Democracy Now!

In one of the biggest immigration rallies of the year, thousands rallied last Wednesday on Capitol Hill to demand Congress pass the DREAM Act before the end of 2017. About 100 people were arrested in an act of civil disobedience, including our guest, Illinois Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez, Democrat of Illinois. He is a member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Last month, he announced he will not seek re-election next year, after 13 terms in the House, in order to focus more on the recovery in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards says the first year of President Trump's administration may be the worst year for women of any administration in United States history. But, she notes, it has also been a year of organizing and resistance by women and their allies.

In Alabama, voters are heading to the polls today in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat that pits Democrat Doug Jones against Roy Moore, an anti-abortion candidate who has been accused by at least nine women of sexually harassing or assaulting them when they were teenagers—one as young as 14. We get response from Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA Contestant who is one of 16 women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct and grew up in the southern United States.

Five senators are now calling on President Trump to resign over allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted women, and 56 House lawmakers with the Democratic Women's Working Group are calling for a congressional investigation into the allegations. This comes as 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. We speak with one of them: Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant for North Carolina when Trump owned the pageant. We are also joined by Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and we play an excerpt from the Brave New Films documentary "16 Women and Donald Trump."

Right-Wing Leaders Rally for Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore, As Polls Open, Alabamians Face Voting Hurdles, Women Accusing Donald Trump of Sexual Abuse Call for Congressional Probe, Lawmakers Demand Accountability over Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Trump, Famed Chef Mario Batali Takes Leave Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations, New Yorker Correspondent Ryan Lizza Fired over "Improper Sexual Conduct", New York City Mayor Says Bomb Blast an "Attempted Terrorist Attack", Israeli Forces Fire on Protesters with Live Ammunition, Iraq Declares Victory Over ISIS with Military Parade in Baghdad, Nepal Communist Parties Set for Majority in Parliamentary Elections, Argentina: Activists, Journalists Barred as World Trade Organization Talks Open, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Dies at 65, Trump's Lawyers Demand Special Counsel to Probe Russia Special Counsel, Washington: Tacoma Protesters Halt Natural Gas Plant Construction, Families Separated by Immigration Laws Meet at U.S.-Mexico Border Wall

In California, drought-fueled wildfires raged toward Southern California's coastal cities over the weekend. The fires have scorched some 230,000 acres of land and forced nearly 200,000 people to evacuate. At least one woman has died so far. The wildfires are already the fifth largest on record in California history. Climate experts say the intensity of the winter blazes is linked to climate change. Authorities have warned residents to stay inside because of the dangerous air quality caused by smoke and carcinogenic ash from the fires. But a number of farms have stayed open, sparking concerns that farmworkers are laboring in hazardous conditions without proper equipment. Last week, volunteers handing out free protective masks to farmworkers say they were kicked off some farms, despite the fact that the pickers were asking for the safety equipment. For more, we speak with Lucas Zucker, who was evacuated last week due to the wildfires. Zucker is the policy and communications director for CAUSE—Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy—and he helped distribute respirator masks to farmworkers who had to continue working despite the hazardous air quality conditions. We also speak with Democratic California State Assemblymember Monique Limón, who represents Santa Barbara and Ventura County.

As Alabama's special Senate race on Tuesday nears, criticism is mounting over Republican Roy Moore's refusal to step down from an increasingly tight race meant to fill the Alabama Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore was twice ousted as Alabama's chief justice—first in 2003 for refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. After being re-elected, he was again ousted in 2016, for ordering his judges to defy the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling legalizing marriage equality. He was a proponent of Trump's racist and discredited "birther theory" about President Obama. He has compared homosexuality to bestiality. He said Minnesota Congressmember Keith Ellison shouldn't have been allowed to be sworn into Congress using a Qur'an, which he compared to "Mein Kampf." In 2011, Roy Moore proposed eliminating all constitutional amendments after the 10th, which includes amendments prohibiting slavery and the amendments giving women and African Americans the right to vote. We speak with Derrick Johnson, president and CEO at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, and a longtime activist.

