News Headlines

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins us to discuss two House debates in which he's played a central role this week. The Ohio Democrat is threatening to vote against his party's healthcare reform package because it does not contain a robust public option. Meanwhile, Kucinich's bill to force the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan was taken up on Wednesday. After a rare three-and-a-half-hour debate on the war, the majority of House Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the measure. [includes rush transcript]

A new book by legal scholar and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. It's simply been redesigned, and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system.

Doris "Granny D" Haddock, one of the leading fighters for campaign finance reform in the United States, died on Tuesday at the age of 100. In 1999, just shy of her ninetieth birthday, Granny D walked 3,200 miles across the country to promote campaign finance reform. She is widely credited for galvanizing the public support that helped pass the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act in 2002. We replay an excerpt of a 2004 interview with Granny D in the midst of her campaign for the US Senate against New Hampshire incumbent Judd Gregg. [includes rush transcript]

PA Rejects Talks with Israel in Settlement Row, Report: Israel Plans 50,000 New Units in West Bank, Civil Trial Begins over Israeli Army Killing of Rachel Corrie, Gates Pledges Weapons Aid to Saudi Arabia, Préval: US Lawmakers Rejecting Direct Aid to Haitian Gov't, Burma Bars Political Opponents from Elections, Labor Dept: Unemployment Increases in 30 States, Senate OKs $138B Jobs Measure, Proposed Consumer Agency Won't Regulate Major Lenders, White House Faces Opposition to Overhauling Student Loans, Dems to Bar Federal Earmarks for Corporations, Judge Instructs Fed Agencies to Resume ACORN Funding, Kansas City Announces Major School Closures, Layoffs, UN Rapporteur: Obama Admin Should Probe Torture, State Dept. Awards 10 with International Women of Courage Award

Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old student from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago as she stood before a Palestinian home facing demolition. Today, a trial opens in Israel in a lawsuit brought by Corrie's family against the Israeli government. The eyewitness testimony is expected to challenge Israel's version of events with evidence that she was clearly visible to the soldiers, standing before the bulldozer in her florescent orange jacket. We spend the hour with Rachel Corrie's family: her father Craig, her mother Cindy, and her sister Sarah. [includes rush transcript]

Israel Announces Major Settlement Expansion Amid Biden Visit, NY Activists Protest Israeli Military Chief, Préval in US Ahead of Aid Request, EU: Climate Proposals Could Increase Emissions, India Advances Historic Measure on Women Lawmakers, Ex-UK Intel Chief: US Misled Allies on Treatment of Prisoners, Thousands Protest Insurers in DC , Utah Gov. Signs Anti-Abortion Measure, Study: Number of US Millionaires Increased 16% in 2009, Bank of America to End Overdraft Fees on Debit Purchases, 1st Gay Marriages Performed in DC, Veteran Activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock Dies at 100

Major environmental groups are coming under criticism from within their own ranks for taking positions that some say are antithetical to their stated missions of saving the planet. In the latest issue of The Nation magazine, the British journalist Johann Hari writes, "As we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world's worst polluters -- and burying science-based environmentalism in return…In the middle of a swirl of bogus climate scandals trumped up by deniers, here is the real Climategate." [includes rush transcript]

The official death toll from the war is 100,000, but it is widely estimated to be much higher, perhaps even as high as one million. In his latest piece of artwork, Iraqi American artist Wafaa Bilal tries to grapple with the enormity of these numbers. It's a twenty-four-hour live tattooing performance called "...and Counting" that began at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts gallery in New York Monday night. By tonight Bilal's back will be tattooed with the names of Iraqi cities, 5,000 red dots representing dead American soldiers and 100,000 dots in invisible ink representing the official death toll for Iraqis. The dots representing the Iraqi death toll will only be visible under ultraviolet light. [includes rush transcript]

