Democracy Now!

The journalistic monitoring group Airwars says 17 civilians, including nine children, reportedly died in U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on the Syrian city of Tabqa in Raqqa province on Monday. The victims reportedly included the 6-month-old baby Abd al-Salam and the toddler Ali Abu Aish, along with their entire family. Meanwhile, two Democratic lawmakers—Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and California Congressmember Adam Schiff—sent a letter to the White House Tuesday demanding President Trump provide a legal justification for the U.S. attack on the Shayrat air base earlier this month. On Monday night, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke to world-renowned linguist and dissident Noam Chomsky at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and asked him what he thinks the U.S. should do about Syria.

Over the last month, the Trump administration has escalated tensions between both North Korea and Iran. Vice President Mike Pence has warned North Korea, saying all options are on the table—including preemptive military strikes. Will either of these conflicts escalate to outright war? For more, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman asked world-renowned linguist, professor and political dissident Noam Chomsky, during a wide-ranging interview Monday night at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

On Monday night, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke to world-renowned linguist and dissident Noam Chomsky at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the conversation, Amy Goodman asked Chomsky about one of the most serious threats to the survival of the human species: nuclear weapons.

As President Trump prepares to mark 100 days in office, we spend the hour with the world-renowned linguist and dissident Noam Chomsky. Amy Goodman spoke to him on Monday night at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The conversation addressed climate change, nuclear weapons, North Korea, Iran, the war in Syria and the Trump administration's threat to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Amy Goodman began by asking him about the Republican Party.

Trump's Tax Plan to Slash Tax Rate for Companies, Including His Real Estate Empire, Turkey Kills 20 U.S.-Backed Kurdish Fighters in Airstrikes in Iraq & Syria, Airwars: U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrikes Killed 17 Syrian Civilians in Tabqa, Judge Blocks Trump Admin from Withholding Funding from Sanctuary Cities, Boston: 20 Arrested at Pro-Immigration Sit-in Outside Detention Center, Immigrants Imprisoned in Tacoma, WA, Relaunch Hunger Strike, Top Lawmakers Say Flynn Broke Laws by Receiving Payments from Foreign Gov'ts, Ivanka Trump Booed in Germany After Claiming Father is Champion of Families, Intercept: Koch Industries, Nestlé & Other Companies Lobbied for Trump's Cabinet Picks, Japan: Okinawa Residents Protests 1st Day of Construction of New U.S. Base, Venezuela: 2 More Die as Political Unrest and Demonstrations Continue, Brazil: 3,000 Indigenous People Protest Land Theft Outside Congress, Seattle: 2 Charged in Shooting of Antifa Protester at Milo Yiannopoulos Speech, NYC: Hundreds Disrupt Citibank Shareholder Meeting to Protest Dakota & Keystone Pipelines

As more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have entered their ninth day on a massive hunger strike inside Israeli jails, we are joined by the Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, who has come to the United States to receive the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award for his work as co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, movement. At the award ceremony, Barghouti dedicated the prize to Palestinians on hunger strike. He was almost prevented from attending after Israeli police arrested him, seizing his passport and forbidding him from leaving the country. An Israeli court eventually temporarily lifted the travel ban.

As Donald Trump approaches his 100th day as president on Saturday, his approval ratings are the lowest any president has had at this stage in generations. A recent poll by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found just 40 percent of Americans approve of his job performance so far. Trump took to Twitter to call the poll "totally wrong." This comes as former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders has emerged as one the country's most popular politicians. The Hill reports a Harvard-Harris poll shows 57 percent of registered voters view him favorably. Meanwhile, some former Sanders supporters have launched a movement to "Draft Bernie for a People's Party," urging him to start a new progressive party and run for president again in 2020. We speak with Nick Brana, the former outreach coordinator for the Bernie Sanders campaign, and Cornel West, professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University. His new piece in The Guardian is headlined "The Democrats delivered one thing in the past 100 days: disappointment."

