Democracy Now!

We begin our Democracy Now! special by looking at the growing movement of people calling on President Trump to resign over multiple claims of sexual harassment and assault. The renewed calls come amid the international #MeToo movement, in which women across the world have come forward to accuse a slew of powerful men of sexual harassment, assault and rape. Meanwhile, three of the 16 women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment held a press conference last month in New York, demanding that Congress take action. The women shared accounts in which they said Trump groped, fondled and forcibly kissed them. We speak with two of them: Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant for North Carolina when Trump owned the pageant, and Jessica Leeds, who describes what happened to her when she encountered Donald Trump in the first-class cabin of a commercial flight in 1979.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has published its 25th annual survey of journalists killed and jailed around the world. This year, the list of those killed included 42 journalists and four media workers. A record 262 journalists were imprisoned around the world, with Turkey, China and Egypt topping the list for the second year in a row. Mexico reached an historic high in journalists killed this year, and the country leads the world in journalists killed in a non-conflict zone. This comes as President Donald Trump has waged a relentless campaign to discredit journalists in the United States, often with rhetoric that could potentially incite his followers to violence. We speak with María Salazar-Ferro, the director of the Emergencies Department of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

After a visit from Texas Democratic Congressmember Beto O'Rourke and a flurry of news reports, including on Democracy Now!, the Board of Immigration Appeals has reopened the asylum case of award-winning journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, vacating his deportation order and granting him a full stay of his removal order. This means Gutiérrez cannot be deported, at the moment, and that the BIA will now issue a new ruling. But Gutiérrez has still not been released. We play an excerpt from our exclusive jailhouse interview with Gutiérrez and speak with William McCarren, the executive director of the National Press Club, who visited Gutiérrez in detention and said Gutiérrez broke down crying several times, and Gutiérrez's lawyer, Eduardo Beckett.

This month, Senators Mike Lee, a Republican, and Edward Markey, a Democrat, called for a halt to the expansion of a $1 billion airport facial scanning program that the Department of Homeland Security uses to identify travelers on some flights that depart from nine U.S. airports: Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, New York’s John F. Kennedy, Washington Dulles, both Houston airports, Chicago O‘Hare and Atlanta. Congress has approved the program for use on non-U.S. citizens but never expressly authorized its use on Americans. The senators also asked DHS to provide data about the accuracy of the scans and cited a study by the Center on Privacy and Technology that said the technology had high error rates and was subject to bias, because the scans often fail to properly identify women and African Americans. We speak with Ron Nixon, homeland security correspondent for The New York Times.

A New York Times investigation has revealed how the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly going global, with thousands of agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration stationed in more than 70 countries around the world. Hundreds more DHS workers are deployed at sea on Coast Guard ships or in the skies on surveillance planes. Stationing ICE overseas is reportedly about four times as expensive as a domestic post. Now some countries are accusing DHS of attempting to export the United States' restrictive immigration laws, with one German politician saying DHS's interrogations and detentions at foreign airports constitute an extrajudicial travel ban. We speak with Ron Nixon, The New York Times's homeland security correspondent who broke the story, "Homeland Security Goes Abroad. Not Everyone Is Grateful."

Alabama Officially Declares Doug Jones Winner of U.S. Senate Race, Trump Uses Winter Weather to Try to Cast Doubt Upon Global Warming Science, Trump Admin Slated to Roll Back Offshore Oil Drilling Safety Regulations, Trump on Russia Collusion Probe: "It Makes the Country Look Very Bad", Russia Accuses U.S. of Breaking Arms Control Treaty & Interfering in Russian Election, At Least 12 Dead in New York City Apartment Fire, At Least 14 Dead in Mumbai Restaurant Fire, U.N.: 68 Civilians Killed in Saudi-Led Bombing in Yemen on Tuesday, Syria: A Dozen Critically Ill Patients Evacuated from Eastern Ghouta, Liberia: Ex-Footballer George Weah Wins Presidential Election, Palestinian Girl Faces Charges After Video of Her Slapping Israeli Soldier Goes Viral, George Ciccariello-Maher Resigns from Drexel Amid Death Threats from White Supremacists, Erica Garner Suffers "Major Brain Damage" After Heart Attack

We speak with journalist and author Jaime Lowe about her remarkable memoir, "Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind." She shares and investigates her experience with mental illness and the drugs used to combat it. She was on lithium for two decades but was forced to go off it when she experienced serious kidney problems as a result of the medication. Lowe notes mental illness is still associated with social stigma despite affecting tens of millions of Americans.