Obama Campaigns for Healthcare Reform, Former Rep. Massa Claims He Was Forced Out over Healthcare Bill, Protests Planned Outside Health Insurance Company Meeting, Gates: “More Dark Days” Ahead in Afghanistan, Claim: Pentagon Peddled Misinformation about Attack on Marjah, Nigerians Bury Dead After Massacre, Greek PM Calls for Crackdown on Financial Speculators, Biden: US Ties to Israel Are “Unshakable”, Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh Face Starvation, UN Official Warns Against Full Body Airport Scanners, Midwestern Towns Sue Manufacturer of Atrazine Weedkiller, Interior Dept. Puts Off Listing Sage Grouse as Endangered Species, Obama Criticized for Adding Just Two Species to Endangered List, Conservationist Edgar Wayburn, 103, Dies

The Obama administration is working to gather international backing for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. While the United States has circulated proposals on further sanctions, it has yet to present a draft resolution, and a vote at the Security Council is thought to be months away. This comes amidst a new report by the New York Times that reveals the US government has given more than $107 billion to companies which are also doing business with Iran despite a ban on US companies trading with Iran. Leading Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi argues the UN should focus on pressing the Iranian government to restore democracy and human rights, rather than imposing economic sanctions. [includes rush transcript]

Thousands of events are being held around the world to celebrate International Women's Day, an idea that was launched 100 years ago when a group of women from seventeen countries gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark to champion the rights of women. Activists across the globe are drawing attention to a variety of concerns, including discriminatory laws, the high rate of pregnancy-related deaths in many parts of the world, the skewed sex ratio in China and India, the disproportionately high number of women who are killed and victimized by wars, the comparatively heavier burden of poverty on women, and the continuing disparity between men and women in terms of the quality of available employment and wages received. [includes rush transcript]

Sunday was an historic day in Hollywood. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win the best director award at the Oscars. Bigelow's film The Hurt Locker won a total of six Oscars, including best picture and best screenplay. And Geoffrey Fletcher became the first African American to win an Oscar for best writing. He won best adapted screenplay for the film Precious. Meanwhile, Mo'Nique won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Mary Jones in Precious. Mo'Nique is only the fifth black woman to win an acting Oscar. In her acceptance speech, she cited Hattie McDaniel, who won the same honor for Gone with the Wind seventy years ago. Hattie McDaniel was the first Academy Award ever given to a black performer. [includes rush transcript]

On Sunday, March 7th, 1965, Alabama state troopers and local police attacked a peaceful march by 600 civil rights demonstrators from Selma to Montgomery. The day would be remembered as Bloody Sunday. The marchers were just a few blocks into their planned route when they were tear-gassed and beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River. Bloody Sunday was the first of three attempted marches from Selma to Montgomery, which was finally completed under federal protection and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is widely credited with helping pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act. [includes rush transcript]

Vote Counting Begins in Iraq; 38 Killed on Election Day, British War Resister Sentenced to Nine Months in Jail, US-Backed Somali Troops Prepare Major Offensive, Hundreds Killed in Nigerian City of Jos, Biden Heads to Israel as Palestinians Agree to Indirect Talks, Protests Set to Mark US Visit by Israeli Military Official, Report: US Gives $107B in Contracts to Firms Busting Iran Sanctions, Voters in Iceland Reject Payment of $5.3 Billion Foreign Debt, Unemployment Rate Remains at 9.7%; 36,000 Jobs Lost in February, Rep. Massa to Resign; Rep. Delahunt Not to Seek Reelection, Pentagon Shooter Railed About Property Rights and the Monetary System, Texas Judge: Death Penalty Unconstitutional, Seven Muslims Detained in Nevada for Praying Outside, Video Shows Police Beating Student Protesters in California, Historic Night at Academy Awards

Students and teachers held hundreds of demonstrations on Thursday as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. Hundreds of thousands took part in what was the largest day of coordinated student protest in years. We get a roundup of the action on the streets, from California to New York. [includes rush transcript]

As the Obama administration touts No Child Left Behind and the "Race to the Top" competition for school grants, we speak to leading education scholar and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch. She's long been known as an advocate of No Child Left Behind, charter schools, standardized testing, and using the free market to improve schools. But she's had a radical change of heart, as chronicled in her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Ravitch says, "The evidence says No Child Left Behind was a failure, and charter schools aren't going to be any better." [includes rush transcript]