In Mississippi, many black community leaders boycotted the opening of two new civil rights museums on Saturday in protest of President Donald Trump's presence. Those who boycotted the events included African-American Democratic Congressmembers John Lewis of Georgia and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who wrote in a joint statement, "President Trump's disparaging comments about women, the disabled, immigrants, and National Football League players disrespect the efforts of Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Medgar Evers, Robert Clark, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and countless others who have given their all for Mississippi to be a better place." We speak with NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Both boycotted some of Saturday's events in protest of Trump's presence, which Johnson called "an affront to the veterans of the civil rights movement."

Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore are locked in a tight and increasingly controversial race to fill the Alabama Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The election is on Tuesday. A Democrat hasn't won a U.S. Senate race in Alabama for 20 years. Polling shows the two candidates are neck and neck, despite Moore being accused by at least nine women of sexually harassing or assaulting them when they were teenagers. President Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed Roy Moore, including on Friday, when he held a rally in Pensacola, Florida, which is 20 miles from the Alabama border and in the same media market as Mobile, Alabama. Roy Moore has had a long and highly controversial political career in Alabama that's been marked by racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and religious fanaticism. Over the weekend, the Doug Jones campaign orchestrated a massive get-out-the-vote effort, particularly targeting African-American voters. A number of prominent African-American politicians, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Alabama Congressmember Terri Sewell and former Massachusetts Democratic Governor Deval Patrick, all campaigned for Jones over the weekend. For more, we speak with Peter Montgomery, senior fellow at People for the American Way. His most recent piece is headlined "There's More Than One Roy Moore Scandal."

Doug Jones & Roy Moore Neck and Neck on Eve of Alabama Senate Election, Israel Attacks Gaza Strip, Killing 2 and Injuring At Least 25, Two Dead, Hundreds Injured as Palestinians Protest U.S. Decision on Jerusalem, Protests Erupt Worldwide over Trump Decision on Jerusalem, NYC: Explosion Rocks Port Authority Subway Hub During Morning Commute, Mesa, Arizona, Police Officer Acquitted in Shooting Death of Hotel Guest, 200,000 Evacuate Amid Fifth-Worst Wildfires in California History, Two Senators Demand Trump Resign over Sexual Assault Accusations, Black Leaders Boycott Civil Rights Museum Opening in Protest of Trump's Attendance, Honduras: Thousands Demand U.S. Support Full Recount of Contested Presidential Election, El Salvador: Judges Refuse to Free Woman Imprisoned After Giving Birth to Stillborn Baby, Philippines: Thousands March to Demand Duterte's Resignation on Int'l Human Rights Day, Nobel Committee Awards Peace Prize to Nuclear Abolition Group ICAN

Questions over President Donald Trump's mental health continue to grow, following his speech on Wednesday where he slurred his speech and mispronounced words during an address on Israel. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded Thursday to the mounting concerns by announcing that Trump has scheduled a physical health exam. Meanwhile, Pentagon leaders last month told a Senate panel they would ignore any unlawful order by the president to launch a nuclear strike. The testimony came as part of the first congressional hearings in more than 40 years on the president's authority to start a nuclear war. We speak with Dr. Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine and an internationally recognized expert on violence. She 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._

In an exclusive interview, former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a 2009 U.S.-backed coup, says U.S. actions led to the current political crisis in Honduras. The government continues to withhold the results of the November presidential election, which pitted U.S.-backed President Juan Orlando Hernández against opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla. Massive protests erupted after the government-controlled electoral commission stopped tallying votes when the count showed Nasralla ahead. Zelaya now heads the opposition LIBRE party, which is part of the Alliance Against the Dictatorship coalition led by Nasralla.

