Democracy Now!

Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed into law Tuesday a six-week abortion ban, or so-called "fetal heartbeat law” that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens just six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women realize they’re pregnant. It is now one of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws. “It doesn't just make abortion illegal,” says Cecile Richards, former head of Planned Parenthood. “It basically would allow women to be convicted and either sentenced to death or to life imprisonment in Georgia." She notes the real medical crisis for women in Georgia and nationwide is maternal mortality.

As the 2020 primary and general election season heats up, we speak with former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards about Supermajority, the new political action group she helped launch that aims to train a new generation of women activists to take on grassroots campaigns and electoral politics. "Women are the majority of voters ... the volunteers, we’re increasingly the donors, increasingly the candidates, and it’s time for political equity,” says Richards. “We want to build a multi-racial, intergenerational movement to increase women's power.” Supermajority was co-founded by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Ai-jen Poo, the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Richards says since their launch a week ago, more than 80,000 people have signed up, and adds: “There's a real need and interest in the country.”

We look at a major exposé from _The New York Times_, which obtained tax information on Donald Trump that shows his businesses lost $1.17 billion from 1985 to 1994. While Trump continues to refuse to release his tax returns, printouts from his official IRS tax transcripts for a 10 year period ending in 1994 show that in multiple years during that stretch, Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual taxpayer in the country and paid no federal income taxes for eight of the 10 years. “Almost every two cents of every dollar reported as losses one year, by everyone in the United States, were recorded by Donald Trump,” notes our guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, an investigative reporter previously with the _Times_, now founder and editor of "DC Report.org.":https://www.dcreport.org/. He has been reporting on Donald Trump since the 1980s and his new piece for the _Daily Beast_ is headlined "Trump’s Tax Leak Hints at Potential Fraud Investigations."

Iran to Suspend Part of Nuclear Deal Citing U.S. Sanctions, Pompeo Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq As U.S.-Iran Tensions Mount, UN Rapporteur Slams U.S. For Using Sanctions to Precipitate Humanitarian Disasters, 1 Dead, 8 Injured in Colorado School Shooting Near Columbine, NYT: Trump's Tax Records Show He Lost Over $1 Billion Between 1985 and 1994, House Prepares to Hold Barr in Contempt as Justice Dept. Advises Trump to Invoke Executive Privilege, Georgia Enacts One of Nation's Most Restrictive Abortion Bans, Uber & Lyft Drivers Strike Ahead of Uber's Wall Street Debut, Tens of Thousands of Teachers in Oregon to Walk Out of Classes, Sandra Bland's Family Calls For Probe of Her Death to be Reopened After Cell Phone Footage is Aired, Pamela Anderson Visits Julian Assange in London Prison as He Fights Possible Extradition to U.S., Trump Pardons Soldier Who Murdered Naked Unarmed Iraqi Prisoner

Civil rights groups are decrying what they say is a new poll tax after the Florida Senate passed a bill Friday that would require formerly incarcerated people with felony convictions to repay all fines and fees to courts before their voting rights are restored. This comes six months after voters in Florida approved a measure to restore voting rights to 1.4 million people with nonviolent felonies who have fully completed their sentences, overturning a Jim Crow-era law aimed at keeping African Americans from voting. Nearly 65 percent of voters approved the constitutional amendment to re-enfranchise people with former felony convictions in November. It was hailed as the biggest win for voting rights in decades, with the potential to sway the 2020 election and beyond. But the Florida legislature's vote threatens to keep tens of thousands from the ballot boxes. We speak with Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and chairman of Floridians for a Fair Democracy. He spearheaded Amendment Four, which has re-enfranchised 1.4 million Floridians, including himself.

As the United Nations accuses the Chinese government of setting up massive camps in the far-west Xinjiang province to imprison an unknown number of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims, Human Rights Watch reports that China is carrying out mass surveillance there using a mobile app that lets authorities monitor the Muslim population. We speak with investigative reporter Lee Fang about an unexpected investor in Chinese surveillance: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son. And we speak with Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson.

China's top trade negotiator is traveling to Washington this week as tension over trade intensifies between the two nations. President Trump is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Chinese imports after the U.S. accused China of backtracking on trade commitments. Talks are expected to resume on Thursday, but the Trump administration is facing criticism for refusing to address China’s human rights record as part of the negotiations. The United Nations and a number of human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of setting up massive camps in the far-west Xinjiang province to hold an unknown number of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims. Estimates of the population of the camps range from hundreds of thousands to more than a million. China says the camps have been built as re-education and training centers and are needed to combat extremism in the region. The New York Times reports the Trump administration has shelved proposed targeted sanctions over the mass detentions out of fear it could derail a potential trade deal. Last week, Human Rights Watch revealed new details about how China is carrying out mass surveillance in Xinjiang in part thanks to a mobile app that lets authorities monitor the Muslim population. We speak with Human Rights Watch's China director Sophie Richardson and Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur-American activist and founder of Campaign for Uyghurs.