A major new investigation by The Guardian examined how cities are struggling to solve the problem of homelessness throughout the year, and found many have come to rely on an old solution: a one-way ticket out of town. Relocation programs that offer homeless people free bus tickets to move elsewhere have been around for at least three decades. But as the homeless population rises for the first time since the Great Recession, relocation programs are becoming more common and are expanding to more cities. We speak with The Guardian's homelessness editor, Alastair Gee, about many people who were bused out, remained homeless and eventually returned to the city they had left.

Afghanistan: 40+ Killed in ISIS Suicide Bombing in Kabul, Trump Falsely Claims He Broke Previous Legislative Records, Roy Moore Sues to Stop Alabama from Certifying Doug Jones Winner of U.S. Senate Race, Trump Administration Rolls Back Regulations for Nursing Homes, Honduras Opposition Seeks to Annul Hernández's Re-Election over Reports of Fraud, Liberia Slated to Announce Results of Runoff Presidential Election Today, Bolivia: Health Workers Escalate Protests and Strike in La Paz, France: Residents March to Demand Answers in Case of Missing 9-Year-Old Girl, Burmese Authorities Extend Reuters Journalists' Detention, Immigration Officials Reopen Asylum Case for Detained Mexican Journalist, International Falls, Minnesota, Hits -37 Fahrenheit Amid Record-Smashing Cold, Pioneering Argentinian Filmmaker Fernando Birri Dies at 92

We look at one of the most progressive city councils in New York City's history and the woman who helped lead the agenda: Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who occupies the second most powerful post in city government. Mark-Viverito was first elected to the New York City Council in 2005 and was named speaker in 2014. During her time as speaker, the council expanded living wage requirements, expanded paid sick leave, established a city bail fund and a municipal identification card for undocumented immigrants, limited cooperation between immigration authorities and the city's police and jails, also funded free legal advice for immigrants in detention who face deportation. During her tenure, she also got Mayor Bill de Blasio to agree to close the city's notorious Rikers Island jail. We speak with Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, whose term winds down at the end of this year due to term limits.

We speak with Judge Shira Scheindlin, former United States district judge for the Southern District of New York, about her role in a case that found the controversial police policy of stop-and-frisk unconstitutional. While running for president, Donald Trump called for a nationwide stop-and-frisk program. "It was a bad policy," Judge Scheindlin says. "It was not effective law enforcement … It obviously wasn't deterring crime. All it was doing was alienating the community from the police."

With the confirmation of a 12th circuit court judge earlier this month, Trump set a record for the most appellate judges confirmed in a president's first year in office. Early in his first year, Trump appointed conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. But legal experts say Trump's appointments to the lower courts will have the most impact on American life because they decide nearly all cases, ranging from voting rights and contraception to gay rights and immigration. Meanwhile, Trump's nominee to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. District Court in Washington withdrew from consideration, after widely circulated video showed he was unable to answer basic questions about the law and had never tried a case in court. We get response from Judge Shira Scheindlin, former United States district judge for the Southern District of New York, where she served for 22 years.

NYT: Homeland Security Dept. Has Thousands of Agents Deployed to 70 Countries, U.S. & U.N. Security Council Impose New Sanctions on North Korea over Missile Tests, In Rare Interview, Obama Speaks of Freedom of Speech, Youth & Political Polarization, Fossil Fuel Companies Plunging Billions into Global Plastics Industry, Egypt Executes 15 People Convicted of Attacks in Sinai Peninsula in 2013, Egyptian Labor Lawyer Khaled Ali Announces Bid for Presidency, Chile: Court Sentences 4 Ex-Military Officials to Prison for Student's Disappearance in 1974, Erie, PA, Receives Record 5 Feet of Snow, with More to Come, Whistleblowers Concerned That Spy Agency Ombudsman Put on Leave, Author, Activist and Policy Advocate Marcus Raskin Dies at 83

We look back at the biggest news headlines from 2017 with award-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn, from the Republican tax bill to net neutrality to Colin Kaepernick and the #MeToo movement.