200,000 Forced to Evacuate Uncontrollable Wildfires in Southern California, Protests Across Palestine After Trump Says U.S. Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital, Democratic Sen. Al Franken Resigns in Face of Sexual Harassment Accusations, Republican Rep. Trent Franks Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Investigation, USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar Sentenced to 60 Years for Child Pornography, African-American Lawmakers to Campaign for Alabama Senate Candidate Doug Jones, White Cop Michael Slager Sentenced to 20 Years for Murdering Walter Scott, Report: Nearly 1,000 More People Died in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria, Hundreds of Protests Nationwide Demand FCC Keep Net Neutrality Rules, Reps. Lewis & Thompson Won't Attend Civil Rights Museum Opening in Protest of Trump's Attendance, Hundreds Rally Outside Brooklyn Courthouse to Demand ICE Stop Arresting People at Court, LA Weekly Bought by Shadowy Group of Investors, Who Fired Nearly All Staff Members, Colin Kaepernick Accepts Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship

On Wednesday, Time magazine announced the 2017 "Person of the Year" goes to the women who have spoken out against sexual assault and harassment, sparking an international movement. It called the group "the Silence Breakers" and included Hollywood actresses, journalists, farmworkers and hotel cleaners. We look at how sexual abuse also thrives in low-wage sectors like farm work, hotel cleaning and domestic work, where workers are disproportionately women of color and immigrant women and are highly vulnerable to sexual harassment and sexual violence. We speak with Tarana Burke, founder of the "Me Too" movement and one of the women featured in Time's new issue. She founded the organization in 2006 to focus on young women who have endured sexual abuse, assault or exploitation. She is now a senior director at Girls for Gender Equity. We are also joined by Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter and strategy and partnership director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and by Mily Treviño-Sauceda, co-founder and vice president of the National Alliance of Women Farmworkers. She is a former farmworker and union organizer with the United Farm Workers.

As Palestinians protest President Trump's announcement that he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we go to East Jerusalem to speak with Budour Hassan, a Palestinian writer and project coordinator for the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights, and speak with Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace. We are also joined in Ramallah by Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian politician and scholar.

Palestinians are protesting in cities across the West Bank and Gaza Strip after President Trump announced Wednesday that he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and initiate a process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The announcement sparked a massive international backlash, with leaders of Britain, France, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, the Arab League and other nations all criticizing the move. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an "important step toward peace." We go to Ramallah to speak with Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian politician and scholar. She was elected an Executive Committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 2009, becoming the first woman to hold a seat in the highest executive body in Palestine. She also served as the official spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace process.

Trump Announces U.S. Recognizes Jerusalem as Capital of Israel, Sparking Protests, House Further Deregulates Concealed-Carry Legislation, Despite Mass Shootings, House Votes Not to Impeach President Trump, Growing Chorus of Senate Democrats Call on Sen. Franken to Resign, John Conyers III Faces Questions About Domestic Violence Arrest, Report: Flynn Told Associate Sanctions on Russia Would Be "Ripped Off" After Trump's Election, Trump Calls for End to Saudi Blockade in Yemen But Continues to Back War, Experts Warn California's December Wildfires Are Linked to Climate Change, Thousands Rally to Demand Congress Protect Immigration Programs, NAACP Calls on Trump to Skip Civil Rights Museum Opening, Calling His Presence an "Affront", Pentagon Says Military Plans to Accept Transgender Recruits Starting Jan. 1, Australia Legalizes Marriage Equality

Could tension between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un bring us to the brink of nuclear war? As tensions ramp up, we discuss what nuclear war would look like with a former nuclear war planner and one of the world's most famous whistleblowers—Daniel Ellsberg. In 1971, Ellsberg was a high-level defense analyst when he leaked a top-secret report on U.S. involvement in Vietnam to The New York Times and other publications, which came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. He played a key role in ending the Vietnam War. Few know Ellsberg was also a Pentagon and White House consultant who drafted plans for nuclear war. His new book, published Tuesday, is titled "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner." We speak with Ellsberg about his top-secret nuclear studies, his front row seat to the Cuban missile crisis, whether Trump could start a nuclear war and how contemporary whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Ed Snowden are his heroes.