We speak with The Guardian's chief reporter Ed Pilkington about the shocking double execution Arkansas carried out Monday night, marking the first time in nearly 17 years that any state has killed two people on the same day. At 7:20 p.m. local time, 52-year-old Jack Harold Jones was pronounced dead in the death chamber at the Cummins Unit state prison. Infirmary workers had spent more than 45 minutes unsuccessfully trying to put a central line into his neck. According to a court filing, during Jones's execution, he was "moving his lips and gulping for air," which suggests he continued to be conscious during the lethal injection. Lawyers for the second man, Marcel Williams, filed a last-minute appeal for a stay of execution following Jones's killing, arguing Williams could also experience a botched, painful death. A district court judge initially granted a temporary stay of Williams's execution but then allowed the execution to go forward. Williams was pronounced dead at 10:33 p.m. The executions came after legal challenges reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected a stay for Williams. The only justice to dissent in this ruling was Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The last double execution carried out in the United States was in 2000 in Texas.

Arkansas Kills Jack Jones & Marcel Williams in First Double Execution Since 2000, Trump Walks Back Demands for $1.4 Billion in Border Wall Funding, Fmr. Fox Guest Accuses Sean Hannity of "Weird and Creepy" Sexual Advances, State Dept. Used Taxpayer Money to Promote Trump's Private Mar-a-Lago, In First Post-Presidency Speech, Obama Refuses to Utter Trump's Name, Treasury Dept. Imposes Sanctions on 271 Syrian Officials over Chemical Gas Attack, Crowds March to Turkish Consulate in L.A. to Commemorate Armenian Genocide, Congo: Video Appears to Show Killing of Two U.N. Investigators, Mexico: Dutch Ship Provides Free Safe Abortions in International Waters, New Orleans Removes Four Confederate Monuments, PA Residents Launch Tree Sits to Blockade Construction of Gas Pipeline

Among those who came from around the country to participate in the first-ever March for Science in Washington, D.C., was Julia Olson, executive director and chief legal counsel for Our Children's Trust, which has filed a landmark lawsuit on behalf of 21 young people all under the age of 21. The lawsuit argues the government has failed to take necessary action to curtail fossil fuel emissions. Democracy Now! spoke with Olson and some of her young clients.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people descended on Washington, D.C., for the first-ever March for Science. Among those who took to the stage were a number of young aspiring scientists, as well as LGBT speakers, people of color and disabled scientists.

Among those who spoke out at the March for Science in Washington, D.C., on Saturday was Flint's Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, an Iraqi-American doctor who discovered the connection between rising blood lead levels in the children of Flint, Michigan, and the switch to the Flint River as a water source. State officials initially dismissed her findings, but she refused to accept their denials. Democracy Now! spoke with Dr. Hanna-Attisha about the ongoing Flint water crisis, the life-saving importance of science, and President Trump's Muslim travel ban.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of scientists and science supporters took to the streets around the world in a global March for Science on Earth Day. More than 600 marches and rallies took place, with one on every continent, including on Antarctica. Massive marches occurred from coast to coast in the United States, including at a massive rally in Washington, D.C. Among those who took to the stage were Bill Nye, "The Science Guy"; Earth Day founder Denis Hayes; former EPA environmental justice official Mustafa Ali, who resigned after Trump took office; Sam Droege of the U.S. Geological Survey; and James Balog, of the Extreme Ice Survey, which is documenting the rapid retreat of glaciers due to climate change.

Marine Le Pen & Macron Advance to Runoff in French Presidential Election, Afghanistan: At Least 140 Soldiers Killed in Taliban Attack on Army Base, Hundreds of Thousands Pour into Streets for Global March for Science, North Korea Detains U.S. Citizen, Amid Rising Tensions, Trump Falsely Claims to be "Great Friend" of Dead Italian Opera Singer, Venezuela: Maduro Calls for Talks with Opposition, as Dozen Die in Protests, Prominent Blogger Yameen Rasheed Murdered in the Maldives, New York Denies Parole to Getaway Driver Judith Clark, Arkansas Seeking to Carry Out Double Execution Tonight, Grand Rapids Police Under Fire for Stopping Young Black Boys at Gunpoint, Florida: Transgender Woman Chay Reed Murdered, Britain Goes Full 24 Hours Without Burning Coal for Electricity, 2017 Winners of Goldman Environmental Prize Announced

