Democracy Now!

On Capitol Hill, calls are growing for House Republican Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes to step down from his committee's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, as the investigation itself stalls amid the controversy. On Tuesday, the House Intelligence Committee was scheduled to hear testimony from former acting Attorney General Sally Yates. But Nunes canceled the hearing last week, a day after Yates and former CIA head John Brennan, who was also slated to testify Tuesday, informed the government they would contradict some statements that White House officials had made. The Washington Post is reporting the White House sought to block Yates's testimony. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer called this report "100 percent false." The House Intelligence Committee has now canceled all meetings this week. Lawmakers are calling on Nunes to step down as chair, after it emerged he had met with a source on the grounds of the White House and viewed secret U.S. intelligence reports before supposedly briefing President Trump about the reports. Nunes says the reports indicate Trump or his associates might have been "incidentally" swept up in surveillance carried out by American spy agencies as they conducted foreign surveillance. For more, we speak with Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News. His new piece is titled "Russia probe in turmoil as top Dem calls for Nunes' recusal."

Trump Signs Executive Order Dismantling Rules to Curb Climate Change, House Intelligence Committee in Turmoil as Nunes Refuses to Step Down, Trump Lawyers Argue He's Immune from Civil Suit Because He's President, Lawmaker: Treasury Sec. Mnuchin Broke Ethics Rules by Promoting Movie He Financed, British Prime Minister Theresa May Formally Triggers Brexit Process, General: U.S. "Probably Had Role" in 200 Casualties from Airstrike on Mosul, VT: 2 Immigrant Rights Activists Released After ICE Arrests, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Death Row Prisoner Bobby Moore, California: Anti-Choice Activist David Daleiden Charged with 15 Felonies, Women's Hockey Players Win Stipends & Paid Travel from USA Hockey, Olympic Gymnasts Testify to Congress About Sexual Abuse by Officials, French Guiana: General Strike Continues as 10,000 March in Capital, Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, Professor Roger Wilkins Dies at 85

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday to dismantle a slew of climate rules put in place by President Obama. The executive order marks the first step to undo President Obama's Clean Power Plan to limit power plant emissions. The rule was seen as a critical element of the U.S. pledge to cut emissions as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Trump's executive order is also expected to scrap regulations limiting methane emissions and open up the door for more coal mining and fracking on federal lands. For more, we speak with Rebecca Solnit, one of the nation's most celebrated writers, who has spent years writing about climate change. She's the author of more than 20 books, including, most recently, "The Mother of All Questions."

Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym and Austin City Councilmember Gregorio Casar talk about fear spreading in immigrant communities, as well as the growing resistance to federal immigration policy.

In 2007, the New Haven City Council and mayor agreed to adopt the first municipal ID card in the nation. The move sparked fierce backlash from federal immigration authorities. Forty-eight hours after the Board of Alders approved the new ID cards, ICE conducted the largest raid in the history of the state, sweeping across immigrant neighborhoods, kicking in doors and arresting 32 people. For more on how the community fought back against the illegal raid, we speak with Michael Wishnie, clinical professor of law at Yale Law School, where he oversees the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic.

Texas U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin said in open court that federal agents had alerted him that ICE would be targeting the area of Austin, Texas. The raids would be retribution for Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez's new policy that limited cooperation between local and federal authorities. For more, we are joined by Austin City Councilmember Gregorio Casar. When he first won election in 2014, he was the youngest councilmember in the city's history.

The Trump administration has unveiled its latest attempt to target sanctuary cities that are refusing to help federal agents detain and deport undocumented immigrants. On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department would withhold billions of dollars in grants to law enforcement agencies in sanctuary cities. In response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and others vowed to defy the order and remain sanctuary cities. For more, we speak with Helen Gym, longtime community activist who was recently elected to the Philadelphia City Council.