Trump to Declare Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, Despite International Condemnation, Rep. John Conyers Resigning Amid Multiple Sexual Harassment Accusations, Trump Stands By Endorsement of Roy Moore, Accused of Sexual Assault & Harassment, NYT: Harvey Weinstein Built "Complicity Machine" to Facilitate His Rape & Sexual Harassment, The Intercept: Erik Prince Pitched White House Plan for Global Network of Private Spies, Honduras: Opposition Calls for Runoff or Full Vote Recount as Political Crisis Continues, Yemen: U.S.-Backed Saudi Coalition Intensifies Bombing Campaign After Saleh's Death, Trump Jr. to Testify to House Intelligence Committee; Mueller Revokes Manafort's Bail, Russia Barred from 2018 Winter Games over Accusations of Systemic Doping, Explosive Wildfires in California's Ventura County Force 27,000 to Evacuate, Indigenous Activists Protesting Plans to Open Arctic to Oil Drilling, Colin Kaepernick Awarded Sports Illustrated's Muhammad Ali Legacy Award

National police in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa—including elite U.S.-trained units—refused to impose a nighttime curfew Monday night that was ordered by incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández after days of protests over allegations of fraud in the country's disputed election. The move comes after at least three people were killed as Honduran security forces opened fire on the protests Friday night in Tegucigalpa. Protests erupted last week after the government-controlled electoral commission stopped tallying votes from the November 26 election, after the count showed opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla ahead by more than 5 percentage points. The commission now says Hernández has pulled ahead of Nasralla, by 42.98 percent to 41.39 percent, after a recount of suspicious votes. This comes as Nasralla and international observers are calling on the Honduras electoral commission—which is controlled by President Hernández—to carry out a recount. We speak with Allan Nairn, award-winning investigative journalist; Sarah Kinosian, a Honduras-based reporter; and Congressmember Jan Schakowsky, who represents the 9th District of Illinois. Her op-ed published in The New York Times is headlined "The Honduran Candidate."

Five Native American tribes have joined to file what they are calling an historic lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and several other members of the administration. The move came just hours after Trump visited Utah Monday, where he announced his plan to open up protected federal lands to mining, logging, drilling and other forms of extraction. The plan calls for shrinking the 1.3 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument by more than 80 percent and splitting it into two separate areas. Trump would slash the state's 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by 50 percent. Bears Ears National Monument was created in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. President Bill Clinton created the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996. The national monuments were designated under the century-old Antiquities Act, a law meant to protect sacred sites, artifacts and historical objects. We speak with Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and former co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and with Bob Deans, director of strategic engagement at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Supreme Court handed a victory to President Donald Trump Monday, when it allowed his latest travel ban to go into effect even as legal challenges continue in lower courts. The administration can now fully enforce its new restrictions on travel from eight countries, six of them predominantly Muslim. The ruling will bar most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea from entering the United States, along with some groups of people from Venezuela. We speak with Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney who presented the first challenge to Trump's travel ban order, resulting in a nationwide injunction.

Supreme Court Allows Trump's Latest Travel Ban to Take Effect, Trump Administration Withdraws U.S. from Global Migration Compact, Trump Orders Largest Rollback of Federal Land Protection in History, Protesters Target Republican Congressional Offices over Tax Bill, Trump and RNC Back Roy Moore Senate Bid Despite Sex Abuse Accusations, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold to Return Sex Harassment Settlement Fee to Taxpayers, Texas Rep. Joe Barton to Retire from Congress over Affairs, Michigan Rep. John Conyers Expected to Remain in Congress Despite Sex Abuse Claims, Netflix to Resume "House of Cards" Without Kevin Spacey, New York Ballet Chief Peter Martins Ousted over Sex Harassment Claim, Former WNYC Host John Hockenberry Accused of Sexual Abuse, Bullying, Vice Media Fires Three Employees over "Verbal and Sexual Harassment", California Lobbyist Accuses Lawmaker Matt Dababneh of Sexual Assault, Honduras: Police Refuse to Enforce Curfew as Election Protests Rage, Yemen: Rebel Video Shows Body of Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, North Korea Says U.S. War Games Put Peninsula on "Brink of Nuclear War", Trump Administration to Allow More Cluster Bombs, Trump's Lawyer Claims the "President Cannot Obstruct Justice", Trump Adviser K. T. McFarland Falsely Said She was Unaware of Russia Contacts, India: Toxic Smog Returns to New Delhi, California Wildfire Explodes North of Los Angeles, Threatening Homes, German Pilots Ground Flights to Protect Afghan Asylum Seekers