As Vice President Mike Pence railed against ISIS-linked terrorism Thursday, we speak with longtime investigative journalist Allan Nairn about his shocking new exposé that reveals backers of Donald Trump in Indonesia have joined army officers and a vigilante street movement linked to ISIS in an attempt to oust Indonesia's president. Writing in The Intercept, Nairn reveals that Indonesians involved in the coup attempt include a corporate lawyer working for the mining company Freeport-McMoRan, which is controlled by Trump adviser Carl Icahn. Video has even emerged showing the lawyer at a ceremony where men are swearing allegiance to ISIS. According to Nairn, two of the other most prominent supporters of the coup are close associates of Donald Trump—Fadli Zon, vice speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, and Hary Tanoe, Trump's primary Indonesian business partner, who is building two Trump resorts, one in Bali and one outside Jakarta. Nairn's article is making waves in Indonesia.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald responds to reports that the Trump administration has prepared an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed the report at a news conference Thursday. Last week, CIA chief Mike Pompeo blasted WikiLeaks as a "hostile intelligence service," in a stark reversal from his previous praise for the group. Pompeo made the remarks last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in his first public address as CIA director. Pompeo went on to accuse WikiLeaks of instructing Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning to steal information. He also likened Julian Assange to a "demon" and suggested Assange is not protected under the First Amendment. It's been nearly five years since Julian Assange entered the Ecuadorean Embassy in London seeking political asylum, fearing a Swedish arrest warrant could lead to his extradition to the United States. Greenwald's story for The Intercept is "Trump's CIA Director Pompeo, Targeting WikiLeaks, Explicitly Threatens Speech and Press Freedoms."

Arkansas Puts Ledell Lee to Death, Plans 3 More Executions in April, CNN: Trump Administration Seeks to Arrest WikiLeaks's Julian Assange, AG Sessions Amazed Judge "On an Island in the Pacific" Blocked Trump, Detained Asylum Seeker Fears Deportation After SCOTUS Ruling, Jeanette Vizguerra Among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, New York: Tom Cat Bakery Workers Hold "Day Without Bread" Protest, Protests Target Trump's Proposed $6.2 Billion Cut to Housing Agency, Venezuela: President Says Opponents Mounting a Coup Amid Mass Protests, U.N.: Government Soldiers May Be to Blame for Mass Graves in Congo, Gunman Opens Fire in Paris, Killing Police Officer and Injuring 2, Fox News Will Pay Bill O'Reilly Up to $25 Million After Firing Him, Ohio: Pipeline Crews Spill 2 Million Gallons of Drill Fluid, Dow Lobbies White House to Reject Scientific Findings on Pesticides, Tens of Thousands to March for Science on Earth Day

According to the group Airwars, at least 1,782 civilians were killed last month in coalition strikes. The civilian death toll could be as high as nearly 3,500. The battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul is now in its seventh month. The United Nations is warning the city is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, perhaps the worst in the entire conflict. More than 400,000 people are trapped in parts of the city still under control of the Islamic State. Meanwhile in Syria, Human Rights Watch has concluded the U.S. did in fact bomb a mosque last month, killing at least 38 people. The Pentagon claimed the drone strike on March 16 targeted a meeting of al-Qaeda members, but Human Rights Watch has concluded the victims were civilians who had gathered to pray. Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence that al-Qaeda or any other armed group was meeting in the mosque. For more, we speak with Anand Gopal, a journalist and a fellow at The Nation Institute. He recently returned from the Middle East and has reported extensively from the region.