Democrats Call for Nunes to Step Down as House Intelligence Chair, Trump Son-in-Law Kushner Met with Head of U.S.-Sanctioned Russian Bank, Mayors Vow to Fight Sessions's Threat to Cut Funding from Sanctuary Cities, Chicago: ICE Agent Shoots and Injures Father During Home Raid, Trump to Sign Executive Order Dismantling a Slew of Climate Rules, U.S. Leads Boycott of U.N. Talks on Outlawing Nuclear Weapons, U.S. to Send More Troops to Iraq, as Pentagon Probes Reports of Hundreds of Civilian Casualties, WSJ: Trump Increasing Military Support for Saudi-Led War on Yemen, N. Korea Launches Rocket Engine Test as U.S. & S. Korea Conduct Military Drills, Hong Kong Charges 9 Activists for 2014 Pro-Democracy Protests, Peru: Death Toll from Worst Flooding in Decades Rises to 90, French Guiana Rocked by General Strike to Protest Unemployment, Lack of Services, Michigan to Pay Nearly $100 Million to Flint to Replace Water Lines, White Supremacist Charged with Murder as Terrorism for Killing Black Man with Sword, Colorado: Residents Rally to Support Vandalized Fort Collins Mosque, Anti-Apartheid Activist Ahmed Kathrada Dies at Age of 87

The Trump administration has approved a permit allowing TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport 830,000 barrels of crude every day from Alberta's tar sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast for export. TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline would cross the Yellowstone River, as well as the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest freshwater aquifer in the United States. Trump's approval of the Keystone XL pipeline is a reversal of the Obama administration's decision to halt the project in late 2015 following massive, sustained resistance from Native Americans, farmers, ranchers and environmental groups. For more, we speak with Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org and author of several books, including "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet."

Details are emerging about U.S.-led coalition airstrikes that are believed to have killed over 200 people in a single day in Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition has admitted launching airstrikes on March 17 targeting a crowded neighborhood in Mosul. They are among the deadliest U.S. airstrikes in the region since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to some reports, one of these strikes destroyed houses where hundreds of people were taking refuge amid the city's heavy fighting. Up to 80 civilians, including women and children, may have died in one house's basement alone. This bombing is just one of an onslaught of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria that has killed as many as 1,000 civilians in March alone, according to the journalistic project Airwars. For more, we speak with Chris Woods, founder of Airwars, a nonprofit group that monitors civilian deaths from international airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.

On Friday, House Republicans failed to muster enough support to pass the GOP healthcare plan, which some call Trumpcare. In response, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has announced he will soon introduce a bill to create a single-payer healthcare system. Several progressive groups are backing a single-payer system, including the Working Families Party, the Progressive Campaign Change Committee, CREDO, Social Security Works and National Nurses United. For more, we speak with Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. She is a professor at CUNY-Hunter College and a primary care physician. She is also a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Under President Obama, House Republicans voted more than 50 times to repeal or rewrite the Affordable Care Act. But on Friday, the House couldn't muster the votes needed to pass its own healthcare law, which some call Trumpcare. Just minutes before the vote was scheduled, President Trump pushed House Speaker Paul Ryan to pull the legislation. The bill was opposed by every Democrat, as well as many members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and some moderate Republicans. For more. we speak with Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. She is a professor at CUNY-Hunter College and a primary care physician. She is also a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Republicans Pull Healthcare Bill After Failing to Muster Enough Votes, Reports: U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrikes Killed 200+ in West Mosul, Yemen: Tens of Thousands Protest U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Bombing, 5th Round of Syrian Peace Talks Begin as 16 Civilians Killed in Damascus Airstrike, Russia: 600+ Protesters Arrested at Anti-Corruption Demonstrations, Belarus: Hundreds of Protesters Arrested Opposing Tax on Unemployed, Jared Kushner: "Government Should Be Run Like a Great American Company", Democrats Demand Publication of White House & Mar-a-Lago Visitor Logs, California: Trump Supporters Attack Anti-Trump Protesters, SC Sen. Lindsey Graham Booed at Angry Town Hall, Senate Moves to Dismantle Internet Privacy Protections, Washington, D.C.: 1,000+ Jewish Activists Protest AIPAC Conference, Chile: Massive Nationwide Protests Demand End to Privatized Pension System, Argentina: Demonstrations Mark 41st Anniversary of 1976 Military Coup, Colombia: Town Votes Against Plans for Massive Open-Pit Gold Mine, South Korea: Prosecutors Seek to Arrest Fmr. President Park Geun-hye, London: Crowds Protest Brexit Plans to Leave European Union, Ohio: 1 Dies in Shooting in Cameo Nightclub in Cincinnati, Mexican Journalists Protest Murder of 3 Reporters in March