Tensions are rising in Honduras, where security forces have opened fire on protesters over the weekend, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest what many are calling an electoral coup d'état against opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla. Protesters accuse the electoral commission of rigging the vote in favor of incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is a close U.S. ally. For more, we speak with Zenaida Velasquez, a Honduran human rights activist and one of the founders of the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras. We also speak with Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle, a member of La Voz de los de Abajo and one of the founding members of the Honduras Solidarity Network. He has been in Honduras for over a week leading a human rights observation delegation.

In Honduras, tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets Sunday to denounce alleged election fraud and to support opposition presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla. Last week, the electoral commission paused the counting of the votes when incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández was trailing opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla, head of the Alliance Against the Dictatorship. On Friday, Hernández's government suspended constitutional rights and imposed a military curfew. For more, we speak with Minnesota Democratic Congressmember Keith Ellison.

On Capitol Hill, Democratic Congressmember John Conyers and Democratic Senator Al Franken are both facing calls to resign, after multiple women accused both men of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact. Army veteran Stephanie Kemplin says Franken cupped her breast at a USO event in 2003 as the pair posed for a photo, refusing to let go. Radio broadcaster Leeann Tweeden posted a photo showing Franken appearing to place his hands on her breasts over her Kevlar vest while she was sleeping on a plane in 2006 as they were both coming back from a USO tour. Meanwhile, Rep. Conyers is facing multiple accusations he sexually harassed or groped women—charges he denies. Among his accusers is Marion Brown, who said Conyers invited her to a Chicago hotel room in 2005, where he appeared in his underwear and demanded she touch him sexually. She says she was fired when she refused. For more, we speak with Minnesota Democratic Congressmember Keith Ellison.

On Saturday morning, Senate Republicans passed a nearly 500-page tax bill that will have dramatic impacts not only the U.S. tax code, but also healthcare, domestic spending and even oil and gas drilling. The plan would cut taxes by nearly $1.5 trillion. Major corporations and the richest Americans, including President Trump and his own family, would reap the most dramatic benefits. Overall, the bill is expected to add $1.4 trillion to federal budget deficits over the next decade. The bill passed the Senate 51 to 49, with every Democrat voting against the bill and all Republicans voting for it except for Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. We speak with Minnesota Democratic Congressmember Keith Ellison. He's the first Muslim member of Congress. Ellison is also the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee.

In Rushed Vote, Senate Passes Sweeping Tax Bill Benefiting Wealthiest, Michael Flynn to Testify Following Plea Deal with Special Counsel, Honduras: Protesters Denounce "Election Fraud" Amid Stalled Returns, Yemen: Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh Reportedly Killed by Houthis, Syria: 27 Civilians Dead in Attack on Damascus Suburb, Israel: Tens of Thousands March Against Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump to Decide Whether to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital, Malta: Suspects Arrested over Murder of Anti-Corruption Journalist, Utah: Thousands Protest Trump Plans to Scale Back National Monuments, Billy Bush: "Of Course" It was Trump's Voice in "Access Hollywood" Tape, Arnold Schwarzenegger Cancels Appearance Amid Protests over Sexual Abuse, New York Met Suspends Conductor James Levine over Sexual Abuse Claims, Walmart Drops T-Shirt Calling for Lynching of Journalists , CVS to Purchase Aetna in Healthcare Mega-Merger, Australian Lawmaker Proposes to Partner During Marriage Equality Debate

In November, a half-dozen Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of obstruction of justice and other offenses. This comes as a petition for impeachment launched in October by Democratic donor Tom Steyer now has more than 3 million supporters. At least 17 communities around the country are now on record calling for impeachment proceedings against Trump. On Tuesday, the town of Weston, Massachusetts, joined the list when residents supported a citizen petition asking the House to assess whether Trump is violating the Constitution. We speak with constitutional attorney John Bonifaz, co-founder and director of Free Speech for People.