Are Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner personally profiting from their official roles in the White House? According to the Associated Press, Ivanka Trump secured three new exclusive trademarks in China the very same day she and her father, President Trump, had dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The China trademarks give her company the exclusive rights to sell Ivanka-branded jewelry, bags and spa services in China. The New York Times reports Japan also approved new trademarks for Ivanka for branded shoes, handbags and clothing in February, and she has trademark applications pending in at least 10 other countries. Ivanka no longer manages her $50 million company, but she continues to own it. Ivanka also serves in the Trump administration as an adviser to the president. So does her husband, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. For more, we speak with Vicky Ward, New York Times best-selling author, investigative journalist and contributor to Esquire and Huffington Post Highline magazine.

The longtime Fox News star Bill O'Reilly is out, after more than half a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment. His departure follows the similar ouster of longtime powerful Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who was also forced out this past summer after more than 20 women accused him of sexual harassment. Over 50 advertisers boycotted "The O'Reilly Factor" over revelations O'Reilly and Fox paid $13 million to settle lawsuits by five women who accuse O'Reilly of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behavior. For more, we speak with civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom. She represents three women who have accused Bill O'Reilly of unwanted sexual advances.

Bill O'Reilly Ousted from Fox News over Sexual Harassment Allegations, The Intercept: Trump Associates Linked to Plot to Oust Indonesian President, Airwars: Airstrikes Reportedly Kill 12-24 Civilians in Mosul, Iraq, Tillerson Claims Iran "Has Potential to Travel the Same Path as North Korea", Despite Trump's Claims, Armada Was Not Headed to Korean Peninsula, Exxon Asks for Treasury Dept. Waiver to Drill in Black Sea with Russian Oil Company, Turkey Arrests Dozens of Opposition Members over Referendum Protests, Arkansas Supreme Court Blocks Execution of Stacey Johnson, CA Judge Gonzalo Curiel Will Hear Deported DREAMer's Lawsuit Against Trump Admin, FL State Senator Facing Calls to Resign After Issuing Racist, Sexist Slurs, Utah Republican Congressmember Jason Chaffetz Not to Run for Re-election, Mexico: LGBT Activist & Freelance Journalist Juan José Roldán Murdered, Dozens of Patriots Skip White House Super Bowl Tribute

In Berkeley, California, at least 20 people were arrested as fights broke out between white nationalist Trump supporters and antifascist protesters during competing rallies on Saturday. Photos show some of the Trump supporters posing with the Nazi salute. Police say at least one person was stabbed during the clashes. Several more were injured. In one instance, a known white supremacist was videotaped punching a young antifascist woman named Louise Rosealma in the face. The man who is seen punching her is Nathan Damigo, a former marine who founded the white supremacist organization known as "Identity Europa." For more, we speak with award-winning reporter Shane Bauer. His most recent article is titled "I Went Behind the Front Lines with the Far-Right Agitators Who Invaded Berkeley."

Among the tens of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by the massive evidence testing scandal in Massachusetts, where chemist Annie Dookhan has admitted to falsely claiming evidence was illegal narcotics before even testing it, was Timothy Taylor. He was arrested in 2009 and went on to serve five years in prison on drug trafficking charges. Annie Dookhan handled the evidence in his case. For more, we speak with Timothy Taylor.

In what may be the single largest dismissal of wrongful convictions in U.S. history, Massachusetts prosecutors announced Tuesday they would throw out 21,587 criminal drug cases. The cases were all prosecuted based on evidence or testimony supplied by a former state chemist who admitted to faking tests and identifying evidence as illegal narcotics without even testing it. The chemist, Annie Dookhan, pleaded guilty in 2013 to tampering with evidence during her nine years working at a state crime lab in Boston. During that time, thousands of people were convicted based on her false statements. For more, we speak with Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Mallory Hanora of the group Families for Justice as Healing.