A battle over the death penalty is brewing in Florida, where Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala has announced her office will no longer seek the death penalty in any murder cases, including in the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and Orlando police officer Debra Clayton. Ayala's announcement sparked immediate backlash from the police union and Florida Governor Rick Scott, who called on her to recuse herself from the Loyd case. When she refused, Scott signed an executive order removing her from the case and reassigning it. Now Ayala, the first African-American state attorney in Florida history, has been receiving death threats, including from local government employees. We are joined by Angel Harris, assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

We feature an extended excerpt of Senator Al Franken (D-MN) grilling Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing about the so-called frozen trucker case of Alphonse Maddin. Gorsuch ruled it was right for Maddin to be fired after he disobeyed a supervisor and abandoned the trailer that he was driving, because he was on the verge of freezing to death. "It is absurd to say this company is in its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving in an unsafe vehicle," says Sen. Franken. "It makes me question your judgment."

As confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch wrap up and Senate Democrats vow to filibuster his nomination, we look at Gorsuch's ruling in a case known as the "frozen trucker." Truck driver Alphonse Maddin was fired after he disobeyed a supervisor and abandoned the trailer that he was driving, because he was on the verge of freezing to death. We speak with Robert Fetter, the attorney who represented Maddin in his wrongful termination lawsuit.

As President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan face a showdown with Republicans, both moderate and conservative, on whether to repeal Obamacare, the party has been scrambling to rewrite the legislation in order to appease members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus and win its passage. The latest version of the bill strips away provisions that would require health insurers to provide basic services including maternity care, newborn care, emergency services, mental health and addiction treatment. The Democratic Caucus has been united in opposition to the bill, which is projected to leave 24 million fewer people insured by 2026 than under Obamacare. The bill also includes over $275 billion in tax breaks for wealthy Americans. We are joined by John McDonough, professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is the former executive director of Health Care for All in Massachusetts, which played a key role in the passage of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform bill, which was known as Romneycare. He later became a top aide to the late Senator Ted Kennedy and worked on the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act.

GOP Delays Healthcare Vote as President Trump Issues Ultimatum, Police Arrest 24 at Healthcare Protest Outside White House, House Intel Committee Democrat: More Evidence of Trump-Russia Ties, House Intel Committee Chair Devin Nunes Under Fire for Wiretap Claims, Senate Minority Leader Plans Filibuster of SCOTUS Nominee Neil Gorsuch, State Department Tightens Visa Rules for Some Travelers, Death Threats Target Federal Judge Who Ruled Against Trump Travel Ban, Hundreds of Migrants Feared Dead After Boats Capsize in Mediterranean, Britain: Police Identify Assailant in Attack Near Parliament, Video Shows Israeli Police Officer Assaulting Palestinian Driver, Israel Accused of "Dirty Tricks" in Arrest of Palestinian Activist, Israel Arrests Jewish Teen for Bomb Threats Against Jewish Centers, Ousted Dictator Hosni Mubarak Released from Egyptian Prison, GOP Congressmember Duncan Hunter Faces DOJ Corruption Probe, La Jornada Reporter Miroslava Breach Gunned Down in Mexico, Chicago Officer Draws Additional Charges in Laquan McDonald Killing, Trump Issues Keystone XL Pipeline Permit to TransCanada, Scientists Report New Record Low for Sea Ice in Winter, RIP: Bob Lee aka Robert Alwalee, Black Panther Activist & Community Organizer

One of the more mysterious parts of the Mercer family's political orbit is Cambridge Analytica. The data firm claims it has psychological profiles of over 200 million American voters. The firm was hired by the Trump campaign to help it target its message to potential voters. The Mercers have bankrolled the company and placed Steve Bannon on its board. We speak to The New Yorker's Jane Mayer.

