clampdown, Thailand: No Clear Election Winner as Pro-Military Party Takes Lead, Gaza: Israeli Forces Kill 3 Palestinian Protesters Over Weekend, Netanyahu Cuts U.S. Trip Short After Rockets Hit Israeli Home, Somalia: At Least 15 Killed in Gun Battle at Gov't Bldg, Mali: 134 People Killed Amid Mounting Ethnic Tensions, Afghanistan: 14 Civilians Killed After Week of Attacks, SDF Announces Last Islamic State Enclave Has Been Defeated, PA: Ex-Cop Who Shot and Killed Unarmed Teen Antwon Rose Acquitted, Trump Cancels Unannounced North Korea Sanctions, 2 Survivors of Parkland Massacre Die by Suicide, Chelsea Manning Reportedly Being Held in Solitary Confinement, 500+ Cities, Counties & Tribes Sue Sackler Family over Opioid Crisis

As Nebraska and the U.S. Midwest recover from devastating climate change-fueled floods, we speak with Lakota historian Nick Estes on how two centuries of indigenous resistance created the movement proclaiming "Water is life." Estes's new book is titled "Our History Is the Future." He is a co-founder of the indigenous resistance group The Red Nation and a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.

Cyclone Idai, the worst weather disaster in the history of the Southern Hemisphere, has caused extensive flooding and left tens of thousand homeless and more than 400 dead in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Officials say the death toll is over 400, and the number is expected to rise. More than 400,000 people could be displaced in Mozambique, and the country’s president says as many as 1,000 people may have been killed there alone. The storm dropped more than two feet of rain in parts of southeastern Africa—nearly a year’s worth of rain in just a few days—an extreme weather event that climate scientists say is consistent with models of climate change. We get an update from Dipti Bhatnagar, who is usually based in Maputo, Mozambique, where she is climate justice and energy coordinator at Friends of the Earth International. She joins us now from Penang, Malaysia.

Just weeks before major elections in Israel that could determine the future of embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump declares the U.S. will recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, in defiance of international law and decades of U.S. policy. The announcement comes as he is set to host Netanyahu at the White House next week amid the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where Vice President Mike Pence will speak, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, among others. A growing number of Democrats—including at least eight presidential candidates—say they will skip the summit. We get reaction from Palestinian human rights attorney Noura Erakat, author of the new book "Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine."

Trump Tweets Support for Israeli Claim Over Occupied Golan Heights, Democratic Presidential Candidates Plan to Skip AIPAC Conference, House Oversight Chair: Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump Broke Federal Records Laws, Josh Kushner Wooed Saudi Investors Ahead of Jared's Trip to Riyadh, New Zealand Marks One Week Since Mosque Attacks with Call to Prayer, Pipe Bomber Cesar Sayoc, Who Targeted Trump Critics, Pleads Guilty, Boeing Jets That Crashed in Ethiopia, Indonesia Lacked Optional Safety Features, Iraq: 92 Dead in Mosul After Ferry Capsizes in Tigris River, China: Pesticide Plant Explosion Kills 47, Texas: Deer Park Residents Shelter in Place After Chemical Fire, Report: 70 Percent of U.S. Produce Contains Pesticide Residue, Facebook Says Passwords of Hundreds of Millions Were Exposed, EU Grants Britain a Short Extension on Brexit Plans, Wisconsin Judge Halts Lame-Duck Republican Power Grab, Joe Biden Could Open 2020 Run with Stacey Abrams as Running Mate, Billionaire Donor Michael Steinhardt Accused of Sexual Harassment, Alabama Prison Cuts Off Water to Cells of Hunger-Striking Prisoners

House Democrats are continuing to probe how President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner received a top-secret security clearance despite concerns from the CIA. The New York Times recently reported Trump ordered then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to grant Kushner the clearance despite the judgment of intelligence officials. Kushner failed to report over 100 foreign contacts on his initial application for clearance, which was denied by the FBI after a background check into his financial history and contacts with foreign investors. Kushner later revised his application three times, and was ultimately granted permanent security clearance last May. We speak with Vicky Ward, the author of a new book uncovering details about how Kushner has continued to let the financial dealings of his family impact the policy decisions he promoted overseas. In one case, this almost led to a war in the Middle East between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The book is called "Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump."