The Pentagon is on the defensive after a new investigation revealed evidence that U.S. special operations forces massacred civilians in Somalia earlier this year, allegedly firing on unarmed farmers and their families, then planting weapons beside the bodies to appear as though the people were armed members of al-Shabab. On Wednesday, they released a statement that said, "After a thorough assessment of the Somali National Army-led operation near Bariire, Somalia, on Aug. 25, 2017 and the associated allegations of civilian casualties, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa has concluded that the only casualties were those of armed enemy combatants." This came after The Daily Beast published an investigation Wednesday on the operation and its aftermath and reported what eyewitnesses have said since the attack: The victims were farmers, and they were killed by American soldiers. All of this comes as the U.S. recently revealed it has some 500 troops in Somalia, up from a reported 50 earlier this year. We speak with Christina Goldbaum, an independent journalist based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her new article for The Daily Beast is the investigation headlined "Strong Evidence That U.S. Special Operations Forces Massacred Civilians in Somalia."

As the GOP tax bill heads to a potential vote today, a little-known provision tucked into the Republican tax bill would open one of the world's last pristine wildernesses—the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—to oil and fracked gas drilling. The amendment was added during negotiations to win votes for the larger tax bill. The Arctic Refuge is rich in biodiversity and home to caribou, polar bears and musk oxen. It has also been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. We speak with activist and photographer Subhankar Banerjee, Lannan chair and professor of art and ecology at the University of New Mexico.

*Update: ABC is reporting Michael Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians _during the transition_, initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria.*Just before news broke that President Trump's former national security adviser Mike Flynn will plead guilty this morning to lying to the FBI, we spoke with national security reporter Marcy Wheeler, who anticipated the news and said it could "dramatically change how Republicans face the Russian investigation."

White House chief of staff John Kelly has reportedly developed a plan to push Secretary of State Rex Tillerson out of his post and replace him with CIA director Mike Pompeo. The New York Times reports President Trump would then appoint Republican Senator Tom Cotton to replace Pompeo at the CIA. Cotton has been a key ally of the president on national security matters. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders denied the reports on Thursday. We speak with Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties at her website EmptyWheel.net. Her new piece is headlined, "Throwing H2O on the Pompeo to State Move."

As Vote Nears, Senate Told Tax Cuts Would Add $1 Trillion to Deficit, Report: White House Could Replace Secretary of State Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, Top House Democrat Calls for Sen. Al Franken to Resign, House Democratic Leader Pelosi Calls on Rep. John Conyers to Resign, Matt Lauer Offers Qualified Apology Over Sexual Assault Claims, Alabama: Roy Moore Blames "Malicious" Allegations on Gays, Socialists, Russell Simmons Steps Down From His Companies Amid Rape Allegations, Israel Horovitz Dropped from Theater Company Over Sex Assault Charges, Honduras: Protests Rage After Election Commission Delays Vote Results, U.S. Says 800 Civilians Killed in ISIS Fight; Monitors Say True Toll Far Higher, Pakistan: Taliban Gunmen Storm College, Killing 9, Yemen: Tens of Thousands Protest U.S.-Backed Saudi-Led War, Undocumented Immigrant Cited by Trump Found Not Guilty of Murder, Arizona: Border Patrol Kills Migrant on Tohono O’odham Reservation, Philippines: March on Presidential Palace Condemns Duterte "Dictatorship"

In the updated edition of Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz's new book, "Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited: Anti-Globalization in the Era of Trump," he argues that when Trump became president, he "threw a hand grenade into the global economic order." We speak with Stiglitz about the impact of free trade agreements that Trump has criticized.

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz joins us to critique the Republican tax plan that could face a vote as early as Friday. The sweeping legislation would overhaul the tax code in order to shower billions of dollars in tax cuts upon the richest Americans, including President Trump’s own family, and repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. Stiglitz is a Columbia University professor, and chief economist for the Roosevelt Institute. He served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton.