Iran is accusing the United States of "psychological warfare" after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region. In a statement on Sunday night, Bolton said the move was intended to "send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attacks on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force." On Monday acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the deployment was made because of a "credible threat by Iranian regime forces" but he offered no details. Axios is reporting the threat is based on information passed on from Israel. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure against Iran following Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal last year. Last month, the U.S. designated Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The Trump administration also said it will end a waiver program that allowed some nations to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue buying Iranian oil without suffering penalties. We speak with Trita Parsi in Washington, D.C., author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy." He is the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council, and an adjunct associate professor in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.

Reuters Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo Released from Burmese Prison, 500+ Ex-Prosecutors: Trump Would Be Charged with Obstruction If He Weren't President, House Dems to Vote on Holding AG Barr in Contempt Over Mueller Report, Treasury Misses Deadline To Hand Over Trump's Tax Returns, Russia Warns Against Military Intervention in Venezuela, Pompeo: Reduction of Arctic Sea Ice Opens Up "Opportunities for Trade", Turkey Scraps Istanbul Election Results After Ruling AKP Candidate Loses, Syria: Air Raids Destroy Hospitals, Kill at Least 17 Civilians, Panama Elects Centrist Laurentino Cortizo in Close Presidential Race, Report: Military Sexual Violence Up Nearly 40% in 2018, NOLA's Oldest Paper Times-Picayune Sold to Rival Outlet, Fires Staff, New NRA Head Attacks Rep. McBath: She Won For Being a "Minority Female", Senator and 2020 Candidate Cory Booker Unveils New Gun Control Plan

The House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump’s inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest actions placing Erik Prince in the spotlight after more than a decade of largely working in the shadows after Blackwater shut down. In a major new report, The Intercept looks at Prince’s latest actions, including his pitch to privatize the war in Afghanistan; his creation of a mercenary army for the United Arab Emirates; a history of mismanaged projects that have soured his relationships with leaders around the world; and his comeback, made possible with the help of the Trump administration. We speak with Matthew Cole, the investigative journalist who wrote the story. It's titled “The Complete Mercenary: How Erik Prince Used the Rise of Trump to Make an Improbable Comeback.”

Leaders in Israel and Gaza have reportedly reached a ceasefire agreement after an intense three days of fighting left 25 Palestinians and four Israelis dead. Palestinian authorities said the dead in Gaza included two pregnant women, a 14-month-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. The latest round of violence began on Friday. According to the Washington Post, Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian protesters taking part in the weekly Great March of Return which began 13 months ago. Palestinians then reportedly shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers near the border. In response, Israel carried out an airstrike on a refugee camp killing two Palestinian militants. The heaviest combat took place on Saturday and Sunday as militants in Gaza fired about 700 rockets into Israel while Israel launched airstrikes on over 350 targets inside Gaza. The weekend has been described as the heaviest combat in the region since the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza. Residents in Gaza fear the ceasefire will not last. We go to Gaza City to speak with Raji Sourani, award-winning human rights lawyer and the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. We also speak with Jehad Abusalim, a scholar and policy analyst from Gaza who works for the American Friends Service Committee's Gaza Unlocked Campaign.

Gaza: Ceasefire Reached After Intense Fighting Kills 25 Palestinians and 4 Israelis, U.N. Report: 1 Million Species at Risk of Extinction, Trump Nominates Obama-Era Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan to Head ICE, Ex-WH Chief of Staff John Kelly Joins Board of U.S.'s Largest Jailer of Migrant Children, John Bolton: U.S. Deploying Warships to Send "Message" to Iran, North Korea Tests Missiles As Trump Admin Affirms Nuclear Deal Still on Track, U.N. Warns 40% of North Koreans in Need of Food Assistance, Colombia: Renowned Activist Francia Márquez Escapes Attack by Gunmen, Afghanistan: Taliban Raid Security HQ, Killing 13, Brunei Extends Death Penalty Moratorium After Global Outrage, Trump Ratchets up Tariff Threats Against China as Trade Talks Set to Resume, Boeing Aware of Sensor Problems Prior to Fatal 737 MAX 8 Crashes, Trump Says Mueller Should Not Testify to Congress as Deadline for Full Report Expires, Minneapolis Settles Lawsuit Over Killing of Unarmed Australian Woman, Judge Rules Lawsuit Opposing Muslim Ban Can Proceed, Texas: Transgender Migrants Win Asylum Case, Pro-Palestinian UMass Panel Attracts 2,000 After Lawsuit Fails to Halt Event