In 2013, Steven Odiase was convicted for the shooting death of 15-year-old Juan Perez in the Bronx. At the time, the only evidence against the 31-year-old Odiase were the words of a lone eyewitness, who admitted to being intoxicated at the time of the murder. Odiase was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Then, Odiase's younger sister, Kalimah Truesdale, set out to prove her brother's innocence. She scoured the scene of the crime and eventually found a woman who said that she saw the shooting. Most shockingly, the woman said she had already spoken to a detective at the time of the murder and described the shooter as a man not matching Odiase's description. However, there was no mention of the woman's testimony in the version of the police report that was presented to Steven Odiase's defense attorney. For more on the mystery of this altered police report, we speak with Jonathan Edelstein, one of the lawyers who represented Steven Odiase, and with Jennifer Gonnerman, a staff writer for The New Yorker. Her most recent piece is titled "A Woman's Quest to Prove Her Brother's Innocence Leads to a Discovery."

Defense Sec. Mattis Hails U.S.-Saudi Relations as War Pushes Yemen to Brink of Famine, U.N.: 25,000 Sickened with Cholera in Somalia Amid Severe Drought, Syria: Residents Say 30 Civilians Killed in Alleged U.S. Airstrike, Reports: Dozens of Iraqi Civilians Killed in U.S. & Iraqi AF Airstrikes, Ivanka Won Exclusive Trademarks in China the Same Day She Dined with Chinese Leader, Reuters: Philippine Police Receive Cash Payments for Extrajudicial Killings, Report: Child Refugees in Greece Forced to Sell Sex to Fund Journey Across Europe, Bill O'Reilly May Be Ousted from Fox Amid Mounting Accusations of Sexual Harassment, Democrat Jon Ossoff Narrowly Misses Winning GA Special Election Outright, MA Throws Out 20,000 Drug Cases over Scandal of Chemist Falsifying Evidence, Trump Administration Deports DREAMer Despite His DACA Protection, Hundreds Protest White Nationalist Richard Spencer at Auburn University, Migrant Justice Activist Hugo Castro Found Alive in Mexico City

As President Trump continues to vow a crackdown against immigration and immigrants living inside the United States, we turn to a new book described by the Texas Observer as "the First Must-Read Book of the Trump Era." The book is titled "Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions" by Mexican-born author Valeria Luiselli. Luiselli is one of the most acclaimed young Mexican writers. She recently spent time as a volunteer interpreter for dozens of Central American child migrants here in the United States who risked their lives crossing Mexico to seek refuge in the U.S. For more, we speak with Valeria Luiselli.

Two months ago, Jeanette Vizguerra skipped a scheduled check-in with ICE officials and instead sought refuge in the First Unitarian Society church, along with her four children, three of whom are U.S.-born. Democracy Now! recently visited Jeanette and her 10-year-old son, Roberto, at the First Unitarian Society church in Denver.

The White House is facing new criticism over its lack of transparency, as President Trump is refusing to release his tax returns as well as logs of White House visitors. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump did not plan to release his tax returns, saying Trump was under an audit. Spicer's comments came just two days after more than 100,000 people took to the streets on Saturday to call on Trump to release his taxes. Crowds gathered in more than a dozen cities from coast to coast, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and in South Florida, where activists marched to Trump's private Mar-a-Lago resort, where Trump was staying over the weekend. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are vowing not to work with Trump on reforming or rewriting the tax code unless Trump releases his own taxes. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers are also calling on Trump to release his taxes. For more, we speak with Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. She was on the steering committee for the NYC Tax March.

British Prime Minister Calls for Early Elections Amid Brexit Process, France's Left Candidate Surges in Polls Ahead of Presidential Election, Trump Congratulates Erdogan as Monitors Slam Handling of Referendum, Vice President Pence in Japan Amid Rising U.S.-North Korea Tensions, Airwars: Dozens of Iraqi Civilians Reportedly Killed in Airstrikes Last Week, Airwars: Up to 20 Syrian Civilians Reportedly Killed by U.S. Airstrikes Last Week, As Taxes are Due Today, Calls Grow for Trump to Release His Returns, U.S. Supreme Court Halts 2 Arkansas Executions, Egyptian Court Acquits Aya Hijazi After 3 Years of Imprisonment, More Than 1,000 Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Israeli Jails, Kashmir: 100 Students Wounded After Police Open Fire on Protest with Rubber Bullets, Mexico: Journalist Maximino Rodríguez Murdered, Democrat Jon Ossoff Front-Runner in Today's Special Election in Georgia , Facebook Under Fire over Video of Man Killing Cleveland Grandfather, Kathrine Switzer, First Woman to Officially Finish Boston Marathon, Runs Race Again