Oral arguments are scheduled for next week in both federal appeals court cases of President Trump's proposed travel ban, which blocks various people from eight countries, six of them with Muslim majorities, from entering the United States. Mehdi Hasan, award-winning British journalist and broadcaster at Al Jazeera English, discusses the impact Trump's recent retweets of Islamophobic messages and videos could have on the cases and notes, "This is the way he's always been."

We get response from Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan to _New York Times_ columnist Thomas Friedman's recent controversial column, "Saudi Arabia’s Arab Spring, at Last." Hasan argues the piece is absurdly sympathetic to Saudi Arabia, and that Trump's friendly relations with the country mean he "is not just a liar and a conspiracy theorist, he's a hypocrite. He goes on about radical islamic terrorism but cozies up to Saudi Arabia, which many would argue has done more to promote ideologically and financially radical Islamic terrorism than any other country on earth."

President Donald Trump drew international outrage Wednesday after he retweeted three violent videos shared by a leader of the fringe, far-right-wing group Britain First. The videos purport to show violence carried out by Muslims. The videos were posted early Tuesday by Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen, who was arrested just days ago on hate speech charges over an appearance in Belfast last August. She was previously found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment after she verbally accosted a Muslim shopkeeper during a so-called "Christian patrol" last year in the English town of Luton. We get response from Mehdi Hasan, award-winning British journalist and broadcaster at Al Jazeera English and columnist for The Intercept.

Full Senate to Debate Tax Bill That Would Shower Billions on Wealthiest, Trump Retweets Videos Posted by British Far-Right Anti-Muslim Leader, White House Spokesperson: "Whether It's a Real Video, the Threat is Real", More Women Accuse Matt Lauer of Sexual Harassment, Assault, MPR Cuts Ties With Garrison Keillor Over "Inappropriate Behavior", Another NPR Executive Resigns Over Sexual Harassment Charges, Lawyers Say Rep. John Conyers to Challenge Sexual Harassment Charges, Supreme Court Weighs Police Tracking Cellphones Without Warrant, Trump Veers from Tax Speech to Insult North Korea's Kim Jong-Un, Report: U.S. Sought Cover-Up After Special Forces Killed Somali Civilians, Burkina Faso: French President to Declassify Documents on Thomas Sankara's Death, Bosnian War Criminal Dies After Drinking Poison in International Criminal Court, Argentine Court Convicts Former Officials For Crimes During Military Dictatorship

We look at the case of Olivia Lone Bear, yet another Native American woman who has gone missing in the oil fields of North Dakota. We speak with her brother, Matthew Lone Bear, who is part of a daily search to look for his sister since she went missing on October 25th in New Town, North Dakota. Olivia Lone Bear is the mother of five children. We also speak with Mary Kathryn Nagle, a Cherokee writer and lawyer.

As Native American Heritage Month winds down, President Donald Trump is opening the door to new drilling and mining on land considered sacred by tribal nations. On Monday, Trump plans to travel to Utah to announce plans to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments to make way for more industrial activity on the land. The Hopi, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni and the Ute Indian Tribe all say they will sue to stop the plan. This comes after Trump attempted to insult Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by referring to her as "Pocahontas" during a White House ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers, Native Americans who served in the Marines during WWII and used the Navajo language in order to transmit encoded information. Warren says her family is part Cherokee. We speak with Mary Kathryn Nagle, a citizen of Cherokee Nation and a partner at Pipestem Law, P.C., a law firm dedicated to the restoration of tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction.

As NBC News fires Matt Lauer after accusations of "inappropriate sexual behavior," our guest Heather McGhee, president of Demos, makes the connection between patriarchy and abuses of power in media and government, from the White House and its endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, to the GOP tax plan that Republicans are pushing toward a vote in the Senate.