It was 100 years ago today that the late folk singer and activist Pete Seeger was born. In 2004, Seeger came into our Firehouse studio for an in-depth interview. We play an excerpt to mark his centennial celebration, in which he recalls how he learned about the classic civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," that he helped to popularize. Watch the "full interview":https://www.democracynow.org/2006/7/3/we_shall_overcome_an_hour_with and our "full archive of interviews":https://www.democracynow.org/appearances/pete_seeger with Seeger.

We speak with two award-winning teachers who are trying to teach Trump a lesson. On Monday, Jessica Dueñas, the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, and Kelly Holstine, the 2018 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, boycotted a White House ceremony honoring them and other state winners of the award in protest of the Trump administration's education policies. But Dueñas and Holstine skipped the event to register their opposition to Trump's policies on immigration, education and LGBTQ rights, saying many of the White House policies directly impact their immigrant and refugee students.

After a judge ruled a panel can move forward Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on "Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights," we speak with one of the event's scheduled participants: Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, one of the most popular rock bands of all time. He says he welcomes the lawsuit that challenged the event, because "what it does is it serves to shine a light on the predicament of the Palestinian people."

"Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights." That's the title of an event set to take place Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After three anonymous UMass students filed a lawsuit to stop the event, a judge ruled Thursday the event can proceed, saying, "There's nothing that comes even close to a threat of harm or incitement to violence or lawlessness." We get an update from Sut Jhally, event organizer and professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts, and Rachel Weber, attorney and member Jewish Voice for Peace, Western Massachusetts chapter.

Pelosi Accuses Barr of Lying to Congress over Mueller Report, Rep. Nadler Threatens to Hold Barr in Contempt, Over a Million Evacuate as Cyclone Slams Northeastern India, Venezuela Court Orders Arrest of Opposition Leader Leopoldo López, Two Activists Arrested Outside Venezuelan Embassy in D.C., EU Threatens to Sue U.S. over New Restrictions on Cuba, Senate Fails to Overturn Trump Veto on Yemen War, Assange to Fight Extradition to the United States, Pentagon Accused of Killing 10x as Many Civilians Overseas as Acknowledged in New Report, Report: U.S. Military Spending Is Higher Than Next Eight Countries Combined, High Levels of Economic & Housing Insecurity in U.S. Detailed in New Reports, Facebook Bans Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and Others for Engaging in "Violence and Hate", Trump Drops Plans to Nominate Stephen Moore to Fed, Trump Admin Rolls Back Safety Regulations for Offshore Drilling, Pharmaceutical CEO Convicted for Bribing Doctors to Prescribe Fentanyl, Baltimore Mayor Resigns Amid FBI and IRS Probes into Controversial Book Sales, Hundreds of Thousands Protest in Sudan Calling for Civilian Rule, 10-Month-Old Honduran Infant Dies After Raft Capsizes in Rio Grande, Florida Moves to Withhold Voting Rights for Felons Until All Old Fines Are Paid, Maine Makes History by Banning Styrofoam, Scientologist Cruise Ship Sets Sail After Quarantine over Measles Case on Board, Immigrant Rights Activists Maru Mora-Villalpando Vows to Continue Resisting Despite Deportation Order

On Wednesday, the House of Commons became the first parliament in the world to declare a climate emergency. The resolution came on the heels of the recent Extinction Rebellion mass uprising that shut down Central London last month in a series of direct actions. Activists closed bridges, occupied public landmarks and even superglued themselves to buildings, sidewalks and trains to demand urgent action to combat climate change. Police arrested more than 1,000 protesters. Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn told Parliament, "We are witnessing an unprecedented upsurge of climate activism, with groups like Extinction Rebellion forcing the politicians in this building to listen. For all the dismissive and defensive column inches the processes have provoked, they are a massive and, I believe, very necessary wake-up call. Today we have the opportunity to say, 'We hear you.'" We speak with George Monbiot, British journalist, author and columnist with The Guardian. His recent piece for The Guardian is headlined "Only rebellion will prevent an ecological apocalypse." Monbiot says capitalism "is like a gun pointed at the heart of the planet. ... It will essentially, necessarily destroy our life support systems. Among those characteristics is the drive for perpetual economic growth on a finite planet."