At the United Nations last week, over 120 countries defied President Trump by voting in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted against the United States. Now the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is claiming the U.S. helped push the United Nations to cut its budget for the upcoming year by $285 million. We get response from Allan Nairn, award-winning investigative journalist, and also examine how Trump has ratcheted up military responses to threats from North Korea.

On Friday, the United States congratulated incumbent Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández on what it said was his re-election. This came one month into a standoff between the Honduras government and the opposition over the disputed vote tally, and days after the government-controlled election commission declared Hernández the winner. Previously, the opposition front, the Alliance Against the Dictatorship, as well as the Organization of American States have called for new elections amid reports of widespread fraud, saying the victory was "impossible" to verify. Last week, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet officials at the OAS and State Department, but U.S. officials claimed he did not present evidence to back up his allegations of fraud. We speak with Allan Nairn, award-winning investigative journalist who has just returned Saturday from Honduras. His latest story for The Intercept is headlined "U.S. Spent Weeks Pressuring Honduras Opposition to End Protests Against Election Fraud."

Trump Signs Tax Plan, Reportedly Tells Friends "You All Just Got a Lot Richer", Man Delivers Christmas Gift of Horse Manure to Treasury Secretary to Protest Tax Plan, California Students Launch Campaign for Ballot Measure to Make Universities Free, NYT: Trump Slandered Haitian Visa Holders, Falsely Claiming "They All Have AIDS", Federal Judge Partially Lifts Trump's Latest Travel Ban, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to Resign, Leadership of Miss America Organization Resigns Amid Scandal over Sexist Emails, U.S. Claims It Pushed United Nations to Cut Budget by $285 Million, Yemen: Residents Say Saudi Airstrikes Killed 70+ over the Weekend, Afghanistan: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Suicide Blast in Kabul That Killed 10, HRW: Syrian Gov't & Russia Escalating Bombing Campaign in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, Peru: Protests as President Pardons Fujimori, Imprisoned for Ordering Death Squad Massacres, 200+ Die as Typhoon Tembin Hits Philippines, Kashmir: Indian Soldiers Kill Alleged Militant, Amid Deadliest Year in a Decade in Disputed Territory, Texas: Sheriff's Deputy Kills 6-Year-Old Boy Kameron Prescott, Erica Garner in Medically Induced Coma After Suffering Heart Attack, Photographer Don Hogan Charles Dies at 79, Pope Francis Calls for Two-State Solution & Peace for Rohingya in Christmas Eve Mass

In this Democracy Now! special, we spend the hour with the world-renowned linguist and political dissident Noam Chomsky. In a public conversation we had in April, we talked about President Trump, climate change, nuclear weapons, North Korea, Iran, the war in Syria and his new book, "Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power."

In a major setback for Spain, Catalan separatist parties have won a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Voters went to the polls Thursday in a snap election called for by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had sacked the previous separatist government. Thursday's vote comes after Catalonia's regional Parliament voted in October for independence by a margin of 70 votes to 10. The Spanish Senate in Madrid swiftly responded by granting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unprecedented powers to impose direct rule on Catalonia under Article 155 of the Constitution, which had never been used before in modern Spain's democratic history. The move stripped the northeastern region of its autonomy in efforts to crush Catalonia's growing independence movement. Rajoy then called for new elections, counting on Catalan voters to support pro-unity parties. We speak with Sebastiaan Faber, professor of Hispanic studies at Oberlin College and author of the new book "Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War: History, Fiction, Photography."

In a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to silence dissent, the first trial of people arrested at Inauguration Day "Disrupt J20" protests ended Thursday with all of the defendants found not guilty of all charges. Six people faced multiple felonies and 50 years in prison for just being in the area where anti-fascist and anti-capitalist protesters were marching. During the protest, police blockaded more than 200 people into a corner in a process known as "kettling" and carried out mass arrests of everyone nearby, including medics, legal observers and some journalists. This first case was closely watched as a bellwether for free speech, because one of the six people on trial was Alexei Wood, an independent photojournalist from San Antonio, Texas, whose work focuses on resistance movements. He came to document protests during the inauguration on January 20 and live-streamed the street detentions by police and even his own arrest. Alexei Wood joins us from Washington, D.C., and we speak with Jude Ortiz, a member of the organizing crew of Defend J20 and the Mass Defense Committee chair for the National Lawyers Guild.

