Democracy Now!

Trump and Putin Agree to Work Together to Seek Ceasefire in Syria, Afghanistan: ISIS Attack Kills 8 Civilians in Kabul, More Republicans Come Out Against the GOP Healthcare Bill, Justice Dept. Will Not Bring Charges Against Cops Who Killed Alton Sterling, Former Cop Michael Slager Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation for Killing Walter Scott, Fmr. Acting AG Sally Yates to Testify to Senate Panel Next Week, Clinton Blames Election Loss on FBI Director and Alleged Russian Hacking, Creditors Force Greece to Impose More Austerity in Exchange for Bailout, Promotional Video of Trump was on Website of Philippines Trump Tower Until This Week, Kentucky Governor Threatens to Close State's Only Remaining Abortion Clinic, Imprisoned Immigrants' Hunger Strike Spreads to Oregon Jail, Texas State Rep. Admits GEO Group Wrote Immigrant Detention Bill in State Legislature, Journalist Barrett Brown Released from Prison After Being Arrested Thursday, Lawmakers Encourage Airline Industry to Self-Regulate at House Committee Hearing, New York's Riverside Church to Divest from Fossil Fuels

We look at the increasing power of states in the South to shape national politics. Our guest, Chris Kromm, writes in his latest piece that Southern states gave 160 Electoral College votes to Trump, more than half of the 306 total he won. "Southern Republicans have emerged as key figures in the new administration and the GOP-controlled Congress, giving Southern states growing influence in shaping the nation's political agenda," Kromm writes. Many Republicans from the South have been confirmed in senior Cabinet positions, including South Carolina's Mick Mulvaney as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rick Perry from Texas as energy secretary, Alabama's Jeff Sessions as attorney general and former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson of Texas as secretary of state.

It has been nearly six months since voters in North Carolina elected Democrat Roy Cooper as governor. Republican lawmakers responded by waging what many described as a legislative coup to strip away much of Cooper's power. Meanwhile, Republicans in North Carolina are attempting to solidify their legislative power by passing a series of new laws to restrict voting rights. This comes despite a report by the Electoral Integrity Project that determined that North Carolina's democratic institutions are so flawed the state should no longer be considered a functioning democracy. We speak to Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of Facing South.

In March, state Republican lawmakers in North Carolina struck a deal to overturn a law denying transgender people the use of the bathroom, changing room or locker room that matches their gender identity. But LGBTQ groups say the so-called repeal of HB 2, the "bathroom bill," hasn’t ended the discrimination. The deal allows the state to continue regulating bathrooms while barring local governments from enacting their own anti-discrimination laws until late 2020. We speak to Sarah Gillooly about the ACLU's ongoing fight.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, more than 100 people braved the rain to take part in a May Day rally outside the state Capitol to protest a series of proposed anti-worker and anti-immigrant bills. Last week, the Senate passed a bill to strip funding for any city that does not enforce federal immigration law. We speak to Raul Jimenez of the Triangle People's Assembly and Sarah Gillooly of the ACLU of North Carolina.

Around the world, millions of workers took to the streets Monday for May Day, also known as International Workers' Day. In the United States, the marches were led by immigrant workers and their allies, drawing comparisons to the massive May Day 2006 marches when millions of immigrants protested nationwide. In California, tens of thousands of people marched in the Bay Area, as immigrant workers refused to go to work and students walked out of class. In Oakland, four activists were arrested after chaining themselves together to blockade the entrance to the Alameda County Administration Building. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, more than 30,000 people marched to demand the governor fire Milwaukee County Sheriff Dave Clarke, block anti-immigrant legislation and return driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. At least 140 businesses were shut down across Milwaukee. We air highlights from May Day protests in New York, including the voices of striking workers at B&H Video.