Competing pro- and anti-government rallies were held Wednesday as President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of backing Tuesday’s failed coup led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Speaking to a massive crowd of supporters outside the presidential palace of Miraflores, Maduro said the United States had been tricked into believing that several top Venezuelan officials were ready to break with his government. In Washington, the National Security Council held a principals’ meeting on Wednesday to discuss Venezuela. The Washington Post reports the staff of national security adviser John Bolton clashed with a top general during the meeting for not presenting sufficient military options on Venezuela. This came as acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan canceled a planned overseas trip to focus on Venezuela. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to urge an end to Russian involvement in Venezuela. Lavrov reportedly responded by warning the United States should not take any more "aggressive steps" in Venezuela. We go to Caracas for a debate between Venezuelan Vice-Minister of Foreign Relations for North America Carlos Ron and Edgardo Lander, a Venezuelan sociologist who is part of the Citizen's Platform in Defense of the Constitution.

Attorney General Barr Grilled by Senate Judiciary over Mueller Report, Trump Administration Says It May Go to War to Oust Venezuelan President, Hundreds Arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Paris, France, at May Day Rallies, Haitians Mark May Day with Calls for Living Wages, Ouster of President Moïse, Honduras Cancels Education and Healthcare Privatization Plans Amid Protests, Puerto Rico May Day Protesters Demand End to Austerity Measures, 10,000 South Carolina Teachers Rally for Union Rights and Livable Wages, New York Domestic Workers Join Protest at the Trump Building on Wall Street, 16-Year-Old Guatemalan Immigrant Dies in U.S. Custody, House Holds First Congressional Hearing on Equal Rights Amendment in 35 Years, Alabama House Advances Nation's Most Restrictive Abortion Ban, 100 Million in India and Bangladesh in Path of Worst Indian Ocean Cyclone in Five Years, In Historic First, U.K. Parliament Declares a Climate Emergency

Congress held a historic hearing on Medicare for all on Tuesday, opening with an emotional testimony from activist and lawyer Ady Barkan, who is dying of terminal ALS. We speak to Representative Ilhan Omar about yesterday's hearing and her support for overhauling the country's healthcare system in favor of Medicare for all. We also talk to her about ongoing efforts to impeach President Donald Trump, which she says she supports.

African-American women leaders gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday in defense of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim congresswomen in history and the first member of Congress to wear a hijab. Omar has been the target of numerous right-wing attacks since taking office, including by President Donald Trump himself. Omar says death threats against her have spiked in number since President Trump tweeted a video juxtaposing her image with footage of the 9/11 attacks. Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, civil rights icon Angela Davis and others addressed the crowd Tuesday to urge Congress to censure President Trump—to whom they referred simply as the "occupant of the White House"—for his attacks on Omar and to send a message to both political parties: "Hands off Ilhan Omar!"

Amid an ongoing coup attempt in Venezuela, we speak with Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who questioned U.S. special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams on Capitol Hill in February about his record. Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was linked to the 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela that tried to topple Hugo Chávez. In the 1980s, Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people. Ríos Montt was later convicted of genocide. Rep. Ilhan Omar says that there is a direct correlation between this type of detrimental U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and "the kind of mass migration that we're noticing right now from Central America and South America to the U.S."

More than 40,000 people have died in Venezuela since 2017 as a result of U.S. sanctions, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research co-authored by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot. The report examines how U.S. sanctions have reduced the availability of food and medicine in Venezuela and increased disease and mortality. We speak with Jeffrey Sachs in our New York studio. In the report, he writes, "American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela's economy and thereby lead to regime change. It's a fruitless, heartless, illegal, and failed policy, causing grave harm to the Venezuelan people."

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is claiming to have defeated a coup attempt launched by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly. On Tuesday morning, Guaidó appeared in an online video standing among heavily armed soldiers, calling for the military to back what he called the "final phase" of an effort to topple Maduro's government. Guiadó appeared alongside Leopoldo López, a longtime opposition leader, who was reportedly released from house arrest by renegade officers. Guaidó has been attempting to topple the Venezuelan government since January, when he declared himself to be Venezuela's interim president. The Trump administration, as well as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and others, openly supported the coup attempt. Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox Business that military action in Venezuela is possible, "if that’s what is required." We speak to Miguel Tinker Salas, Venezuelan historian and professor at Pomona College.