At the United Nations, over 120 countries defied President Trump Thursday by voting in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The final vote was 128 to 9, while 35 nations abstained and 21 countries casted no vote. Control of Jerusalem is one of the most contested issues: Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Sustained protests continue in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, despite a brutal Israeli military crackdown. We speak with Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of Arab studies at Columbia University and author of "Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East."

U.N. Defies Trump, Condemning His Decree on Jerusalem, Spain: Separatist Parties in Catalonia Win Majority, Red Cross in Yemen: Cholera Cases Reach 1 Million, Iraq: U.S. Coalition Killed 11,000 Civilians in Battle for Mosul, Pence Visits Afghanistan, Vows to "Win This War on Our Terms", First J20 Trial Ends with Not-Guilty Verdicts, Judge Dismisses Ethics Lawsuit Against Trump, Congress Passes Short-Term Spending Bill with No DREAM Act, Senator Al Franken Targets Trump in Final Speech from the Floor, Two-Year Drop in U.S. Life Expectancy Linked to Opioid Crisis, Much of Puerto Rico Will Celebrate Christmas in the Dark, Without Electricity, Confederate Statues Removed from Public Parks in Memphis, New York Public Radio Fires Two Hosts After Allegations of Sexual Harassment, AlterNet Exec. Put on Leave After Allegations of Sexual Harassment by Several Women, Mamie Johnson, Woman Who Pitched in Negro Leagues, Dies at 82

A shocking new investigation by the ACLU of Texas and The Intercept reveals how state troopers are essentially acting as deportation officers. After poring through public records of traffic stops by the Texas Highway Patrol, the ACLU of Texas uncovered what amounts to a deportation machine operated by the state's Department of Public Safety. State troopers stop drivers for minor traffic infractions, and if they are unable to produce a driver's license, they are taken into custody and turned over to Border Patrol. Several DPS dashboard camera videos show immigrants being detained for trivial traffic violations and then carted away by Border Patrol. We speak with Debbie Nathan, investigative reporter for the ACLU of Texas.

We look at the danger facing journalists in Mexico and how the U.S. has responded to one of them. This week, Mexican journalist Gumaro Pérez Aguinaldo was assassinated in the southern state of Veracruz, becoming at least the 12th journalist to be killed in Mexico so far this year. Reporters Without Borders says the killing puts Mexico alongside Syria as the most murderous country for journalists. In a broadcast exclusive jailhouse interview, we speak by phone with another Mexican journalist: Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, who is fighting his deportation to Mexico as he is being held in a U.S. detention center in El Paso, Texas. Gutiérrez first sought asylum in the United States in 2008 after receiving death threats for reporting on alleged corruption in the Mexican military. He was detained then and eventually released while his asylum appeal was pending. The Trump administration denied asylum to the award-winning reporter last week. We also speak with his lawyer, Eduardo Beckett.

As Congress passes a massive rewrite of the U.S. tax code that could mean the largest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in history, it is also negotiating a stopgap spending measure that will not include the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. This comes as seven young DACA recipients and one ally were released from jail Wednesday after six days in jail on hunger strike. The eight were arrested Friday during nonviolent sit-in protests inside the offices of Democratic lawmakers, demanding they commit to voting "no" on the spending bill this month unless it includes a version of the DREAM Act without concessions for funding for the border wall or enhanced border security. We are joined by Erika Andiola, one of the eight activists just released and a nationally known immigrant activist who served as a spokesperson for Bernie Sanders and helped him craft immigration policy. She is the political director for Our Revolution. She is a DACA recipient who grew up in Arizona, where her house was raided in 2013 and immigration agents picked up her mother and brother.

Republican Congress Passes Massive Tax Overhaul to Benefit Rich & Corporations, Amid Protests, Congress Negotiates Stopgap Spending Measure That Won't Include DREAM Act, Sen. Warner: Firing Mueller Could Provoke Constitutional Crisis, Trump Threatens to Cut Aid to Nations over U.N. Jerusalem Vote, Trump Raises Yemen War in Phone Call with Theresa May, U.N. Expert on Freedom of Speech Worried About U.S. Repeal of Net Neutrality, Honduras: Protesters Killed Amid Crackdown Against Election Demonstrations, Colombia: 100 Human Rights Activists Killed in 2017, According to U.N., Mexico: Journalist Gumaro Pérez Aguinaldo Assassinated in Veracruz, EU Threatens Sanctions over Polish Overhaul of Judiciary, Trump Admin Approves License Allowing Ukraine to Buy Weapons from U.S. Dealers, Peru: Congress Slated to Vote Whether to Impeach President Amid Odebrecht Scandal, Virginia: Judges Now Declare Pivotal House of Delegates Race Tied, Olympic Gold Medalist Says USA Gymnastics Paid Her to Stay Silent About Sexual Abuse, Swedish Parliament Slated to Change Rape Laws to Require Affirmative Consent