Millions Take to the Street Worldwide for International Workers' Day, Milwaukee: 30,000+ March on May Day to Demand Firing of Sheriff Clarke, Texas: 2 Dozen Arrested in May Day Sit-in at Gov.'s Office to Protest SB 4, Portland, Oregon: 25 Arrested in May Day Clashes, Puerto Rico: Thousands Block Traffic and March Against Austerity on May Day, HRW: Syrian Gov't Used Nerve Agents in 4 Attacks Since December, Afghanistan: Record Number of Civilians Died & Displaced in 2016, Amid Rising Tensions, Trump Says He'd Meet with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, White House Pushing for Vote on GOP Healthcare Bill, Despite Confusion over Details, President Trump: "Why was There the Civil War?", Fox Ousts Co-President Bill Shine Amid Sexual Harassment Fallout, Texas: Judge Rules Harris County Bail System is Unconstitutional, Milwaukee: Jury Recommends Charges for Jailers Who Denied Terrill Thomas Water, Minneapolis: Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Shooting BLM Protesters in 2015, Texas: Police Shot and Killed 15-Year-Old Black Teen Jordan Edwards, #J20 Inauguration Day Protesters Facing Up to 75 Years in Prison, Author and Editor Jean Stein Dies at 83 in New York City

The People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., also called attention to the perilous climate for environmental justice activists worldwide, where an increasing number of land and water defenders are being murdered for their organizing efforts. During the march, we spoke with Neery Carrillo, the sister of murdered Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres.

The People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday came as extreme, climate-fueled weather is already causing havoc across the world. In the U.S. over the weekend, 13 people died as tornadoes flattened homes, uprooted trees and flipped trucks in Texas and in neighboring states. Historic flooding swept away cars, closed interstates and inundated homes across Missouri. Internationally, parts of South Asia are immersed in a sweltering heat wave. In India, heat waves over the last four years have killed more than 4,000 people. At the People's Climate March, we spoke with Kumi Naidoo, former head of Greenpeace, about the new initiative, Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.

At the People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., many protesters called attention to the close ties between the Trump administration and the fossil fuel industry, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was the longtime CEO of ExxonMobil. Among those at the march was Maura Healey, attorney general of Massachusetts. She's part of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of attorneys general against ExxonMobil.

Just days before the People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., a group of Democratic senators and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill to transition the United States to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by no later than 2050. Two of the bill's co-authors, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, took part in the People's Climate March.

The People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., was led by people from front-line and indigenous communities, whose lives are most impacted by the extraction of fossil fuel and the effects of climate change. Among those who were at the march were Tom Goldtooth and Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

The People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., was held in the sweltering heat as the temperatures soared over 90 degrees. Activists and organizers came in from across the country. Among those who were there was Bill McKibben and May Boeve of 350.org.

As President Trump marked his 100th day in office on Saturday, up to 200,000 people took to the streets of Washington to take part in the People's Climate March. Sister marches were also held across the country. The protesters decried President Trump's steps to roll back environmental regulations, appoint climate change deniers as the heads of government agencies, and defund and erase climate change programs and research, including the administration's move Friday to scrub climate science pages from the EPA's website. The People's Climate March began at dawn on Saturday with a water ceremony led by indigenous peoples at the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

People Worldwide Pour into Streets for People's Climate March, 13 Killed in Tornadoes and Flooding in South and Midwest, At Rally in Pennsylvania, Trump Attacks Immigrants and News Media, Trump Vows to Be Champion of Gun Owners at National Rifle Association, $1 Trillion Spending Bill Won't Fund Border Wall or Cut Funds to Sanctuary Cities, Trump Falsely Claims GOP Healthcare Bill to Protect People with Pre-Existing Conditions, Pope Francis: U.S.-North Korea War Would "Destroy a Good Part of Humanity", Pope Francis Defends Use of "Concentration Camps" to Refer to Europe's Refugee Centers, Pentagon: U.S. Launched 80 Drone Strikes in March & April in Yemen, Pentagon Names 3 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq & Afghanistan, Trump Invites Philippines' Duterte to Visit White House, Despite Human Rights Concerns, Brazil Launches First General Strike in 2 Decades to Protest Austerity, Turkey Fires 4,000 Public Workers and Blocks Access to Wikipedia, Russia: 120 Protesters Arrested in Nationwide Anti-Government Demonstrations, NSA Says It's Curbing Controversial Mass Surveillance Program, Sebastian Gorka Ousted from White House Amid Reports About Links to Nazi-Allied Group, White House Considers Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke for Top DHS Post, Arkansas: Judge Orders Autopsy for Executed Prisoner Kenneth Williams, Workers March & Strike Worldwide on May Day