Venezuelan President Says U.S.-Backed Coup Attempt Has Been Defeated, Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks in British Jail as U.S. Presses Extradition, Robert Mueller Sent Letter to Complain About AG William Barr's Summary of Report, Ady Barkan, Activist Dying of ALS, Testifies to Congress in Favor of Medicare for All, 2 Killed, 4 Injured as Gunman Opens Fire at University of North Carolina, Minnesota Cop Guilty of Murder, Manslaughter in Killing of Australian Woman, Prominent Black Women Rally on Capitol Hill in Defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democratic Leaders Agree With Trump to Pursue $2 Trillion Infrastructure Deal, Protesters Pushing Sen. Schumer to Support Green New Deal Arrested in New York

Funeral services were held Monday in San Diego, California, for Lori Kaye, a 60-year-old Jewish congregant who was shot dead Saturday in the latest attack by a white supremacist on a house of worship. To talk about the rise of white supremacist violence and the Trump administration's response, we speak to Daryl Johnson, a former senior analyst in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2009, Johnson authored a report warning about the increasing dangers of violent right-wing extremism in the United States, sparking a political firestorm in the process. Under pressure from Republican lawmakers and popular talk show hosts, DHS ultimately repudiated Johnson’s paper.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó says a coup is underway in Caracas. Guaidó appeared this morning, in a video posted online, standing among heavily armed soldiers, proclaiming he is "starting the final phase of Operation Liberty." He appeared alongside formerly jailed opposition leader Leopoldo López, who said he'd been freed from house arrest by military officers loyal to the opposition. Venezuela's defense minister said the government of Nicolás Maduro remains in control and that military units reported "normality" at barracks and bases across Venezuela. We speak to attorney Eva Golinger, who who served as an adviser to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

In February, Angela Davis returned to her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She originally planned the visit to receive the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, but the institute withdrew the award in January, soon after the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center sent a letter urging the board to reconsider honoring Davis due to her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Israeli government and Israeli institutions. Facing swift and widespread outcry, the institute then reversed its decision and reinstated the award. While Angela Davis has yet to accept the award, she tells Democracy Now! she would like to accept it, but says it is not an individual decision to make. "I will take the leadership from those doing the on-the-ground work."

Two of the founders of Black Lives Matter, as well as professor Angela Davis and scores of other black women, are holding a rally today on Capitol Hill to defend Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and to urge Congress to censure President Trump for his attacks on her. Omar made history earlier this year when she and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan became the first Muslim women in Congress. She is also the first member of Congress to wear a hijab. Omar, who was born in Somalia and came to the United States as a refugee, has been at the center of numerous right-wing attacks since taking office. Omar recently said death threats against her have spiked in number since President Trump tweeted a video juxtaposing her image with footage of the 9/11 attacks. We speak to the academic and activist Angela Davis, as well as Barbara Ransby, historian, author, activist adviser to the Movement for Black Lives and one of the planners behind Black Women in Defense of Ilhan Omar.

Venezuelan Opposition Leaders Claim a Coup Is Underway, Trump to Make Asylum Seekers Pay Application Fees, Trump Organization Sues Banks in Bid to Resist Congressional Subpoenas, Pentagon Links More U.S. Military Members to Neo-Nazi Group, Christchurch, NZ Police Find Explosive Device Amid Fears of More Anti-Muslim Violence, Terror Suspect Arrested After Receiving Fake Explosives from FBI Informant, Lori Gilbert-Kaye, Killed in Synagogue Shooting, Mourned at San Diego Funeral, Trump to Designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Who Oversaw Mueller Probe, Steps Down, ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Appears in Video for First Time in Five Years, Death Toll Rises from Mozambique's Worst-Ever Cyclone, Moroccan Authorities Attack Western Saharan Activists Ahead of U.N. Vote, Families of 737 Crash Victims Protest as Boeing Shareholders Meet in Chicago, Tennessee Governor Leads Anti-Union "Captive Audience" Meeting at VW Plant, John Singleton, Who Directed "Boyz n the Hood" and "Rosewood," Dies at 51

Robert Caro is always working. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner published his first book, "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York," 45 years ago and has spent the decades since meticulously chronicling the life and times of Lyndon B. Johnson. The result is four sweeping volumes that total more than 3,000 pages and offer an unprecedented window into the inner world of one of the country's most influential presidents. And he's not done yet—Caro is currently writing the fifth and final installment of the collection. Robert Caro has been described as "the greatest political biographer of our times," but to reduce his work as simply biographies of great men misses the point. Caro uses both Moses and Johnson to show how political power works. Robert Caro has just released a new book—by far the smallest volume in his collection—titled "Working." It offers an inside look into the author's meticulous research and writing process. We speak with Robert Caro in our New York studio.