At least fourteen people have been killed and nearly sixty wounded in a string of attacks in Baghdad on the first day of voting in Iraq's parliamentary elections. Iraq opened its polls on Thursday for early voting, including for hundreds of thousands of soldiers, police officers and prisoners. We speak to Nir Rosen, an independent journalist who has covered the Iraq war since 2003. [includes rush transcript]

Students, Teachers Take Part in Nationwide Protests Against Education Cuts, Gunman Dies After Wounding Two Police Officers at Pentagon, White House Hosts Insurance Execs, Dems on Healthcare, House OKs $15B Jobs Bill, House Panel Votes to Recognize Armenian Genocide, Levin Questions Blackwater Bid for $1 Billion Deal in Afghanistan, Study: 1 in 3 US Drone Victims in Pakistan is a Civilian, Aftershock Hits Chile as Gov't Lowers Death Toll, Clinton: US to Restore Honduras Aid, Dems Urge Admin to Probe Honduran Abuses, Mexico City Enacts Gay Marriage Law, Utah Rep. Revises Sweeping Anti-Abortion Bill, Va. GOP Lawmaker: Disabilities Are God's Punishment for Abortions, AIG Units Settle Allegations of Discriminatory Lending, Report: Admin to Scrap Civilian Trial for Alleged 9/11 Mastermind, Suit: Energy Giants' Emissions Worsened Katrina Impact

Thousands of students in at least thirty-two states are planning to walk out of classes today as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. The call for nationwide protests originated in California following last November's student strikes and building takeovers in response to undergraduate fees rising 32 percent. Budget cuts in California have led to teachers furloughs, canceled classes, and entire academic departments being eliminated. We speak to University of California, Berkeley professor Ananya Roy and Ricardo Gomez, a third-year undergraduate student who started the group Berkeley Students Against the Cuts. [includes rush transcript]

The Obama administration has declassified part of its plan to bolster cyber security, which calls for greater cooperation between private companies and the National Security Agency. Privacy and civil liberties advocates have sounded alarms about the NSA's expanded role in security because of the secretive nature of the agency and its role in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. [includes rush transcript]

In 2005, a coalition of Palestinian civil society groups called for people all over the world to engage in a nonviolent campaign to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel until it complies with international law. The call was inspired by the international boycott and divestment initiatives applied to South Africa in the struggle to abolish apartheid. We host a debate between Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the BDS campaign and a Palestinian human rights activist and commentator, and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a longtime antiwar and civil rights activist who is the founder and director of the Shalom Center. [includes rush transcript]

Obama Backs Reconciliation Vote on Healthcare Reform, 9 Killed in Iraq Bombings, Biden Vows Ongoing US Combat Operations After Pullout, Report: High Number of Birth Defects Seen in Fallujah, Iran Arrests Opposition Activists, US Circulates New Draft of Iran Sanctions, Clinton: US "Deeply Concerned" about Venezuela, Arab League Backs Resumption of Mideast Peace Talks, HRW: Attacks Increasing Against Honduran Coup Opponents, Report: US Mulls Ending Training Ban on Atrocity-Linked Indonesian Unit, Rangel Takes Leave as Ways and Means Chair, General: Wars Hamper Training of US Troops

Over the last five years, Britain, the United States and other countries have written off billions of dollars in loans to the world's poorest countries. But a small group of vulture funds have been trying to divert that money into their own pockets. Investigative journalist Greg Palast traveled to the West African country of Liberia to investigate how vulture funds have been operating there and why Liberia lost a $20 million case against two vulture funds in a British court. [includes rush transcript]

Utah lawmakers have approved a measure that would allow women to be charged with murder if they commit an "intentional, knowing or reckless act" that causes a miscarriage. Critics fear the measure could target women for all kinds of actions, including staying with an abusive partner. [includes rush transcript]

New York Governor David Paterson is facing increasing pressure from state Democrats to defend his actions or resign in the wake of allegations that he may have used his authority to influence a domestic violence case involving one of his top aides. As the pressure rises on Governor Paterson, we take a step back to look at the issue of domestic violence around the country with Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. [includes rush transcript]