Ongoing protests are roiling Haiti, as demonstrators take to the streets to demand President Jovenel Moïse's resignation due to government corruption and mismanagement of the country's oil fund. The protests began in July, but Moïse is facing further scrutiny after five heavily armed Americans were arrested last month near Haiti's central bank in Port-au-Prince with a cache of weapons, claiming to be on a "government mission." The mercenaries were quickly sent back to the United States without facing criminal charges in Haiti, sparking outrage and mounting demands that the government explain why the men had been at the central bank in the first place. An explosive new investigation by Haiti Liberté and The Intercept has found that the mercenaries were at the central bank on a mission ordered directly by the embattled Haitian president. Their goal was to escort a presidential aide to the Haitian central bank as he transferred $80 million from the government's oil account to another account controlled by Moïse. This news comes as Haiti's Parliament has thrown out Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant in a no-confidence vote. We speak with Kim Ives, an editor of Haiti Liberté and co-author of the new joint investigation with The Intercept.

Amnesty International is accusing the United States of covering up civilian casualties in its secretive air war in Somalia targeting the militant group al-Shabab. The U.S. has carried out over 100 strikes in Somalia since 2017. For years the Pentagon has claimed no civilians were being killed in the airstrikes, but the new Amnesty report found that at least 14 civilians were killed, and eight more were injured, in just five airstrikes. The overall civilian death toll is likely to be far higher. We speak with Brian Castner, Amnesty International's senior crisis adviser on arms and military operations. He helped write Amnesty's report, titled "The Hidden US War in Somalia."

New Zealand Outlaws Military-Style Weapons After Mosque Attacks, "Major Humanitarian Emergency" After Cyclone Pounds Southeast Africa, Three U.S. States Declare Emergencies as Missouri River Swells, Judge Halts Wyoming Oil and Gas Drilling, Citing Climate Change, Radovan Karadzic Sentenced to Life in Prison over Bosnian Genocide, Trump Administration Official Under Fire for Islamophobic Comments, Trump Travel Ban Prohibits Dozens from Attending U.N. Women's Forum, Trump Claims Mueller Report Should Be Made Public, Trump Assails Husband of White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, Pentagon Watchdog to Probe Acting Defense Secretary's Ties to Boeing, Disney Completes $71 Billion Acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Kazakhstan's President Steps Down After Three Decades in Power, Morocco Begins New Round of Talks over Status of Western Sahara, Costa Rican Indigenous Land Activist Found Murdered, Guatemalan Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Anti-Corruption Campaigner, Lawsuit Charges Harvard with Profiting from Photos of Enslaved People

We look at the long history of police brutality against Latinos in Chicago. Latinos, especially immigrants, have faced police violence and killings for decades, and have a long history of fighting back against brutality through community organizing and activism. But their stories have received little news coverage. We speak with Lilia Fernández, a professor of history and Latino studies at Rutgers University and the author of "Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago." We also speak with Flint Taylor, an attorney with People's Law Office and author of "The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago."

We look at the Chicago Police Department's long history of violence against African Americans, from the murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton to the reign of torture overseen by commander Jon Burge. The brutality of the Chicago police force is laid bare in a new book by leading civil rights lawyer Flint Taylor. It's called "The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago." The book exposes decades of corruption and cover-ups in the Chicago Police Department. We speak with Flint Taylor, who has represented survivors of police brutality in Chicago for nearly half a century.