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory in Sunday's referendum over whether to give sweeping powers to the president, but Turkey's main opposition party is calling for the the referendum results to be tossed out, citing irregularities. According to unofficial results, just 51 percent of voters approved the sweeping change. Turkey's three largest cities—Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir—all voted against the referendum. The opposition says they've received thousands of reports of voter fraud, including some alleged instances caught on camera. Critics say the constitutional changes will allow Erdogan to rule until at least 2029, if not longer, and could turn Turkey into a dictatorship. Earlier today, Turkey announced it would extend its state of emergency put in place after an attempted coup last year.

Arkansas's plan to carry out an unprecedented series of executions has been thrown into chaos, after judges ruled to temporarily halt the state's plan. Hundreds of death penalty opponents rallied at the State Capitol in Little Rock on Friday, as state Judge Wendell Griffen issued a temporary stay of the executions over concerns the state used false pretenses to obtain the drug vecuronium bromide, which is one of a cocktail of drugs slated to be used in the executions. The following day, federal Judge Kristine Baker also temporarily blocked the state's execution plans from proceeding over concerns about another one of the execution drugs: the sedative midazolam. Arkansas is appealing the rulings. If Arkansas prevails, it's slated to begin the executions today.

Vice President Mike Pence has made an unannounced visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating South and North Korea, following North Korea's attempted missile launch and a massive military parade celebrating the birthday of the country's founder on Saturday. Pence's visit comes at a time when tension between the United States and North Korea is quickly ratcheting up. A U.S. armada, including an aircraft carrier and multiple warships, has been deployed to the Korean Peninsula. Last week, NBC News reported the Trump administration is prepared to launch a preemptive attack on North Korea if it proceeds toward a nuclear weapons test. Hours before Pence arrived in South Korea, North Korea attempted to test launch a new ballistic missile, but the test failed as the missile blew up almost immediately.

Pence Visits DMZ as Tensions Rise Between U.S. and N. Korea, Turkey: Erdogan Claims Victory in Referendum to Give President Sweeping Powers, Syria: 126 Civilians Killed in Bombing on Evacuation Bus, Gen. McMaster Meets with Afghan President After U.S. Drops Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb, On Tax Day, Tens of Thousands Demand Trump Release Tax Returns, White House Will Keep Visitor Logs Secret, Berkeley: 21 Arrested in Clashes Between White Nationalists & Antifascists, Arkansas: Legal Rulings Temporarily Block Scheduled Executions, 700 Palestinian Prisoners Launch Hunger Strike in Israeli Jails, Migrant Justice Activist Hugo Castro Disappears in Mexico, Georgia: 2 Cops Fired for Kicking and Beating Handcuffed Black Student, 9 Arrested in Good Friday Protest Against Drones at Hancock Air Base in NY

Hundreds of undocumented immigrants are on hunger strike to protest the conditions and extremely low wages at the for-profit Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. We speak with Maru Mora Villalpando, an activist and undocumented immigrant with the group Northwest Detention Center Resistance and the group Mijente, and Alexis Erickson, the partner of hunger striker Cristian Lopez. Cristian was part of the hunger strike in the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, before he was transferred to a jail in New Mexico, where he is continuing the strike. He's facing deportation to Mexico. Alexis and Cristian have three U.S.-born children.

Amid fallout from the United Airlines passenger who was beaten and dragged from a flight by airport security guards, we speak with longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who in the early 1970s helped force airlines to begin compensating passengers bumped from their flights.

The "Mother of All Bombs" is the nickname for the bomb the U.S. dropped Thursday on Afghanistan, but our guests in Kabul say civilians there are asking if any mother would conduct such an attack. Basir Bita is a mentor with Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers, and Dr. Hakim is a medical doctor who has provided humanitarian relief in Afghanistan for over a decade. He works with Afghan Peace Volunteers, an inter-ethnic group of young Afghans dedicated to building nonviolent alternatives to war. We are also joined by Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, who is just back from Afghanistan, and Wazhmah Osman, professor of media and communication at Temple University and member of the Afghan American Artists and Writers Association.