Years before backing Donald Trump, the Mercers helped support the congressional campaign of Arthur Robinson, who attempted to oust Rep. Peter DeFazio. Robinson made for an unusual candidate. He is a climate change denier who speaks about the positive effects of nuclear radiation. Robinson runs the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, which stores some 14,000 samples of human urine. Robinson has said he is trying to find new ways of extending the human lifespan. The Mercers funded Robinson's campaign and institute. The New Yorker's Jane Mayer reports the Mercers also pushed to have Trump name Robinson as his science adviser. Jane Mayer writes about Robinson in her new piece, "The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency: How Robert Mercer exploited America's populist insurgency."

We look at Robert Mercer, the man who is said to have out-Koched the Koch brothers in the 2016 election. The secretive billionaire hedge-fund tycoon, along with his daughter Rebekah, is credited by many with playing an instrumental role in Donald Trump's election. "The Mercers laid the groundwork for the Trump revolution," Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon said. "Irrefutably, when you look at donors during the past four years, they have had the single biggest impact of anybody, including the Kochs." Before Bannon and Kellyanne Conway joined the Trump campaign, both worked closely with the Mercers. The Mercers bankrolled Bannon's Breitbart News, as well as some of Bannon's film projects. Conway ran a super PAC created by the Mercers to initially back the candidacy of Ted Cruz. While the Mercers have helped reshape the American political landscape, their work has all been done from the shadows. To talk more about the Mercers, we speak with Jane Mayer, staff writer at The New Yorker. Her latest piece is headlined "The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency: How Robert Mercer exploited America's populist insurgency." She is also author of "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right," which just came out in paperback.

Amid Protests, House Set for Historic Vote on Healthcare Bill, Supporters of the Affordable Care Act Rally on Capitol Hill, High Court Rules 8-0 Against SCOTUS Nominee Gorsuch's 2008 Ruling, London Attacker Kills 3, Injures Dozens Near British Parliament, House Intel Chair Claims Surveillance Swept Up Trump Communications, Labor Secretary Nominee Alexander Acosta Refuses to Commit to Obama-Era Labor Protections, Doctors Without Borders: Tens of Thousands Fleeing Mosul Need Care, Afghanistan: Taliban Fighters Overrun Sangin District, NYPD: Baltimore White Supremacist Targeted Black Men for Death, Tens of Thousands of Argentine Teachers March Amid Nationwide Strike, Puerto Ricans Stage Protests in 7 U.S. Cities Against Austerity Cuts, NYC Bakery Faces Protests After Company Threatens to Fire Dozens of Immigrant Workers

A growing number of U.S. citizens are sharing accounts of having been detained at airports across the country since the start of the Trump administration. Boston-based civil rights attorney Iván Espinoza-Madrigal says he was returning home on March 12 from a vacation in Portugal when he was detained at Boston's Logan Airport. A day later, the former police chief of Greenville, North Carolina, Hassan Aden, says he was detained for over an hour by Customs and Border Protection agents when he was flying into New York City's JFK International Airport after returning from visiting his mother in Paris. The two join other U.S. citizens, including a U.S. Olympic medalist, a NASA scientist and the son of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who have all been detained at airports across the country since the start of the Trump administration. For more, we're speak with Iván Espinoza-Madrigal and Hassan Aden.

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was tapped by President Trump to fill the seat left vacant by Antonin Scalia's death over a year ago. President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Scalia nearly a year ago, but Republicans refused even to hold hearings, fearing that Garland would tip the ideological balance of the court to the left. Now Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Democratic lawmakers to refuse to vote on Gorsuch's confirmation while the Trump administration is under FBI investigation. For more, we speak with Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and with Elliot Mincberg, former chief counsel for oversight and investigations of the House Judiciary Committee.