Brazil's far-right president and former Army captain Jair Bolsonaro visited President Trump at the White House for the first time on Tuesday. During the visit, Trump announced he would designate Brazil a major non-NATO ally, opening the door for Brazil to receive more U.S. military aid. Trump also suggested Brazil could even become a member of NATO. Both leaders criticized what they called the "fake news" and discussed increasing efforts to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office. We speak with Maria Luísa Mendonça, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil. She is a visiting scholar at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Trump Hosts Brazilian President Bolsonaro, Threatens New Venezuela Sanctions, SCOTUS Rules Gov't Can Detain Immigrants with Criminal Records Indefinitely, 40-Year-Old Mexican Migrant Dies in Gov't Custody, Asylum Seekers Waiting in Mexico Return to U.S. for Hearings, Report: U.S. Airstrikes Killed At Least 14 Civilians in Somalia Since 2017, At Least 10 Migrants Drown Off Libyan Coast, Israeli Forces Shoot and Kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank, Egypt Cracks Down on Online Dissent, Russia Signs New Laws Censoring State Critics, Colombia: 2 Community Leaders Killed as Violence Against Activists Mounts, Trump Nominates Former Delta Exec. to Head FAA, Reports: Lion Air Flight Nearly Went Down 1 Day Before Fatal Accident, Texas: Massive Petrochemical Fire Extinguished After Smoke Blankets Community, Warner Bros. CEO Resigns, Accused of Advancing Career of Actress He Had Affair With, West Virginia AG Sues Church Under Consumer Protection Law, Mississippi Diocese Releases List of 37 Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis Rejects Resignation of Cardinal Who Covered Up Sexual Abuse, CA Jury Finds Monsanto's Roundup Guilty of Causing Man's Cancer, Mississippi Senators Pass "Fetal Heartbeat Law", Rutgers Faculty Union Authorizes Call for Strike, NYC: Immigrant Rights Activist Who Scaled Statue of Liberty Gets 5 Years' Probation, Okwui Enwezor, Noted Curator and Promoter of African Art, Dies at 55

The Trump administration's close ties to Boeing are facing new scrutiny in the wake of deadly plane crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet. President Trump has publicly praised Boeing hundreds of times in his two years in office and participated in efforts to sell its planes, including the 737 MAX series, to countries and airlines around the world. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg praised Trump's support at a dinner last August at Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who was appointed by Trump, spent 31 years as a Boeing executive. And Trump's former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, has been nominated to the Boeing board of directors. We speak to William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. His recent piece in The Nation is titled "A Former Boeing Executive Is Now Running the Pentagon."

The Trump administration has barred International Criminal Court investigators from entering the United States. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday that the U.S. will start denying visas to members of the ICC who may be investigating alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. In September, national security adviser John Bolton threatened U.S. sanctions against ICC judges if they continued to investigate alleged war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. A 2016 ICC report accused the U.S. military of torturing at least 61 prisoners in Afghanistan during the ongoing war. The report also accused the CIA of subjecting at least 27 prisoners to torture, including rape, at CIA prison sites in Afghanistan, Poland, Romania and Lithuania. We speak with Jamil Dakwar, director of the Human Rights Program at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Burials are beginning in New Zealand as the country mourns the loss of 50 Muslim worshipers gunned down in two mosques in Christchurch by a white supremacist Friday. It was the deadliest attack in New Zealand's history. The worshipers killed in the Christchurch massacre came from around the world. Most of them were immigrants, or refugees who had come to New Zealand seeking safety. Six Pakistanis, four Jordanians, four Egyptians and at least three Bangladeshis are among the dead. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry said that six of the victims were of Palestinian origin. We speak with Eva Nisa, a lecturer in religious studies at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Her recent article for Middle East Eye is titled "New Zealand has been a home to Muslims for centuries, and will remain so."

New Zealand Mourns Victims of Mosque Terror Attack, Calls for Support of Muslims, Lawmakers to Hold Hearing on Rise of White Nationalism, HuffPost: 7 Active U.S. Military Are Members of Far-Right "Identity Evropa", Mozambique: Cyclone Idai Death Toll Could Top 1,000, Nebraska: Flooding Submerges Air Force Base, NYT: Saudi Crown Prince Approved Campaign to Silence Opponents, U.N. Condemns Israel for Use of Lethal Force on Gaza Protesters, New Brexit Vote Blocked Less Than 2 Weeks from Deadline, France to Crack Down on "Yellow Vest" Protests, Dutch Police Arrest Suspect Who Shot and Killed 3 People in Utrecht, Mexico: Journalist and Radio Host Santiago Barroso Killed by Gunmen, Venezuelan Opposition Takes Control of Diplomatic Properties in U.S., Nicaragua: Police Arrest Over 100 as Protesters Call for Release of Political Prisoners, House Judiciary Cmte Receives 10,000s of Documents in Trump Probe, Report: U.S. Gov't Operates "Secret Shelters" for Unaccompanied Migrant Youth, Sen. Warren Calls for Ending Electoral College, Ex-President Bush Attends Naturalization Ceremony, Rep. Steve King Posts Facebook Meme Imagining New Civil War, U.S. Veterans for Peace Held in Ireland After Protest at Military Base