To mark the 100th day of Donald Trump's presidency, thousands of climate activists from around the country are converging in Washington, D.C. on Saturday for the People's Climate March. Already, Trump has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, begun dismantling President Obama's climate legacy and revived the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. He has also put climate change deniers in charge of several key agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, and proposed slashing the budget of the EPA and other climate programs. This comes as scientists have confirmed 2016 was the warmest year on record. Our guest is Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, who helped organize this latest march and notes: "Weekends are for fighting tyranny."

As we broadcast from Burlington, Vermont, which is a sanctuary city, Vermont Rep. Peter Welch says there has been enormous citizen support toward undocumented workers. "You're just seeing people across this country say, 'Wait a minute, that is not the America I know,'" Welch notes. He also discusses the need for local control over whether police departments enforce immigration laws and says, "It is appropriate for law enforcement to have discretion."

Our guest Congressman Peter Welch explains why he joined his Democratic colleagues on the House Oversight Committee in demanding White House documents on President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In a letter to chairman Jason Chaffetz, the group wrote, "There is obviously a paper trail that the White House does not want our Committee to follow. If the White House refuses to produce the documents requested by the Oversight Committee—as it has to date—we believe the Committee should consider employing compulsory measures as it did in similar cases during the previous Administration."

As President Trump marks his first 100 days in office, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) argues many of his plans have increased inequality. "The tax plan is one where the benefits go to the elites in urban areas and corporations," Welch says. "Those are direct policies that will be crushing to the economic prospects of folks, especially in rural America." Meanwhile, a plan that backed by the Koch brothers to classify the Internet as a public utility would leave the industry to largely police itself.

The Trump administration sent mixed signals on North Korea Thursday, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. is open to direct negotiations with Kim Jong Un's regime over his country's nuclear program, while President Trump hinted at a possible nuclear war. Trump made the remark in an interview with the Reuters news service. Trump's comment came as Secretary of State Tillerson told NPR he's open to direct talks with North Korea if the country is serious about permanently abandoning its nuclear program. Meanwhile, President Trump told Reuters that South Korea should pay the $1 billion price tag for a THAAD missile defense system the U.S. recently began installing. Trump suggested the U.S. could cancel a free trade deal between the two countries if South Korea doesn't accept the demand. "I think the president should be talking diplomacy," says our guest Peter Welch, U.S. Congressman from Vermont. He is Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, "not making a reckless threat of military action where it is going to be very damaging."

Just hours before a deadline, Congress has averted a government shutdown by working on a short-term spending bill and a broader deal to fund agencies through September. If the extension is not approved today, federal agencies will run out of money by midnight tonight. One of the key disputes stemmed from Trump's demands that the government funding bill allocate $1.4 billion for border wall construction. "We don't have a budget. We have a continuing resolution where basically we're operating under last year's numbers," says Vermont Congressman Peter Welch, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus. "The fundamental responsibility of the legislative body is to pass a budget. We have not done that during the entire time that Paul Ryan has been the speaker of the house. It has not gone well." This comes as House Republicans have called off their efforts to revive a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, preventing President Trump from winning his first major legislative victory ahead of Saturday, which marks his 100th day in office.