White Nationalist Gunman Opens Fire on San Diego Synagogue, Killing 60-Year-Old Lori Kaye, Trump Admin Disbanded Domestic Terror Unit Amid Rising Far-Right Violence, One Dead, Seven Wounded as Gunman Fires Indiscriminately at Baltimore Crowd, At NRA Convention, Trump Ends Ratification Process for Arms Treaty, Oliver North, Who Illegally Funneled Weapons to Contras, Resigns as NRA President, Trump Praises Robert E. Lee as "One of the Great Generals", Spanish Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez Wins Election as Far-Right Vox Party Makes Gains, Mozambique Battered by Cyclone Kenneth, the Strongest Storm in Its History, U.K. Labour Leader Corbyn to Call for National Emergency Vote on Climate Change, Pipeline Protester in West Virginia Faces Terrorism Charge for Civil Disobedience, Sri Lanka Bans Face Coverings Following Easter Attacks, Alarming Muslim Leaders, Thousands in Hong Kong Protest Proposal to Allow Extradition to China for Trial, Kansas Supreme Court Rules That Abortion Is Protected by State Constitution, Prominent Women's Rights Activists Launch New Political Action Group, Pentagon Plan Would Expand Role for Military on U.S.-Mexico Border, Judge and Court Officer Charged for Helping Undocumented Immigrant Evade ICE, Over 1,000 Quarantined at Los Angeles Colleges Amid Measles Outbreak

The award-winning Filipina journalist Maria Ressa has been arrested twice in recent months by the Philippines government as President Rodrigo Duterte cracks down on critics and the media. In February, she was detained in a cyber libel case that's widely seen as politically motivated. She was arrested again in late March for allegedly violating a ban on foreign media ownership. Duterte has long attempted to shut down Rappler, which has published groundbreaking work on Duterte's deadly war on drugs that has killed thousands. Duterte has repeatedly described the site as fake news outlet. We speak with Maria Ressa, the founder of the independent news site Rappler and a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Abortion rights are under threat across the United States, with 28 states currently considering legislation to ban or restrict abortion in various ways. Among the slew of strategies are trigger bans, to make abortion completely illegal in a state should Roe v. Wade be overturned, and six-week abortion bans. Earlier this month, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law a six-week abortion ban, which bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens before many women realize they're pregnant. The bill does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. A similar law is set to take effect in Mississippi in July, while judges have blocked similar bills from going into effect in Kentucky and Iowa. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is expected to sign his state's abortion ban in the coming weeks. While over two-thirds of Americans are pro-choice, anti-choice activists have the edge in state governments, with Republicans controlling roughly two-thirds of statehouses and 27 of the country's 50 governorships. We speak with the president of Planned Parenthood, Dr. Leana Wen.

A second federal judge has blocked a gag rule that would have stripped federal funding known as Title X for Planned Parenthood and other clinics that refer patients for abortions or even mention abortion as an option. The judge's ruling halts the rule, which was announced by President Trump in February and was scheduled to go into effect on May 3. Washington state Federal Judge Stanley Bastian ruled against the changes to Title X funding Thursday, saying they would require clinics "to face a Hobson's choice that harms patients as well as the providers." This came two days after an Oregon judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the gag order from going into effect, calling the rule a "ham-fisted approach to public health policy." Title X covers non-abortion services like STD prevention, cancer screenings and contraception, and provides over $280 million in funding for 4 million mostly low-income women every year. We speak with the president of Planned Parenthood, Dr. Leana Wen. She says the gag rule would force doctors "to compromise the oath that we took to serve our patients."

The Trump administration is under fire after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to end rape as a weapon of war on Tuesday that excluded any mention of sexual and reproductive health. The resolution was gutted after the U.S. threatened to veto the measure altogether unless language referencing reproductive health was taken out due to the Trump administration's belief that the language was code for abortion. The watered-down measure also weakened references to the International Criminal Court, making it harder for women and girls to seek justice. We speak with Jessica Neuwirth, director of the Human Rights Program at Roosevelt House at Hunter College and the director of the Sisterhood Is Global Institute. She sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo protesting the U.S. stance on the Security Council resolution. We also speak with Planned Parenthood President Dr. Leana Wen.