Up to 1.4 million children around the world took part in a global climate strike on Friday to demand world leaders do more to address the dangers of climate. The mass protests were sparked by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who has skipped school every Friday to sit outside the Swedish parliament to demand leaders act on climate change. Democracy Now! was in the streets of New York City on Friday with the young activists. We speak with 18-year-old Alysa Chen, one of the organizers of the walkout at New York City's Bronx High School of Science.

President Donald Trump is refusing to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the hate-fueled New Zealand massacre that left 50 Muslim worshipers dead on Friday. Police have arrested and charged 28-year-old white supremacist Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Before the attacks, Tarrant published a manifesto in which he praised Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose" and described immigrants as "invaders." On the same day, Trump claimed there was an "invasion" occurring on the southern border, signing his first presidential veto rejecting a resolution reversing his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. We speak with Christian Picciolini, the founder of Free Radicals Project, a nonprofit helping people disengage from hate and violent extremism. He was a leading neo-Nazi skinhead and far-right extremist in the 1980s and '90s. He is the author of "White American Youth: My Descent into America's Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out." We also speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and author of "American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear."

Fifty people are dead, and millions around the globe are mourning, following the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. The terrorist attack unfolded during Friday prayer, when a lone gunman and avid white supremacist opened fire on worshipers while live-streaming the attack on Facebook. It was the deadliest shooting in the country's modern history. The youngest of the dead is 3-year-old Mucad Ibrahim. Police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist named Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Tarrant published a manifesto praising President Donald Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose." Trump has refused to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the attack. We speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and the author of "American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear." He says, "There's an underbelly of anti-Muslim animus that facilitates the emergence of the very brazen Islamophobia we see today, weaponized by people like President Trump or by terrorists on the ground in places like New Zealand who commit massacres like we saw on Friday."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has vowed to change the country's gun laws following the deadly Christchurch massacre Friday that left 50 people dead and millions around the globe mourning following the massacre. The terrorist attack unfolded at two mosques during Friday prayer, when a lone gunman and avid white supremacist opened fire on worshipers while live-streaming the attack on Facebook. It was the deadliest shooting in the country's modern history. The shooter reportedly used five guns to carry out the attack, including two semiautomatic assault weapons. We speak with Rebecca Peters, an international arms control advocate and member of the International Action Network on Small Arms. She led the campaign to reform Australia's gun laws after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, when a gunman shot dead 35 people at a cafe. After the attack, Australia cracked down on gun violence, outlawing automatic and semiautomatic rifles. More than 640,000 weapons were turned in to authorities in a nationwide buyback.

New Zealand PM to Reform Gun Laws as Death Toll from Mosque Terrorist Attack Hits 50, Trump Denies Threat of White Nationalist Terrorism, WH Chief of Staff Mulvaney: "The President Is Not a White Supremacist", Trump Issues First Veto over Nat'l Emergency Resolution, "Clear Similarities" Found Between Ethiopian Airlines & Lion Air Crashes, U.S. to Deny Visas for ICC Investigators over Afghanistan Probe, The Philippines Withdraws from ICC over Duterte Drug War Investigation, Students Take to Streets for International "Youth Climate Strike", Extreme Weather in Midwest Brings Massive Floods, Kills 2 in Nebraska, At Least 120 Killed by Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe & Mozambique, Indonesia: Flooding Kills At Least 77 in Papua, Israel: Court Bans Leader of Racist Far-Right Party, Overturns Ban on Arab Party, Denver: Immigrant Rights Activist Takes Sanctuary Again, Sues ICE, Kentucky: Judge Temporarily Blocks Draconian "Fetal Heartbeat Law", Bernie Sanders 2020 Campaign Staff Unionize, Sen. Gillibrand Launches 2020 Bid, Announces Rally at Trump Hotel