The death toll from Saturday's massive earthquake in Chile has reached close to 800 and is expected to rise. Aid has yet to reach many areas hardest hit by the quake, including the southern city of ConcepciĂłn, which accounts for nearly half of the death toll. We go to Chile to discuss the latest developments with Eva Salinas, editor of the Santiago Times. [includes rush transcript]

30 Killed in Iraq Suicide Bombings, Witness: State Dept. Officials Sought Exoneration of Blackwater Guards, US Awards KBR $2.8B Contract in Iraq, Israel Delays East Jerusalem Home Demolitions, UN Humanitarian Chief: Gaza an "Open-Air Prison", Senate Extends Jobless Benefit After Bunning Drops Filibuster, Nissan to Recall 540,000 Vehicles, Study: Insurance Premium Hikes Far Exceed Costs, Inflation, Report: Right-Wing Extremist Groups Grew 244% in 2009, LA to Warn 5,200 Teachers of Layoffs, Admin to Adopt Second Measure of US Poverty Rate, Supreme Court Refuses to Block DC Gay Marriage Law

Senate Republican Jim Bunning is continuing to filibuster a key spending bill to extend unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of American workers. The blocked bill also affects several governmental agencies, rural television customers and doctors receiving Medicare payments. At the same time, Senate Banking Committee Chair Christopher Dodd has abandoned an idea proposed by President Obama and favored by consumer groups to create an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency to protect consumers against abuses in mortgages, credit cards and other forms of lending. Meanwhile, General Motors announced today it is recalling 1.3 million compact cars in North America because of a power steering problem that has been linked to fourteen crashes. GM blamed the fault on a supplier partially owned by Toyota. We speak to longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader. [includes rush transcript]

Washington, DC is the most powerful capital city in the world. But it's also a city that is deeply divided between a wealthy and extremely influential minority and an impoverished and largely disenfranchised African American majority. The seat of global power is also home to a population that remains largely invisible to the politicians, journalists, lawyers, lobbyists and contractors around Capitol Hill. This other Washington, DC maintains the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of child poverty, the highest mortality rate from HIV/AIDS, and the lowest life expectancy in the country. Kike Arnal discusses his new book of photography, In the Shadow of Power. [includes rush transcript]

The 2010 Winter Olympics have wrapped up in Vancouver, Canada. The Olympic flame has been doused, and a return to normalcy has begun for a city thrust onto the world stage. Democracy Now! producer Aaron Maté traveled to Vancouver to look at an issue lost in the two-week spectacle, the struggles of a low-income community in the Olympics' shadow. [includes rush transcript]

Chile Appeals for International Help, Chilean Earthquake Slightly Shifted Earth's Axis, Obama to Urge Senate Pass Healthcare Bill by Legislation, Sen. Bunning Continues Filibuster of Unemployment Benefits Bill, Obama Voices Approval for Firing of Rhode Island Teachers, Media Banned from Covering Taliban Attacks in Afghanistan, Violence in Iraq Increases Ahead of Election, Ex-Bosnian Serb Leader Karadzic Defends Himself at UN Tribunal, Report: 230 Civilians Killed in Darfur, Greeks Protest Outside Labor Ministry, Arkansas Sen. Lincoln to Face Challenge from Fellow Democrat, Harold Ford to Not Challenge Sen. Gillibrand, Jerry Brown to Run for Governor in California, ACORN Cleared in New York Probe, Suspicious Substance Found at IRS Office in Utah, Study: Common Weedkiller Turns Male Frogs into Females

Even as the people of southern Chile continue to grapple with the rising death toll and the devastation wrought by Saturday's massive earthquake, many seismologists believe the wreckage could have been far worse. The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday morning was 500 times more powerful than the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th of this year. But it caused only a fraction of the casualties in comparison to the 300,000 people estimated to have died in Haiti. Seismologists suggest that one reason for the difference in scale is that Chile enforced building codes for earthquake resistant structures after the experience of a 9.0-magnitude earthquake fifty years ago in 1960. [includes rush transcript]