A new film looks at the 1944 gang rape of Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper. Following the rape, she refused to be silenced and spoke up with help from the NAACP's chief rape investigator Rosa Parks. When Parks went to interview Taylor, the local sheriff kept driving by the house and eventually burst in, threatening Parks with arrest if she didn't leave town. Parks left and then launched the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor, triggering a movement to seek justice 11 years before Parks became a civil rights hero for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, launching the Montgomery bus boycott. We speak with the film's director, Nancy Buirski, and with Yale historian Crystal Feimster, author of "Southern Horrors: Women and the Politics of Rape and Lynching."

The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Dr. Jill Stein, the 2016 Green Party presidential candidate, for documents as part of its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Committee Chair Richard Burr of North Carolina said on Monday that they are looking for potential "collusion with the Russians." Among the actions that reportedly drew their attention was Stein's attendance at a 2015 dinner in Moscow sponsored by Russian state-run TV network RT, where she sat at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also at that table was Michael Flynn, who went on to become President Trump's national security adviser and has since entered into a plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian election interference. Flynn pleaded guilty to a single felony count of lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia's U.S. ambassador. We speak with Dr. Jill Stein, the 2016 presidential nominee for the Green Party.

Senate Approves $1.5 Trillion Tax Bill to Benefit the Wealthiest, House Approves Tax Bill, But Must Re-Vote Wednesday, Yemen: Rebels Fire Missile at Saudi Palace as Civilian Deaths Mount, Israeli Forces Arrest Palestinian Teenager Who Confronted Soldiers, U.N. Rights Chief Denounces Israeli Killing of Disabled Palestinian, China: 10 Accused Drug Dealers Publicly Sentenced to Death & Executed, Burma: Two Reuters Journalists Arrested After Covering Rohingya Plight, Argentina: Protests Rage as Lawmakers Roll Back Pension Benefits, Four Jailed DACA Recipients on Hunger Strike Face Possible Deportation, Virginia: Political Balance Swings After Democrat Wins Recount by 1 Vote, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Faces Protest at University of Baltimore Speech, Senators Call on Al Franken Not to Resign Amid Sexual Abuse Charges, Ohio Lawmakers Demand Inquiry into Prison Taser Abuses, New York Gov. Cuomo Moves to Divest Pension Funds from Fossil Fuels

The Trump administration has allegedly barred top federal health officials from using seven words or phrases relating to abortion, sexuality and science in official documents, according to The Washington Post, which cited an anonymous whistleblower. The words are "fetus," "entitlement," "vulnerable," "diversity," "transgender," "evidence-based" and "science-based." In some cases, the analysts were reportedly given replacement phrases to use instead. We speak with Rush Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. We also speak with Jack Halberstam, professor of English and gender studies at Columbia University.

As Congress prepares to vote on the controversial tax bill, the United Nations has issued a scathing report on poverty in the United States that found the Trump administration and Republicans are turning the U.S. into the "world champion of extreme inequality." Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, announced his findings after conducting a two-week fact-finding mission across the country, including visits to California, Alabama, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Alston also warned that the Republican tax bill will transfer vast amounts of wealth to the richest earners while making life harder for the 41 million Americans living in poverty. Among other startling findings in Alston's report, the U.S. ranks 36th in the world in terms of access to water and sanitation. We speak with Philip Alston, who is also a professor at NYU Law School.

In the face of mounting evidence of a vast undercount by the government, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló has called for a recount of the death toll from Hurricane Maria. The government's official death toll stands at 64. But several investigations have revealed that nearly 1,000 more people died. The Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico examined the 40-day period after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico compared to that same time period last year and found at least 985 additional people died. This week, The New York Times and other outlets published statistics from the Puerto Rican government that show the death toll may be more than 1,000. We speak with Omaya Sosa, the co-founder of Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism, who has led coverage of the deaths after the storm.