During Tuesday's hearing, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch faced questions about his views on the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling and the $10 million dark money campaign supporting his nomination. A recent New York Times investigation reveals Gorsuch has close ties to Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz. For more, we speak with Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and with Elliot Mincberg, former chief counsel for oversight and investigations of the House Judiciary Committee.

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is heading to Capitol Hill today for his third day of confirmation hearings. On Tuesday, he was questioned for over 10 hours by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He faced particularly intense scrutiny over his decision to rule against a truck driver whose employer fired him for deserting a trailer so he wouldn't freeze to death. For more on this case and the rest of Gorsuch's record, we speak with Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. We also speak with Elliot Mincberg, former chief counsel for oversight and investigations of the House Judiciary Committee.

Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Undergoes 10 Hours of Questioning, Trump Heads to Capitol Hill to Lobby for Republican Healthcare Plan, U.S. Gov't Pulls Out of Human Rights Hearing on Deportations, Muslim Ban, Dakota Access, Confirmation Hearings Begin for Labor Secretary Nominee Alex Acosta, AP: Paul Manafort Secretly Worked for Russian Billionaire to Advance Putin's Interests, Supreme Court Rules 6-2 to Limit Presidential Appointment Powers, Syria: Monitor Group Says U.S.-Led Coalition Strike Killed 33 Civilians, Somalia: 5 Killed in Car Bombing; 26 Starve to Death Amid Risk of Widespread Famine, 6,000 Refugees Rescued in Mediterranean over Last Few Days, India: Auto Workers Protest Life Sentences in 2012 Plant Uprising Case, Brussels: Thousands of Healthcare Workers Protest Austerity, Washington, D.C.: Honduran President Faces Protests over Cáceres's Murder, Head of Nation's Largest Anti-Muslim Group Visited White House, Vigils Held Across Ireland to Mourn Death of Martin McGuinness

FBI Director James Comey has confirmed the FBI is investigating whether President Trump's campaign collaborated with Russia to sway the 2016 election. Comey also said the FBI has "no information" that supports Trump's unsubstantiated claims that President Obama tapped Trump's phones in Trump Tower during the election. The director of the National Security Agency, Michael Rogers, also refuted President Trump's claims that President Obama asked the British intelligence agency GCHQ to carry out the wiretap on Trump Tower. For more, we speak with journalist Marcy Wheeler, who runs the website EmptyWheel.net. We also speak with Eric Lipton, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times.

All eyes are on the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch, who is facing his second day of confirmation hearings. But Trump has 123 other federal judgeships to fill, because Senate Republicans blocked many of Obama's nominees. We take a look at how a top official at the Federalist Society, named Leonard Leo, is playing a key role in helping Trump reshape the nation's judicial landscape from behind the scenes. We speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eric Lipton of The New York Times. He recently co-wrote a piece headlined "In Gorsuch, Conservative Activist Sees Test Case for Reshaping the Judiciary."

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is heading back to Capitol Hill today for a second day of confirmation hearings. During Monday's hearing, Democratic senators repeatedly criticized Gorsuch's record, as well as their Republican counterparts for refusing to take up the nomination of President Obama's pick, Merrick Garland, to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Neil Gorsuch has a long history of ruling against employees in cases involving federal race, sex, age, disability and political discrimination and retaliation claims. For more, we speak with Ian Millhiser, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and editor of ThinkProgress Justice. His recent piece is headlined "The Judge Gorsuch who spoke in the Senate today is nothing like the man who wrote his opinions."