In Afghanistan on Thursday, the United States military dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever—the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, nicknamed "The Mother of All Bombs." The 21,600-pound bomb reportedly unleashed an explosion equivalent to 11 tons of TNT with a mile-wide blast radius. This comes as the United Nations recently published a report saying airstrikes from the Afghan government forces and the U.S.-led coalition killed nearly 600 civilians in 2016—almost twice as many than in 2015. The U.S. war in Afghanistan is the longest war in U.S. history, extending into its 16th year. We are joined by Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. She just returned from Afghanistan earlier this month. We also speak with Wazhmah Osman, professor of media and communication at Temple University and member of the Afghan American Artists and Writers Association.

U.S. Drops Largest-Ever Non-Nuclear Bomb on Afghanistan, Syria: U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrike Kills 18 U.S.-Backed Rebels, Syrian President Claims Chemical Attack Footage Was Fabricated, Syrian Rebels, Government Begin Exchange of Besieged Residents, NBC News: Trump Administration Prepared to Strike North Korea, Trump Signs Law Allowing States to Withhold Planned Parenthood Funds, New York: 25 Arrested at Protest in Trump Tower Lobby, CIA Director Pompeo: WikiLeaks a "Hostile Intelligence Service", Libya: Nearly 100 Migrants Feared Dead After Boat Capsizes, Brazil: Judge Opens Corruption Probe into Nearly 100 Senior Politicians, Arkansas: Death Penalty Opponents Rally Ahead of 7 Planned Executions, Lawyer: United Customer Suffered Lost Teeth, Broken Nose, Concussion, Canadian Bill Would Legalize Recreational Marijuana

Lawmakers and Jewish organizations, including the Anne Frank Center, are continuing to call for White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to be fired, after Spicer compared Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Hitler and falsely claimed Hitler never used chemical weapons. In fact, the Nazis systematically used poison gas as part of its genocide of 6 million Jews. The Nazis began experimenting with gas with the specific purpose of carrying out mass murder in the late 1930s. We speak to Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, "I think it is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end." But what will Syria look like if the U.S. pushes for regime change in Syria? Professor Stephen Cohen predicts Syria could fall into even more chaos.

At the United Nations, Russia blocked a Security Council resolution Wednesday to denounce last week's chemical attack in Syria. Russia and Syria have both claimed the Syrian government was not behind the attack. Meanwhile, Russia has accused the United States of violating international law by bombing a Syrian air base last week. We speak to Jonathan Steele, former Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, and professor Stephen Cohen.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has wrapped up a visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The meetings come at a time of increased tension between Washington and Moscow. On Wednesday during a press conference, President Trump said relations with Russia had reached a new low point. Trump's comments came a day after the White House accused Russia of attempting to cover up the role of the Syrian government in the recent chemical attack in Syria that killed 87 people. Russia has rejected the claim, saying the U.S. has been too quick to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. We speak to Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University.

President Trump Declares U.S.-Russia Relations "At an All-Time Low", In Reversal, President Trump Says NATO No Longer "Obsolete", Eric Trump Says Tensions Disprove Alleged Trump-Russia Ties, Former Trump Campaign Chair Manafort to Register as Foreign Agent, Trump Says He Ordered Missile Strikes over Dessert with President Xi, President Trump Appears to Sour on Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, U.N.: Famine in Yemen, African Nations "Becoming an Inevitability", Sean Spicer Apologizes After False Claim Nazis Never Used Poison Gas, Kansas Republican Wins Congressional Seat by Narrow Margin, Afghanistan: Suicide Bomber Targets Kabul Government Offices, Hunger Strike Grows at Washington State Immigration Jail, Attempted Manslaughter Charge for North Miami Cop in Charles Kinsey Shooting, Sacramento Police Officer Filmed Beating Alleged Jaywalker, Lawsuit Seeks Documents on 2012 NYPD Killing of Ramarley Graham, United Airlines to Refund Passengers on Flight Where Doctor Was Beaten, South Africa: Tens of Thousands March, Calling on President Zuma to Resign, Sheila Abdus-Salaam, First Muslim Woman U.S. Judge, Found Dead

As President Trump's administration continues to be rocked by investigations and scandals, we continue our conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn. We asked him to talk more about his assessment of the opening months of the Trump presidency.