House Set to Pass Tax Bill Benefiting Wealthiest Americans, Despite Protests, Washington State: 3 Dead as High-Speed Amtrak Train Derails, Trump Unveils National Security Strategy, Ignoring Climate Change Threat, U.S. Vetoes Security Council Resolution on Jerusalem in 14-1 Vote, Vice President Pence Delays Mideast Trip Amid Protests over U.S. Support for Israel, Honduras: Vice President Rejects OAS Call for New Election, Austria: Thousands Protest as Far-Right Government Sworn In, Puerto Rico to Review Hurricane Death Toll Following Reports Nearly 1,000 Died, Trump Judicial Nominee Withdraws After Bungling Confirmation Hearing, California Appellate Judge Resigns After 15 Women Allege Sexual Abuse, Rupert Murdoch Calls Sexual Abuse Charges at Fox News "Nonsense", #MeToo Founder Tarana Burke to Drop Times Square New Year's Ball

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission, known as the FCC, voted to dismantle landmark "net neutrality" rules established in 2015 after widespread organizing and protests by free internet advocates. These rules required internet service providers to treat web content equally and not block or prioritize some content over others in return for payment. The repeal of these rules was widely opposed by the American public, with more than 20 million people submitting comments to the FCC. Thursday's vote also means the government will no longer regulate high-speed internet as if it were a public utility, like phone service. We speak with Maya Wiley, senior vice president for social justice and professor of public and urban policy at The New School.

Republican lawmakers are pressing forward on a final vote on President Trump's tax plan, which would shower billions of dollars upon the wealthiest Americans, including Trump and his family members. The New York Times reports those who will be most hurt by the tax plan include the elderly, low-income families, immigrants, people buying health insurance, the island of Puerto Rico and homeowners in the states of New York, New Jersey and California. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 13 million Americans are projected to lose their health insurance under the plan. It will also impose a new requirement that families must provide a Social Security number to claim the child tax credit—meaning many undocumented parents will no longer be able to receive this credit even if their children are U.S. citizens. We speak with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, a network of worker cooperatives in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Republican plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code is now one step closer to passing, after Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker abruptly switched his position and announced his support for the controversial bill. The surprise move came after a controversial last-minute addition to the bill that would personally enrich Corker. The provision would slash taxes on income from real estate LLCs; Corker is a real estate mogul. The New York Times reports those who will most benefit from the Republicans' tax bill are big corporations, multimillionaires, private equity managers, private schools, liquor stores, lawyers, tax accountants and President Trump and his family. Meanwhile, Florida Senator Marco Rubio announced his support for the tax plan on Friday after an expansion to the child tax credit—even though the expansion won't benefit the children of undocumented parents. Republican lawmakers are now pressing forward for a final vote on Trump's tax plan this week. We speak with David Sirota, senior editor for investigations at the International Business Times.

In Honduras, the government-controlled electoral commission on Sunday declared U.S.-backed incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández as the official winner of the contested November 26 presidential election. The commission made the announcement while opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla was on a plane traveling to the United States to present evidence of election fraud. The opposition party has called for nationwide protests on Monday, while the Organization of American States has called for a new election. We speak with award-winning independent journalist Allan Nairn, and Rodolfo Pastor, the spokesperson for the Alliance Against the Dictatorship. We also speak with Dana Frank, professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Sens. Corker, Rubio Back Tax Bill, Clearing Way for Final Passage, U.N. Investigator: U.S. Becoming "World Champion of Extreme Inequality", Honduran President Declared Winner as OAS Calls for a New Election, Pakistan: ISIS Claims Church Attack That Kills 9, Wounds 50, Afghanistan: Taliban Raid Kills 11 Police Officers, Gaza Protesters Mourn Double Amputee Killed by Israeli Sniper, U.N. Human Rights Chief: Aung San Suu Kyi Could Face Genocide Charges, Chile: Sebastián Piñera Wins New Term as President, Rep. Ruben Kihuen Won't Seek Re-election Amid Sexual Harassment Claims, Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations, Jerry Richardson to Sell Panthers, Special Counsel Robert Mueller Obtains Trump Transition Emails, "Fetus," "Transgender" Among Words Banned in CDC Documents, California: Thomas Fire on Track to Become Largest in State's History, Atlanta Airport Blackout Strands Passengers, Grounds 1,500 Flights, Eight Arrested as Young Immigrants Hold Sit-in Protests for DREAM Act