A nationwide campaign has been launched to find a blood stem cell donor for a 29-year-old journalist who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Liyna Anwar is an Indian-American producer who used to work at StoryCorps. She desperately needs a stem cell transplant, but she does not match any of her family members or the 19 million people in a national registry. Her search for a match is made more difficult because South Asians are underrepresented in the national registry. A campaign urging people of South Asian descent to donate stem cells has been launched in Anwar's name. It's called #SwabForLiyna. We speak with her brother, Dr. Abbas Anwar, and an expert on acute myelogenous leukemia, Dr. Azra Raza. We also speak with Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps.

As the fallout continues over the elite college admissions scandal that investigators nicknamed "Operation Varsity Blues," we speak with journalist Anand Giridharadas, author of "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World." His book examines how the so-called elite class of America have worked the system to maintain and consolidate power and wealth, even while claiming to help people and "change the world" through charity. On Wednesday, Giridharadas tweeted: "The college bribery scam is not a college bribery scam. It is a master class in how America—governed by a cheater, ruled by rule breakers, managed by a class that confuses its privilege for merit—functions."

In New Zealand, a white right-wing extremist killed 49 people in an attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch during Friday prayers. It is the deadliest shooting in New Zealand's history. Police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Australian man named Brenton Tarrant with the attack. The gunman live-streamed the attack and published a manifesto in which he praised President Donald Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose." We speak with human rights activist and lawyer Qasim Rashid, who recently launched a campaign to run for a seat in the Virginia state Senate. And we speak with Farid Hafez, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Salzburg, senior research fellow at The Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University and expert on Islamophobia.

49 Dead as Far-Right Shooter Opens Fire on New Zealand Mosques, President Trump Threatens Political Opponents with Violence, Connecticut Court Allows Sandy Hook Parents to Sue Gun Maker, Students Walk Out of Schools to Protest Gun Violence, Senate Rebukes Trump's Border Emergency Declaration, House Votes 420 to 0 to Make Mueller Report Public, Schoolchildren in Over 100 Countries Strike to Demand Climate Action, Swedish Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Nominated for Nobel Prize, NYC to Spend $500 Million Protecting Manhattan from Climate Change, Interior Official Hails Trump for Distracting Media from Drilling Plans, Irish Prime Minister Brings Boyfriend to Meeting with Mike Pence, Israel Bombs Gaza Strip After Two Rockets Fired Toward Tel Aviv, Tropical Cyclone Hits Mozambique, Already Hard Hit by Deadly Floods, British Lawmakers Want a "Brextension" on Plans to Leave EU, Brazil Marks First Anniversary of Marielle Franco Assassination

A staggering 2.2 million people are locked up in America's sprawling prison system, and more than half of those currently confined in state prisons have been convicted of violent crime. In order to radically reduce the prison population and transform criminal justice in this country, author and community organizer Danielle Sered argues that reformers must reckon with violent crime and come up with radically new ways to address it. She lays out a path for this transformation in her new unflinching book, "Until We Reckon." Sered has spent nearly a decade working directly with people that have committed violent acts and survivors of violence as the executive director of Common Justice, a Brooklyn-based organization that offers alternatives to incarceration for people charged with violent felonies. Her experience anchors her book as she calls for a complete overhaul of the way we've been taught to think about crime, punishment and justice. We speak with Sered about restorative justice and how incarceration perpetuates the very violence it is meant to curb.

Democratic lawmakers are continuing to push for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking out against impeachment in an interview earlier this week. Impeachment rumors have been swirling since the Democrats regained control of the House in January. Congressmember Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said last week that she will formally introduce articles of impeachment this month. We speak with John Bonifaz, an attorney and political activist specializing in constitutional law and voting rights. He is the co-founder and president of Free Speech for People, one of the organizations calling for Trump's impeachment.