More than 40 graduate student walkouts are planned across the country today to protest a measure tucked into the budget bill that passed the House earlier this month that amounts to a pay cut of thousands of dollars for graduate students by reclassifying their tuition waivers as taxable income. Opponents say the move could diminish the number of students who will even consider graduate school and hurt the chances of finishing for current students. We speak with Jenna Freudenburg, a fourth-year graduate student in astronomy at Ohio State University and an organizer with the Save Graduate Education movement.

Republicans are rapidly pushing forward with their efforts to pass President Donald Trump's tax plan, which would overhaul the tax code in order to shower billions of dollars in tax cuts upon the richest Americans, including Trump's own family. On Tuesday, the Senate Budget Committee passed the Senate version of the plan, with all Republicans on the panel voting for it and all Democrats voting against. Protesters disrupted the committee hearing Tuesday with chants of "Kill the bill, don't kill us." The plan will now go to the full Senate for a vote as early as Thursday. The Senate bill slashes the corporate tax rate and gives further tax cuts to wealthy business owners. It would also repeal a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, the requirement that most Americans have health insurance. Experts say revoking this provision, known as the individual mandate, would cause the cost of health insurance to skyrocket. We speak with Heather McGhee, president of Demos and Demos Action.

Illinois Democratic Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election, because he instead plans to focus on rebuilding Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. This comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency reportedly gave more than $30 million in contracts to a newly created Florida company called Bronze Star, LLC, which failed to deliver any aid to Puerto Rico. We get response from _Democracy Now!_ co-host Juan González.

Republicans Pass Trump’s Tax Plan in Senate Budget Committee, North Korea Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Hawaii to Test Early Warning System as Nuclear Threat Between U.S. and N. Korea Rises, NYT: Trump Continues to Push Racist and Discredited Birther Theory about Obama, Honduras: Fears of Vote-Rigging as Court Delays Releasing Final Presidential Election Results, Pentagon Admits There Are Nearly 9,000 U.S. Troops in Iraq, Lawyers Stage Walkout at Brooklyn Criminal Court to Protest ICE Arrests at Courthouses, Pope Francis Avoids Saying "Rohingya” in Anticipated Speech in Burma, NBC Fires Matt Lauer After Accusations of Inappropriate Sexual Behavior, Rep. Conyers Under Pressure to Resign As Another Woman Accuses Him of Sexual Harassment, Illinois Rep. Luis Gutiérrez to Retire to Focus on Rebuilding Puerto Rico, FEMA Gave $30M Contract to FL Company That Failed to Deliver a Single Tarp to Puerto Rico

A shocking new exposé reveals how the U.S. Coast Guard is detaining thousands of suspected drug smugglers they arrest in international waters and keeping them jailed at sea for up to several months before they are charged in a U.S. federal court. Many of the suspects are low-level smugglers from impoverished fishing towns in Latin America. During their imprisonment at sea they are shackled on deck, exposed to the elements and denied access to lawyers and their families. The increased detentions began when General John Kelly headed the Pentagon's Southern Command from 2012 to 2016. Kelly is now President Trump's White House chief of staff after briefly serving as Secretary of Homeland Security. We are joined by Seth Freed Wessler, the journalist who broke the story in _The New York Times Magazine_ in a piece headlined, "The Coast Guard’s ‘Floating Guantánamos.'" Wessler is a Puffin Fellow at the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.

The first trial of the nearly 200 people arrested during President Trump’s inauguration is underway and involves six people, including one journalist, Alexei Wood, a freelance photojournalist and videographer based in San Antonio. The defendants were charged under the Federal Riot Statute and face multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including inciting or urging to riot, conspiracy to riot and multiple counts of destruction of property. 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, and speak with defendant Elizabeth Lagesse, who is also a plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit which charges D.C. police mistreated detainees after their arrests at the inauguration.

What happens to a member of Congress when someone dares to come forward to report wrongdoing? As Senator Al Franken returned to Congress in the face of allegations from four women that he had groped or inappropriately touched them, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she spoke to and believed one of the women who has accused Michigan Congressman John Conyers of sexual harassment, we speak with Alexis Ronickher, an attorney who has represented multiple congressional staffers pursuing harassment claims through Congress’s Office of Compliance.