We continue our interview with someone who's led a discussion of mental health professionals who are deeply concerned about President Trump's psychological instability. Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine who organized the "Duty to Warn" conference at Yale and edited the best-selling book, "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President." _Dr. Bandy Lee declares that she is not representing the views of Yale University, Yale School of Medicine or Yale Department of Psychiatry._

On Thursday, another Democrat endorsed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a resolution presented in November by a half-dozen Democrats accusing Trump of obstruction of justice and other offenses. Democrat Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire is the latest official to join the effort and is one of 12 House Democrats who represent a district won by Trump in 2016. This comes as a petition for impeachment launched in October by Democratic donor Tom Steyer has garnered more than 3.5 million supporters. At least 17 communities around the country are now on record calling for impeachment proceedings against Trump. "It is not acceptable to say that we will simply kick the can down the road and wait until after an election cycle to lay the groundwork for the impeachment proceedings," says constitutional attorney John Bonifaz, co-founder and director of Free Speech for People. "We need to be laying that groundwork and making this call now."

Final arguments are underway today in Washington, D.C., in a case that could shape the future of free speech and the right to protest in the United States: the first trial of the nearly 200 people arrested during President Donald Trump's inauguration. As demonstrators, journalists and observers gathered in Northwest D.C. after the inauguration on January 20, some separated from the group and vandalized nearby businesses and vehicles. Police officers then swept hundreds of people in the vicinity into a blockaded corner in a process known as "kettling," where they carried out mass arrests of everyone in the area. The first so-called J20 trial could go to a jury as early as today, and involves six people, including one journalist, Alexei Wood, a freelance photojournalist. The defendants face multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including multiple counts of destruction of property. Evidence against the defendants has been scant. We get an update from Jude Ortiz, a member of the organizing crew of Defend J20 and the Mass Defense Committee chair for the National Lawyers Guild. He's been in court throughout the first J20 trial.

In Major Blow to Free Internet, FCC Votes to Repeal Landmark Net Neutrality Rules, At Break with Trump, Tillerson to Urge Diplomacy with North Korea at United Nations, Nikki Haley Claims Iran Violated Arms Agreement, But Experts Say Evidence is Lacking, Republicans' Plan to Overhaul Tax Code in Peril as Rubio and Lee Threaten to Vote No, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold Won't Seek Re-Election, Amid Sexual Harassment Revelations, Screen Actors Guild Awards to Feature All-Women Presenters for Acting Awards, Eighth Round of U.N.-Sponsored Peace Talks on Syria Collapses, Mexican & U.S. Officials Meet to Discuss Military & Intelligence Cooperation, Caravan of Central American Mothers Search for Their Missing Children in Mexico, Argentina: Protests Force Lawmakers to Suspend Vote on Slashing Pensions, Rwanda Accuses French Military of Complicity in 1994 Genocide, Trump's Highest-Ranking African-American Adviser Out at White House, Largest Landlord in U.S. Sued for Violating Fair Housing Act, Ohio Senate Passes Bill to Make Abortion Illegal in Cases of Down Syndrome

In Yemen, the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition has bombed a Houthi military police camp, killing at least 30 people, most of whom were imprisoned inside the camp. One official said at least 35 bodies had been recovered from the blast site so far. The Saudi-led coalition has escalated its bombing campaign in recent days, following the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Days before his death, the longtime leader switched sides in the ongoing war and threw his support behind the Saudi-led coalition. He was then killed by the Houthis. The U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing campaign has devastating Yemen's health, water and sanitation systems, sparking a massive cholera epidemic. The Saudi-imposed blockade has prevented critical food, water, medicine and aid from reaching civilians. The United Nations has warned that over 8 million people are "a step away from famine." For more, we're joined by award-winning journalist Iona Craig, journalist who was based in Sana'a from 2010 to 2015 as the Yemen correspondent for The Times of London. Her new piece for The Guardian is titled "Bombed into famine: how Saudi air campaign targets Yemen's food supplies."

Amid the mounting number of lawmakers calling on President Trump to resign over multiple claims of sexual harassment and assault, we speak with one of Trump's accusers. This week, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand became the fifth senator to call for Trump to step down. Three of the 16 women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment held a press conference Monday in New York, demanding that Congress take action. The women shared accounts in which they said Trump groped, fondled and forcibly kissed them. Trump responded in a tweet that they were "false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don't know and/or have never met." We speak with Jessica Leeds, who said Trump groped her in the first-class cabin of a commercial flight. She recently retired, after working 30 years as a stockbroker, and is a mother of two and grandmother of eight.