Venezuelan officials say power will be largely restored in the country today after a week-long blackout across much of the country. The cause of the blackout remains in dispute. The United States blamed it on years of neglect of the Venezuelan energy system, but Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. military of launching a "cyberattack against the electrical, telecommunication and internet systems." The blackout comes amid a growing political crisis in Venezuela as U.S.-backed opposition groups attempt to topple Maduro's government. On Monday, the United States announced it was withdrawing remaining diplomatic staff from its embassy in Caracas. We speak with Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and president of Just Foreign Policy. His latest piece for The New Republic is headlined "The Reality Behind Trump's Coalition for Regime Change in Venezuela."

Trump Orders Boeing 737 MAX Planes Grounded After Fatal Crashes, Senate Votes to End U.S. Support for Saudi-Led War on Yemen, Pompeo Defends Support for Saudi Arabia Amid Reports of Torture, Senate Poised to Block Trump's National Emergency Declaration, Former Trump Campaign Chair Sentenced to 43 More Months in Prison, U.N. Warns Arctic on Pace to Warm by 5 Degrees Celsius by 2050, Spanish Investigators Link CIA to Attack on North Korean Embassy, Brazil: Two Gunmen Kill 8, Reportedly Inspired by Columbine Massacre, Nigeria: Lagos Building Collapse Kills 10 and Traps Schoolchildren, British MPs Reject "No-Deal" Brexit in Latest Blow to Theresa May, Senate Confirms Neomi Rao and Paul Matey to Federal Bench, ICE Using Vast Surveillance Database to Target Immigrants, Facebook Faces Criminal Probe for Sharing Private Data with Tech Giants, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Moratorium on Death Penalty, Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke Joins 2020 Presidential Race, Activists Demand Cancellation of Puerto Rico's $72 Billion Public Debt

Speculation is mounting that former Vice President Joe Biden will soon enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. As a longtime senator from Delaware, Biden has previously run twice for the Democratic nomination. The last time was in 2008, when he ultimately became then-Senator Barack Obama's running mate. While a new campaign would seek to capitalize on Biden's two terms as vice president, it would also invite scrutiny of his Senate record in a Democratic political climate that is notably more progressive today than it was when Biden last sought the nomination. We speak with Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor for Harper's magazine. His latest piece is headlined "No Joe! Joe Biden's disastrous legislative legacy."

Operation Varsity Blues. That's the name of a sweeping federal probe into what the Justice Department calls the biggest college admissions scam the agency has ever uncovered. On Tuesday, 50 people, including 13 college coaches, were arrested for taking part in a scheme where wealthy parents paid exorbitant bribes to secure spots for their unqualified children in elite schools, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, UCLA, USC and Wake Forest. Prosecutors have charged 33 parents, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin; Loughlin's husband, the fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli; and Bill McGlashan, a founder of TPG Capital, one of the largest private equity investment firms in the world. We speak with Ivory Toldson, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University and president of Quality Education for Minorities. His new book is titled "No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear About Black People."

Calls are growing for the United States to ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes in the wake of a devastating plane crash in Ethiopia Sunday that left 157 people dead. It is the aircraft model's second fatal crash in the past five months. An Indonesian flight of the same plane type crashed last October, killing 189 people. In response, two-thirds of the 737 MAX 8s have been pulled from service. At least 41 countries across the globe, from China to Turkey to India, have grounded their fleets of the aircraft until a thorough safety review is conducted. Despite international outcry, the United States and Canada are continuing business as usual. We speak with Ralph Nader, longtime consumer advocate, corporate critic and former presidential candidate. His great-niece, Samya Stumo, died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Nader wrote an open letter to Boeing titled "Passengers First, Ground the 737 MAX 8 Now!" And we speak with William McGee, aviation journalist for Consumer Reports. He is the author of "Attention All Passengers: The Airlines' Dangerous Descent."