Since taking office, Trump has rapidly expanded U.S. military operations in Yemen. Last month, the U.S. reportedly launched more than 49 strikes across the country—more strikes than the U.S. has ever carried out in a single year in Yemen. The U.S. has also resumed some weapons sales to the Saudis, after the transfers were frozen by President Obama amid concerns about mounting civilian casualties in Yemen. For more, we speak with longtime investigative reporter Allan Nairn.

As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Russia to talk about the war in Syria and other issues, we spend the hour with the longtime investigative journalist Allan Nairn. For decades, Nairn has covered the impact of U.S. foreign policy across the globe in East Timor, Guatemala, El Salvador, Indonesia and other countries. Democracy Now! spoke to Nairn on Monday, discussing the escalation of U.S. military operations across the Middle East, as well as the unique danger Trump poses both abroad and at home. We began by asking Allan Nairn about last week's U.S. attack on a Syrian air base.

Sean Spicer Under Fire After Falsely Claims Nazis Never Used Poison Gas, Japan to Join U.S. Military Drills Amid Escalation with N. Korea, WashPost: FBI Obtained FISA Order to Monitor Trump Aide Carter Page, AP: Manafort Received $1.2M for Consulting for Fmr. Pro-Russia Ukrainian President, Lawmakers Contradict Nunes, Say Docs Don't Show Rice Broke Laws in Unmasking Names, 400+ Prisoners at Tacoma, WA, Immigrant Prison Launch Hunger Strike, Pentagon: Soldier Killed in Afghanistan was Mark De Alencar, Chile: 68 Arrested in Protest Against Education Privatization, India: 50+ Arrested in Protest Against University Fee Hike, Reports: Gay Men Facing Violence and Imprisonment in Chechnya, Florida State Attorney Sues Gov. Scott in Escalating Death Penalty Dispute, United Apologizes Amid Fury over Video of Doctor Dragged Off Flight, At Tent City Protest, Atlanta Residents Demand Agreement with Georgia State over Development, Civil Rights Activist Lolis Edward Elie Dies in New Orleans

Does President Trump stand to personally profit off the wars he is escalating in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and beyond? That's the question many are asking, after it emerged that Trump has personally invested in Raytheon, the military contractor who makes the Tomahawk missiles used in the U.S. strike on a Syrian airbase last week. Raytheon's stocks briefly surged after the attack. Overall, the stocks of defense contractors, such as Boeing and General Dynamics, have increased since Trump's election, further fueled by his promise of a "historic" 10 percent increase in U.S. military spending. For more, we speak with William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. His latest book is "Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex."

United Airlines is facing widespread criticism after video surfaced of a doctor being forcibly dragged off a plane by security officers on Sunday, after United overbooked the flight and then demanded some passengers disembark. The flight was leaving from Chicago O'Hare International Airport and was headed to Louisville, Kentucky. When no one volunteered to get off the flight, the 69-year-old man was selected to be forced off the plane. He protested, saying he was a doctor who needed to see patients at a hospital in Kentucky the following morning. The Washington Post reports a fellow passenger says, "He said, more or less, 'I'm being selected because I'm Chinese.'" Multiple Chicago Department of Aviation security officers then began dragging him through the aisle as fellow passengers screamed. After being removed, the man, who was bloodied by the first removal, attempted to run back onto the plane. He was then forcibly removed a second time. For more, we speak with Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Norm Stamper, the former chief of the Seattle Police Department and the author of the book "To Protect and Serve: How to Fix America's Police."