Republicans in Congress say they have reached a deal on final tax legislation that will overhaul the U.S. tax code, dramatically impacting not only household income, but also healthcare and domestic spending. The plan would slash taxes by nearly $1.5 trillion, with the vast majority of the cuts benefiting major corporations and the richest Americans, including President Trump's own family. A final vote could take place next week. We speak with David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and founder and editor of DCReport.org.

Republicans Reach Deal on Tax Legislation to Dramatically Benefit Rich & Corporations, Roy Moore Refuses to Concede in Alabama Senate Race, Three Women Accuse Music Industry Mogul Russell Simmons of Rape, PBS Suspends Host Tavis Smiley Amid Sexual Harassment Accusations, Salma Hayek: Weinstein Harassed Me & Threatened to Kill Me, Kentucky Rep. Kills Himself After Being Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teenager, NY Gov. Cuomo Introduces Bill to Bar Domestic Violence Perpetrators from Buying Guns, Lawmakers Refuse to Confirm 2 Trump Nominees for Lifetime Federal Judgeship, D.C. Judge Throws Out One of Felony Charges for Six #J20 Protesters, Greece: Workers Stage 24-Hour General Strike to Protest Austerity, Yemen: U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Airstrike Hits Police Camp, Killing 30, Disney to Buy Parts of 21st Century Fox for $52 Billion, Mexican Journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Detained by ICE & Threatened with Deportation, London: Survivors of Deadly Grenfell Tower Fire Gather for Memorial at St. Paul's Cathedral, Haiti's Beloved Troubadour Emmanuel "Manno" Charlemagne Dies at 69

We look at a major education victory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where parents, teachers and activists mounted a successful campaign to reclaim control of their local public school system after then-Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker declared it financially distressed in 2001. Under the plan, dozens of Philadelphia public schools closed, and the city saw a spike in charter schools. Community groups responded by forming a coalition to pressure Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to return control over the School District to local voters. Last month, Mayor Kenney heeded organizers' demands and called for the dissolution of the commission. This came as the city also elected civil rights attorney Larry Krasner as district attorney, who campaigned in part on ending the school-to-prison pipeline. We speak with Helen Gym, a longtime community activist and now a Philadelphia city councilmember, and Kendra Brooks of the "Our City, Our Schools" coalition as well as Parents United. She is the parent of two children who attend Philadelphia district schools.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote Thursday on whether to repeal the landmark net neutrality protections passed under President Obama in 2015. Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers treat web content equally and do not block or prioritize some content over others in return for payment. The move could allow internet service providers to cut speeds and jack up prices, and drew a record 22 million comments to the FCC, which critics say the agency has not fully reviewed. "We're talking about the future of media here and who has access and control and whose voices are valued, whose stories are told, whose stories are dehumanized," says Joseph Torres, senior adviser for government and external affairs for Free Press, the national media reform organization.

In a stunning upset, Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in the controversial race to fill the Alabama Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. With 100 percent of the vote tallied, Jones led Moore by nearly 21,000 votes, a margin of 1.5 percentage points. With Jones in the Senate, the Republicans' majority will narrow to 51-49, endangering Trump's agenda and possibly ushering in a Democratic wave in next year's congressional elections. Roy Moore has so far refused to concede the race, and on Tuesday night called for a recount. We speak with Pema Levy, political reporter for Mother Jones who has covered voter turnout and suppression in the tight race.

Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race with Overwhelming Support of Black Voters, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Slams Trump's "Sexist Smear," Saying "I Will Not Be Silent", Trump Signs Massive $700 Billion Military Spending Bill, Palestinians Continue Protesting Trump's Decision to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital, Reports: Ethiopian Forces Crack Down on Oromo Protests, Killing up to 15, Philippines: Duterte Wins Congressional Approval to Extend Martial Law in Mindanao, Internet Pioneers to FCC: "You Don't Understand How the Internet Works", Argentina: Thousands Take to Streets to Protest WTO Meeting, World Bank Says It Will Stop Financing Upstream Oil and Gas After 2019, Grand Rapids, MI: Family Demands Answers After Police Handcuff, Detain 11-Year-Old Black Girl