Sri Lanka Lowers Death Toll from Easter Attacks; Top Officials Resign over Intelligence Failures, Anita Hill: I Am Not Satisfied by Biden's Apology over Handling of Clarence Thomas Allegations, As Comcast Lobbyist Hosts Biden's First Fundraiser, Campaign Boasts of Support from "Top 1%", Biden Hires Ex-Bernie Sanders Staffer as Senior Adviser, Hundreds of Thousands Protest in Sudan Demanding Civilian Rule, North Korea's Kim Jong-un Accuses U.S. of Acting in Bad Faith in Nuke Talks, In Response to Yellow Vest Protests, Macron Vows to Cut Taxes, Tells Nation It Must Work Harder, Report: U.S. Sanctions Have Killed 40,000 in Venezuela Since 2017, Second Judge Blocks Trump's Title X "Gag Rule" on Abortion, Texas Judge Temporarily Blocks Anti-BDS Bill, Saying It Violates First Amendment, Roger Waters & Linda Sarsour Event on Backlash Against Pro-Palestinian Voices Faces Lawsuit, Protest, Judge Considers Freeing Coast Guard Official Accused of Domestic Terrorist Plot, NSA Recommends Ending Metadata Surveillance Program Exposed by Edward Snowden, Pentagon Ethics Probe Clears Shanahan over Ties to Boeing, FBI & IRS Raid Homes & Office of Baltimore Mayor, After 1,100 Arrests, Extinction Rebellion Concludes 10 Days of Climate Civil Disobedience in London

Navy SEALs who witnessed their platoon chief commit war crimes in Iraq were encouraged not to speak out, and told they could lose their jobs for reporting him at a private meeting with a superior officer last year, according to new reports from The New York Times. A confidential Navy criminal investigation obtained by the Times reveals that the commandos saw Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher stab and kill an unarmed teenage captive, shoot to death a young girl and old man, and fire indiscriminately into crowds of civilians. But when the men on Gallagher's team called a private meeting with their troop commander and demanded an investigation, they were told to stay quiet on the matter, and no action was taken. The group of seven SEALs eventually were able to force an investigation, and Chief Edward Gallagher was arrested in September on more than a dozen charges, including premeditated murder and attempted murder. The court-martial centers on a charge that Gallagher stabbed to death a teenage member of the self-proclaimed Islamic State while the unarmed youth was being treated by a medic. The trial begins May 28. If convicted, Gallagher could face life in prison. We speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and national correspondent for The New York Times Dave Philipps. His latest piece is headlined "Navy SEALs Were Warned Against Reporting Their Chief for War Crimes"

Former Vice President Joe Biden has entered the 2020 race for the White House, becoming the 20th Democrat to seek the nomination in the largest and most diverse field of Democratic candidates ever to run for president. Biden will face scrutiny for his long and checkered record in the coming weeks, including his 1994 crime bill, that helped fuel mass incarceration with financial incentives to keep people behind bars, and his handling of Anita Hill's sexual harassment allegations against Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991. Biden is also known for close ties to the financial industry and voting to authorize the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. In the weeks before Biden announced his bid for the presidency, at least seven women stepped forward to accuse him of inappropriate touching. We speak with Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor for Harper's magazine, about Biden's record. His recent piece is headlined "No Joe! Joe Biden's disastrous legislative legacy."

A major new investigation by Amnesty International and Airwars has revealed the U.S.-led military coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians during the 2017 offensive to oust ISIS militants from the Syrian city of Raqqa. The coalition launched thousands of airstrikes and tens of thousands of artillery strikes on the city. U.S. troops fired more artillery into 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 Donatella Rovera, lead investigator with Amnesty International. She is calling on the U.S. and coalition nations to fully investigate the mass civilian casualties. Rovera is senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International. The new investigation is titled "Rhetoric versus Reality: How the 'most precise air campaign in history' left Raqqa the most destroyed city in modern times."

President Trump Vows to Fight "All the Subpoenas" from Congress, U.S. Forces and Allies Killed More Afghan Civilians in Early 2019 Than the Taliban, U.S.-Led Coalition Killed 1,600 Syrian Civilians in Raqqa, Syria, China Jails Hong Kong Activists Who Led 2014 Pro-Democracy Rallies, Wealthy Sri Lankan Spice Trader Among Those Arrested over Easter Bombings, U.N. Condemns Saudi Arabia's Mass Execution of 37 Prisoners, Texas Executes White Supremacist Behind 1998 Lynching of James Byrd Jr., Joe Biden Enters 2020 Presidential Race, Kirstjen Nielsen Warned Against Discussing Russian Election Meddling with Trump, Thousands of Indigenous People Protest Bolsonaro's Deforestation Policies, U.K., Irish Politicians Join Funeral for Murdered Journalist Lyra McKee

As the 2020 election race barrels forward with nearly 20 Democratic candidates, we speak with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz about the policy platforms of progressive hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, including Warren's plan to break up big tech companies and cancel student debt and Sanders's commitment to democratic socialism, which Stiglitz compares to "what in Europe is called social democracy, sometimes called the welfare state." Stiglitz has a new book out titled "People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent."