Is depression manufactured? Two decades after the introduction of antidepressants, it's become commonplace to assume that our sadness can be explained in terms of a disease called depression. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that more than 14 million Americans suffer from major depression every year and more than three million suffer from minor depression. Some 30 million Americans take antidepressants at a cost of over $10 billion a year. Gary Greenberg argues that while depression can be debilitating, it has also been largely manufactured by doctors and drug companies as a medical condition with a biological cause that can be treated with prescription medication. [includes rush transcript]

Crowds of students stormed and occupied the office of a University of California, San Diego chancellor for six hours Friday after a noose was found hanging from a bookcase in the main library. The noose is only the latest in a string of incidents over the past few weeks. Protests were initially sparked by an off-campus party last month they called "Compton Cookout" that mocked Black History Month and denigrated African American women. UC San Diego has the smallest percentage of African American students in the nine-campus UC system. The Black Student Union at UC San Diego has declared the campus climate for racial minorities to be in a "state of emergency." [includes rush transcript]

Over 700 Killed in 8.8-Magnitude Earthquake in Chile, US Begins Planning for Assault on Kandahar, Obama Signs Extension of PATRIOT Act, Documents Reveal Pentagon Spied on Planned Parenthood , Dodd Abandons Efforts to Create Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Hundreds of Thousands Lose Unemployment Benefits Due to GOP Filibuster, David Paterson Withdraws from New York Governor's Race, Report: Two Suspects in Dubai Killing Entered United States, UN Approves Goldstone Report Resolution on Gaza War Crimes, Mohamed ElBaradei Considers Presidential Run in Egypt, Flooding in Haiti Kills 11, Independent Board to Review Findings of International Climate Panel, Judge Orders Anti-Coal Protesters to Stay Away from Massey Mines, Van Jones to Head Think Tank's "Green Opportunity Initiative"

Eve Ensler has made it her lifelong mission to end violence against women and girls. The founder of V-Day and the bestselling author and playwright behind The Vagina Monologues, her latest book is a collection of fictional monologues and stories inspired by girls. It's called I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World. [includes rush transcript]

After nearly seven hours of televised debate, President Obama's so-called bipartisan healthcare summit ended Thursday without any substantive agreement between Republicans and Democrats. Republican lawmakers remained staunchly opposed to using the federal government to regulate health insurance. We speak to Columbia Journalism Review contributing editor Trudy Lieberman and pediatrician Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program. [includes rush transcript]

On the heels of President Obama's major initiative to develop so-called clean coal technology, the journalist and cultural historian Jeff Biggers explores the myth of clean coal in a new book on the secret history of coal mining in Obama's home state of Illinois. Jeff Biggers' family has lived in southern Illinois for 200 years. In 1999, their 150-year-old log cabin and 200-year-old settlement at Eagle Creek was destroyed by several strip-mining operations. [includes rush transcript]

Healthcare Summit Fails to Reach Agreement, 17 Killed in Afghan Attacks, Israel to Build 600 New Homes in East Jerusalem Settlements, Shrine Uproar Fuels New Protests in Hebron, Iraq Reinstates 20,000 Army Officers, Major Storm Headed to Haiti, Thousands of Hondurans March in Anti-Coup Protest, Zelaya Rejects Corruption Charges; Coup Leader Retires, VA to Review Disability Claims of Gulf War Vets, Citibank Cancels Account of Gay Networking Site, Admin to Seek Improved Wages, Benefits at Federal Contractors, US Firms Probed for Role in Greek Financial Crisis, Protests at UC Schools Ahead of Statewide Day of Action

A suburban Philadelphia school district has been accused of monitoring students at home via school-issued laptops. The webcam monitoring came to light last week after a lawsuit was filed by the family of a fifteen-year-old student who had his webcam activated after the school mistook his eating of candy for the consumption of drugs. The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for eastern Pennsylvania have launched investigations, and a judge has ordered the monitoring to stop. [includes rush transcript]

"Schools Chancellor Joel Klein often lauds a small group of Harlem charter schools founded by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz," writes Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News. "But few New Yorkers are aware of the access Moskowitz has to the chancellor or the special support he has bestowed on her program, whose four schools enroll just 1,300 of the city's more than 1 million public school students." [includes rush transcript]