Arkansas Puts Kenneth Williams to Death in Fourth Execution in 8 Days, Trump Admin Considers North Korea Talks as Trump Warns of "Major Conflict", House Republicans Abandon Latest Effort on Healthcare, Pentagon Investigating Michael Flynn Over Foreign Payments, President Trump to Sign Executive Order Expanding Offshore Drilling, Atmospheric CO2 Levels Reach Record 410 Parts Per Million, Senate Bill Would Phase Out Fossil Fuels by 2050, Activists Ready a Massive "People's Climate March" on Washington, Texas House Approves Anti-Immigrant "Show Your Papers" Bill, Government "Alien Crime" Hotline Trolled by Calls about Space Aliens, Syria: Two Hospitals Bombed Amid Spate of Attacks on Medics in Idlib, Palestinians Strike in Solidarity With Hunger-Striking Prisoners, Court Upholds Sentence Against Former Chadian Dictator Hissène Habré, Brazil: Unions Call General Strike Against Pension Cuts, Chicago Union Authorizes a Strike of 5,000 Nursing Home Workers, United Airlines Settles With Passenger Beaten and Dragged off Flight, Free Speech Radio News to End After 17 Years of Grassroots Reporting, New York: Hundreds Rally on One-Year Anniversary of Mass Arrest

A Mexican immigrant named Arturo Hernández García was arrested Wednesday morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hernández García had sought sanctuary from deportation at the First Unitarian Society church for nine months until July 2015, when he was told he was no longer a priority for deportation. Supporters of Hernández García say he has been targeted in part because of his immigration activism. We re-air our interview from Hernández García in 2015 and speak to Jennifer Piper, interfaith organizer for American Friends Service Committee in Denver and coordinator for the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition.

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 currently approve of his job performance. Trump took to Twitter to call the poll "totally wrong." We speak to the pioneering Vermont politician, former Vermont Governor Madeleine May Kunin. In 1997, she became just the fourth woman in U.S. history to be elected governor whose husband had not previously served. Kunin was born in Switzerland in 1933 and came to the United States as a child. She later served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland. In recent months, she has been a vocal critic of President Trump. She recently participated in the Tax Day march in Burlington, Vermont, and also wrote a piece thanking Trump for "waking us from our slumber."

The White House has outlined a plan to give the nation's millionaires and billionaires a massive tax break while adding trillions of dollars to the U.S. deficit. The plan would lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, end the estate tax and end the alternative minimum tax—a move that would solely benefit the richest Americans, including President Trump. A leaked 2005 tax return shows Trump paid out $36.6 million in federal income taxes that year—most of it due to the alternative minimum tax. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich described Trump's tax plan as a form of class warfare. The tax plan was unveiled on Wednesday by two former executives at Goldman Sachs—Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin—who hailed the tax cuts. We speak to economist James Henry of the Tax Justice Network.

New Trump Tax Plan Would Aid Billionaires, Add Trillions to Deficit, U.S. Commander: North Korea Possibly Ready for Nuclear First Strike, South Koreans Protest U.S. Deployment of THAAD Anti-Missile System, FCC Chair Ajit Pai Unveils Plan to End Net Neutrality, White House Quickly U-Turns on Threat to Withdraw from NAFTA, Executive Order Could Open Millions of Acres to Resource Extraction, ICE Arrests Undocumented Denver Resident Arturo Hernández García, Turkey Arrests Over 1,000 and Fires 9,000 Police in Massive Purge, Venezuela to Withdraw from the Organization of American States, Saudi Arabia Elected to U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, Nevada: 7 Arrested at Air Force Base Protesting U.S. Drone Attacks, Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Jonathan Demme Dies at 73

Last week, the Trump administration reportedly prepared an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department was seeking to put Assange in jail. Amy Goodman asked world-renowned linguist and dissident Noam Chomsky about the U.S. targeting of Julian Assange, during a wide-ranging conversation at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday night.

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.