James Comey: FBI Is Investigating Trump's Ties to Russia, James Comey: FBI Has "No Information" to Support Trump's Wiretapping Claims, Fmr. Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Facing New Accusations in Ukraine, Reuters: Tillerson to Skip April NATO Meeting, Then Head to Russia, Day 2 of Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings Begin, Reports: Ivanka Trump to Receive Security Clearances, White House Office, Republicans Amend Healthcare Bill to Further Limit Medicaid, Trump Admin. Imposes New Rules on Passengers Flying to U.S. from Some Airports, WMO: Climate Change Has Pushed Planet into "Uncharted Territory", Indian Court Grants Ganges & Yamuna Rivers Legal Rights of Human Beings, Iraqi Officials: 180,000 People Displaced from West Mosul Amid Fighting, Veracruz, Mexico: Mexican Journalist Killed; Mass Grave Discovered, Parents of 43 Missing Ayotzinapa Students Meet with IACHR Officials in D.C., FL: State Attorney Threatened with Lynching After Refusing to Seek Death Penalty in Cop Murder Case, CA: African Trade Summit Held Without Any African Attendees, After Visas Were Denied, Forbes: Trump's Fortune Dropped by $1 Billion, Banker David Rockefeller Dies at Age of 101, NYC: Leading Asian-American Studies Scholar Peter Kwong Dies

In Burlington, Vermont, at least three prominent immigrant rights activists have been arrested in recent days. All three—Cesar Alex Carrillo, Enrique Balcazar and Zully Palacios—are leaders or members of the group Migrant Justice. Balcazar, who is known as Kike, serves on Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan's immigration task force, which was created to respond to the Trump administration's immigration policies. For more, we speak with Will Lambek, organizer with Migrant Justice.

On Thursday, a U.S. Reaper drone struck a gathering in a rebel-held village in Aleppo province, killing as many as 49 people. Monitoring groups say most of the dead were civilians who had gathered at a mosque to pray, while the Pentagon claims the gathering was a meeting of al-Qaeda members. The next day, 42 Somali refugees were gunned down by a helicopter gunship near the Yemen coast. Somalia accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the strike. Eyewitness accounts suggest a U.S.-made Apache helicopter was used to carry out the deadly strike. For more, we speak with Samuel Oakford, investigative reporter for the journalistic project Airwars, who reports that the number of civilian casualties in U.S. airstrikes has been escalating since Donald Trump took office two months ago.

As Neil Gorsuch begins his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, we look at his extreme right-wing political positions as a student at Columbia in the 1980s and speak with his former classmate, Jordan Kushner. While on campus, Gorsuch co-founded the right-wing campus newspaper the Federalist Paper. The Associated Press reports that in Gorsuch’s writing both for the Federalist Paper and the Columbia Daily Spectator, he criticized anti-apartheid protests, saying divestment could hurt the university’s endowment. He also criticized racial justice protests and black-led movements on campus, while he defended the Reagan administration during the Iran-Contra scandal.

As confirmation hearings begin for Neil Gorsuch, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, we look at his record on voting rights and speak with Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation. His recent piece is headlined "In E-mails, Neil Gorsuch Praised a Leading Republican Activist Behind Voter Suppression Efforts."

Confirmation hearings begin today for Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, Gorsuch would give conservatives a narrow 5-4 majority on the court. When he was first nominated, Gorsuch praised Antonin Scalia. As a judge on the Tenth Circuit, Neil Gorsuch ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in the case deciding whether the company could refuse to provide birth control coverage to employees as required by Obamacare. Judge Gorsuch also has a long history of ruling against employees in cases involving federal race, sex, age, disability and political discrimination and retaliation claims. For more, we speak with Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout. She recently ran for a congressional seat in upstate New York. Her recent piece for The Washington Post is headlined "Neil Gorsuch sides with big business, big donors and big bosses."

Confirmation Hearings Begin for Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch, FBI Director Comey Going Before House Intelligence Committee Today, Hawaii Judge Rejects DOJ Request to Narrow Injunction Against Travel Ban, Former NC Police Chief Hassan Aden Says He Was Detained at JFK, Trump to Tap Kellyanne Conway's Husband to Head Civil Division of DOJ, Kellyanne Conway Has Helped Female Friends Get Abortions, Betsy DeVos Hires For-Profit College Official Robert Eitel, North Korea Tests Rocket Engine as Tillerson Wraps Up Asia Visit, 42 Somali Refugees Gunned Down in Helicopter Attack Off Yemen Coast, U.N. Official Resigns After Refusing to Withdraw Report Accusing Israel of Apartheid, France: Thousands Protest Police Brutality, Peru: 70 Die in Country's Worst Flooding in 30 Years, Japan: Activist Hiroji Yamashiro Released on Bail, Philippines: Duterte Faces Impeachment & International Criminal Court Case, Florida: No Charges Against Guards in Death of Schizophrenic Prisoner, Oil to Start Flowing Through Dakota Access Pipeline This Week, Legendary NYC Journalist Jimmy Breslin Dies at Age 88