Prosecutors Charge Actors, CEOs, Coaches in College Bribery Scandal, More Boeing Planes Grounded as Details of Technical Problems Emerge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Announces Death Penalty Moratorium, Dems Seek to Expand Immigration Protections with Dream and Promise Act, Brazil: 2 Ex-Police Officers Arrested over Murder of Marielle Franco, U.S. Withdraws Diplomatic Staff from Venezuela as Blackout Continues, U.K.: Lawmakers Reject New Brexit Deal as Deadline Looms, Cardinal Pell Sentenced to 6 Years for Sexually Abusing Boys, Israeli Forces Shoot and Kill 2 Palestinian Men in West Bank, U.N.: At Least 535 Killed in December Attacks in Western DRC, Negotiators: Progress Made But No Deal After Afghan Peace Talks, Study: Pollution Disproportionately Affects Minorities But Caused by White People, Local Sheriffs Create "2nd Amendment Sanctuaries," Defying Gun Control, Dems Grill Wells Fargo CEO over Abusive Practices, DAPL, Private Prisons

Students and faculty are fighting to save Hampshire College from unprecedented financial crisis and potential collapse, following a series of devastating cuts and administrative decisions. In January, Hampshire College President Miriam Nelson announced the board of trustees and senior administrators would seek to merge the school with a "strategic partner." The announcement was followed by staff layoffs in the school's development and admissions offices, and news that the school would not be admitting a full class in the fall. We host a discussion with Hampshire professor Margaret Cerullo; Hampshire senior Desta Cantave, who is also a member of Hampshire Rise Up; and Hampshire College trustee William Null.

Protests in Sacramento continue more than a week after the county's district attorney announced the two police officers who shot and killed 22-year-old, unarmed African American Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard last year will not face criminal charges. Since the news broke, organizers have joined walkouts at local colleges and high schools, demonstrations at the City Council, an ongoing occupation of a Sacramento police station, a die-in at UC Davis and a protest in one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods that led to 84 arrests. This marks the 34th consecutive police shooting review in which Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert found that the officers acted legally, according to The Sacramento Bee. We speak with Berry Accius, founder of Voice of the Youth and a Sacramento community activist.

President Trump is seeking $8.6 billion to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and an almost 5 percent increase in military spending. Meanwhile, Trump is calling for drastic cuts to domestic spending, including cutting $845 billion from Medicare spending over the next decade. Trump also wants to slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 31 percent and the Interior Department's budget by 14 percent. We speak with David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, and founder and editor of DCReport.org.

The New York Times is reporting New York Attorney General Letitia James issued subpoenas late Monday to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records related to the Trump Organization. This comes just weeks after Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified before Congress that Trump had inflated his assets in financial statements. New York state regulators subpoenaed the Trump Organization's insurance broker, Aon, after Cohen's testimony. The House Judiciary Committee also recently requested documents from 81 people and groups in Trump's inner circle. We speak with David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, and founder and editor of DCReport.org. His most recent book is titled "It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America."

2020 Budget Boosts Border Wall & Military Funding, Slashes Domestic Programs, NY AG Probe Targets Deutsche Bank's Ties to Trump Org., Rep. Pelosi: Trump "Not Worth" Impeaching, Algerian Pres. Bouteflika Will Not Seek 5th Term, Delays Election, U.N.: 2018 Deadliest Year for Syrian Children, U.N.: Airstrikes in Yemen Kill 22 Women and Children, Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sotoudeh Sentenced to 38 Years, Colombia: Indigenous Activist Killed Amid Mounting Violence, Food Stamps Cut for 1.4 Million Puerto Ricans, Fox News' Tucker Carlson Calls Iraqis "Semiliterate Primitive Monkeys" in Surfaced Recording, Increasing Bans on Boeing 737 MAX 8 Flights After Ethiopian Airlines Disaster, Facebook Temporarily Takes Down Warren Campaign Ads Critical of Facebook, 2020 DNC Will Be Held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Olympic Athlete and Stanford Student Kelly Catlin Dies by Suicide

An investigation by The New York Times has found that several trucks carrying so-called humanitarian aid that were set ablaze during a showdown at the Colombia-Venezuela border last month were not caused by President Nicolás Maduro's forces, as was widely reported at the time by the media and Trump administration officials. We speak with Glenn Greenwald, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the founding editors of The Intercept. His latest piece is "NYT's Exposé on the Lies About Burning Aid Trucks in Venezuela Shows How U.S. Government and Media Spread Pro-War Propaganda."