We look at staggering inequality and the state of the U.S. economy with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton. Joseph Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University and chief economist for the Roosevelt Institute. His latest book, out this week, is "People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent."

Presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said at a town hall Monday that he believed in restoring voting rights for prisoners, sparking a national discussion about re-enfranchisement for the more than 2 million Americans behind bars. Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has spoken out against prisoner voting rights, while Senator Elizabeth Warren said "I'm not there yet" on the issue. Senator Kamala Harris said "there has to be serious consequence for the most extreme types of crimes," referencing her background as a prosecutor. We speak with Ari Berman, senior writer at Mother Jones, about the public debate on voting rights for imprisoned Americans. Berman notes that prisoners are currently counted in the U.S. census in the counties where they are imprisoned, despite not being allowed to vote in most states.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case challenging the Trump administration's plans to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Voting rights activists fear that adding the question will deter immigrants from participating in the census and lead to a vast undercount in states with large immigrant communities. Census officials have estimated 6.5 million people will not respond to the census if the citizenship question is added. This undercount could affect everything from the redrawing of congressional maps to the allocation of federal funding. The case centers on whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had the authority to add the question to the census. The American Civil Liberties Union and 17 states have sued, saying Ross's move was aimed at deterring immigrants from participating in the census. During the oral arguments, the court's conservative majority appeared to side with the Trump administration, while the liberal minority questioned the administration's motives and methods. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, "There's no doubt that people will respond less. If you're talking about prediction, this is about 100 percent that people will answer less." We speak with Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. MALDEF is representing plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits challenging the census citizenship question. We also speak with Ari Berman, senior writer at Mother Jones. His new piece is titled "In Census Case, Supreme Court Suddenly Cares a Lot About Voting Rights Act."

Trump Says White House Aides Should Not Testify to Congress, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Ignores Congressional Deadline on Trump's Tax Records, U.S. Uses Veto Threat to Gut U.N. Resolution On Sexual Violence, Death Toll from Sri Lanka Easter Bombings Climbs to 359, Saudi Arabia Carries Out Mass Execution of Prisoners, Including Public Crucifixion, Hasan Minhaj Confronts Jared Kushner over His Support of Saudi Crown Prince, Kim Jong-un Arrives in Russia for First Meeting with Vladimir Putin, Malawi Begins First-Ever Malaria Vaccination Campaign, NYT Report: Navy SEALs Were Ordered to Remain Silent on War Crimes, Drug Company Executives Criminally Charged with Trafficking Opioids, SCOTUS Hears Case on Trump Admin's Plan to Add Citizenship Question to Census, Watchdog Launches Ethics Probe into Top Interior Department Officials, Thousands of Boy Scout Leaders Accused of Sexual Abuse, Florida Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Black Teen Brutalized by Cops, Bodycam Video Shows Connecticut Police Firing on Car with Unarmed Passengers, Disney Heiress Calls on Her Family's Company to Fight Inequality, Floods and Mudslides Kill At Least 33 in South Africa, Melting Arctic Permafrost Set to Cost the World $70 Trillion, 16-Year-Old Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Meets U.K. Lawmakers

"We Speak for Ourselves: A Word from Forgotten Black America." That's the name of a new book by D. Watkins that amplifies the experiences of poor black Americans typically sidelined by the public and the media—including his own life story. He writes, "I'm from the bottom, and what I mean by bottom is first-generation scholars, the project babies, the people without Wi-Fi, the workers, the people most likely to get hit by police bullets. We are the subjects of protests, the rarely heard-from even as our deaths are debated by media personalities who wouldn't step foot on our blocks. … To quote the brilliant scholar and activist Dr. Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, 'You don't need to be a voice for the voiceless. Just pass the mic.'" D. Watkins is a professor at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project. He is also the author of "The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir" and "The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America."

Students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, have entered their 21st day of a sit-in occupation of their campus administration building to protest the university's plans for an armed police force on campus, as well as Johns Hopkins's contracts with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Students at Johns Hopkins are demanding the cancellation of contracts with ICE and a pledge to donate all money received from ICE to Baltimore's immigration defense fund. They're also demanding voluntary recognition for all workers wishing to unionize, and a student and faculty representative spot on the university's board of trustees.

Authorities at the University of Arizona in Tucson have dropped charges against three students who held a nonviolent protest against Border Patrol agents speaking on their campus. During the March 19 protest, the students called border agents "Murder Patrol" and an "extension of the KKK." All three students were charged with misdemeanors. On Friday, motions to dismiss the charges were granted after the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups led a campaign on behalf of the students. We speak with Mariel Bustamante, one of the "Arizona Three." She is a graduating senior who is double-majoring in law and anthropology.