Is President Donald Trump’s top counterterrorism adviser, Sebastian Gorka, a member of a Hungarian far-right, Nazi-allied group? We speak with reporter Larry Cohler-Esses, who first reported the allegations in The Forward, a leading Jewish American newspaper. The outlet reports members of the Vitézi Rend elite order confirmed Gorka took a lifelong oath of loyalty to the Hungarian far-right group, which is listed by the U.S. State Department as having been “under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany” during World War II. Questions first emerged about Gorka's ties to the group after the website LobeLog published photographs of Gorka wearing a Vitézi Rend medal on his lapel at a presidential inauguration ball on January 20. Gorka has denied reports of his involvement with the group, but if he is found to have failed to disclose this in his immigration application, it could make him inadmissible to the country under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The revelation comes as Jewish community centers and synagogues around the U.S. reported another wave of bomb threats over the weekend.

Longtime consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader responds to President Donald Trump's 2018 budget proposal to Congress, which calls for an unprecedented $54 billion increase in military spending while slashing environmental, housing, diplomatic and educational programs. "The mask is off. The fangs are now out," Nader says. "He is collaborating with what is, on the record, the most vicious, ignorant Republican Party in its history, since 1854."

President Trump has unveiled his 2018 budget proposal to Congress, which calls for an unprecedented $54 billion increase in military spending while slashing environmental, housing, diplomatic and educational programs, and calling for the outright elimination of 19 agencies. The budget would also cut spending for the State Department and USAID by 28 percent, and slash billions of dollars in funding for the United Nations. The Office of Management and Budget director describes Trump’s proposal as an America First budget, even though numerous programs to help the poor are on the chopping block, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps the poor pay for heat during the winter, the Legal Services Corporation, which funds free legal aid nationwide, and the Community Development Block Grant program, which partially funds Meals on Wheels to feed the elderly, poor, veterans and disabled. When asked about the cuts, OMB head Mick Mulvaney said they were "about as compassionate as you can get."

Tillerson Says Military Action Against North Korea is on the Table, Japanese Protested U.S. Military Base in Okinawa Ahead of Tillerson's Visit, Speaker Paul Ryan Loses Support for Republican Healthcare Plan, Lawmakers, Human Rights Advocates Oppose Trump's 2018 Budget, Trump Stands by Wiretapping Story, as Lawmakers Say Claims are Baseless, Trump Meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Today, Report: Trump's Counterrerrorism Aide is "Sworn Member" of Nazi-Allied Group, Syria: U.S. Confirms Airstrike But Denies Hitting Mosque Where 40 Were Killed, Indigenous Namibian Tribes Suing Germany for Reparations for Genocide, Brazil: Workers Mount General Strike in São Paulo, McDonald's Tweet to Trump: "You are Disgusting Excuse of a President", EPA Official Faces Allegation He Tried to "Kill" Investigation into Monsanto's Roundup, Orlando: Attorney General Will Not Seek Death Penalty in Murder Cases, Fmr. L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca Guilty of Obstructing FBI Probe into Abuse in Jail, Muhammad Ali's Son Stopped at Airport for Second Time in a Month

For the first time, a United Nations agency has directly accused Israel of imposing an "apartheid regime" on the Palestinian people. The report also urges governments to "support boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] activities and respond positively to calls for such initiatives." The findings come in a new report published by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which is comprised of 18 Arab states. For more, we speak with the co-author of the report, Richard Falk. He's professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and previously served as the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.

Border agents are increasingly seizing cellphones and demanding passwords of travelers, including U.S. citizens. The number of searches skyrocketed under President Obama, reaching 25,000 last year. But the number is expected to be far higher this year. According to NBC News, more than 5,000 devices were searched in February alone—that's more than the entire number searched in all of 2015. For more, we speak with Esha Bhandari, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Her recent article is headlined "Can Border Agents Search Your Electronic Devices? It's Complicated."

Iowa Republican Congressmember Steve King sparked outrage Sunday after publishing a racist tweet in support of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who was rejected by the majority of Dutch voters during Wednesday's parliamentary elections. Congressmember King was retweeting a cartoon by the anti-immigrant group Voice of Europe depicting Wilders with a finger plugging a leak in a dike, labeled "Western Civilization," holding back a toxic wave of Islam. The cartoon also depicts Muslim men with a sword and a suicide bomb vest. Rep. King's retweet of the cartoon read, "Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." For more, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois.

In Chicago, federal police handcuffed Democratic Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez along with activists and lawyers Monday, after they held a sit-in protest at a federal immigration office. Gutiérrez says the group refused to leave the Chicago office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after the agency's regional director refused to answer his questions about the Trump administration's plans for immigration sweeps and mass deportation. For more, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, co-chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

On Wednesday, only hours before the Trump administration's new travel ban was set to go into effect, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide halt to the executive order, which would have temporarily suspended refugees and people from six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. This morning, a federal judge in Maryland also blocked part of the travel ban, dealing a second legal blow to the Trump's executive order. For more, we speak with Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney who presented the first challenge to the executive order on immigration. His argument resulted in a nationwide injunction.

Hawaii Judge Blocks Trump's Muslim Travel Ban, Trump Budget Slashes Funding for EPA, Education, Housing & State Dept., Top Republicans Reject Trump's Unsubstantiated Wiretapping Claims, Trump's Visit to Honor Andrew Jackson Draws Criticism, Senate Confirms Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, Fmr. Goldman Executive Dina Powell Promoted to Deputy National Security Adviser, Tillerson Travels to Asia with Only 1 Reporter from New Conservative Outlet, DOJ Indicts 2 Russian Spies over 2014 Yahoo Hacking, Dutch Voters Reject Xenophobic Right-Wing Politician Geert Wilders, French Presidential Candidate François Fillon Charged with Embezzlement, U.N. Agency Publishes Report Calling Israel an "Apartheid Regime", Cambodia Resisting U.S. Demands to Repay Loans Paid to Former Dictatorship, Syria: 30 Killed in Bomb Attacks; Pentagon Considering Sending 1,000 U.S. Troops, France: 1 Injured in Explosion at International Monetary Fund Headquarters, Texas Senate Passes Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Bill", San Francisco Moves to Divest from Banks Financing Dakota Access Pipeline

The state of Arkansas is planning to execute eight men within a 10-day period in April—that's nearly a quarter of its entire death row population. Earlier this month, Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson signed proclamations setting four execution dates for the eight inmates between April 17 and 27, which would be an unprecedented rate of executions in modern U.S. history. Arkansas has suspended executions since 2005 amid challenges in acquiring lethal injection drugs, and lawsuits over the drugs used. Arkansas says it is rushing the executions because the state's supply of the sedative midazolam will soon expire. For more, we speak with Megan McCracken, an attorney with the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

The Trump administration is seeking billions of dollars in cuts in funding to the United Nations, even as the United Nations warns that the world is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War, and seeks $4.4 billion in additional funding by July to avert famine in Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan. For more, we speak with Joel Charny, director of the Norwegian Refugee Council USA.

The United Nations has warned that the world is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War. Nearly 20 million people are at risk of starvation in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Last month, the U.N. declared a famine in parts of South Sudan. Earlier this week, aid officials said they're in a race against time to prevent a famine brought on by a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war and blockade. Almost 19 million people in Yemen, two-thirds of the total population, are in need of assistance, and more than 7 million are facing starvation. For more, we speak with Joel Charny, director of the Norwegian Refugee Council USA.