The Obama administration is holding a bipartisan summit amid renewed criticism over its refusal to push for a "public option" under healthcare reform. We speak to Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and the political and legal blogger for Salon.com. Greenwald says Democrats are disingenuously hiding behind the cover of the filibuster to justify their political inaction on the public option, when they could approve it through budget reconciliation. He also discusses the response to last week's IRS plane attack, the Justice Department's clearing of Bush-era torture memo authors John Yoo and Jay Bybee, and new scrutiny of the private military firm Blackwater. [includes rush transcript]

For his new book, The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State, National Journal correspondent Shane Harris spoke to the key architects of the US government's surveillance programs over the past quarter-century and tells the story of how spying on US citizens has become both easier and legal and is now the cornerstone of the Obama administration's national security strategy. But Harris argues that while this strategy has made it simpler for the US government to spy on every American and millions of others around the world, it is much harder to identify actual dangers. [includes rush transcript]

US Installs New Governor in Marjah, House Votes to Strip Insurers of Anti-Trust Exemption, In Healthcare Reform, 8 Lobbyists for Every Member of Congress, Admin Backs Off Consumer Agency, Trading Curbs, Obama Defends Economic Agenda, Senate OKs $15B Jobs Bill, Senate Extends PATRIOT Act Spy Provisions, Blackwater Changed Name to Receive Raytheon Contract, Activist Claims Death Threat from Blackwater Employee, Toyota Head Apologizes for Safety Recall, Udall, Dodd Propose Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Ruling on Corporate Electioneering, Ex-Police Lt. Admits to Cover-Up in Post-Katrina Killings, Vermont State Senate Votes to Close Nuclear Plant, India, Pakistan Hold Peace Talks, Cuba "Regrets" Death of Jailed Dissident, Maryland to Recognize Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages

A four-month investigation into the covert corporate influence on cable news found that since 2007 at least seventy-five registered lobbyists, public relations representatives and corporate officials have repeatedly appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, CNBC and Fox Business Network with no disclosure that they are paid by corporate interests. We speak to journalist Sebastian Jones, who carried out the investigation for The Nation magazine. [includes rush transcript]

Democracy Now! co-host and Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez received the 2010 Justice in Action Award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund last week. We play an excerpt of his acceptance speech. [includes rush transcript]

The nuclear power industry -- and President Obama's plans to fund its growth -- is bracing for a major setback today as the Vermont state senate is expected to vote to shut down the Vermont Yankee plant, a nuclear reactor with a history of leaks. We speak to nuclear engineer and former industry executive Arnie Gundersen, who first sounded the bell on the Vermont Yankee. [includes rush transcript]

The news in Vermont follows Obama's announcement last week of $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of the first new nuclear power plants in the United States in close to three decades. The loan guarantees will help the Atlanta-based Southern Company build two more nuclear reactors in Burke County, Georgia, near the city of Augusta. We speak to Nuclear Watch South coordinator Glenn Carroll, who has been leading efforts against the construction of the new plants. [includes rush transcript]

Admin: "Not Enough Political Support" for Public Option, Toyota Exec Unsure if Recall Will Address Acceleration Issues, Wall St. Securities Bonuses Up 17%, Loans Hit 60-Year Low; 700 Banks at Risk, Dems Losing Wall St. Donations Amid Regulatory Push, Latin American, Caribbean Nations Form New Regional Grouping, Cuban Dissident Dies After Hunger Strike, Blackwater Diverted Weapons Intended for Afghan Army, Palestinians Protest Israeli Decision on West Bank Shrines, FBI, US Attorney Probing Penn. School District's Computer Spying, Correction: US Death Toll in Afghanistan Approaching 1,000

New federal credit card rules that took effect Monday promise to outlaw the most egregious practices of the credit card industry that have plunged customers into insurmountable debt. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure, or CARD, Act includes new protections for customers under twenty-one and makes it illegal for credit card companies to retroactively increase rates and charge certain types of misleading fees. But many credit card companies have already been trying to find ways to bypass these new rules by reinstating annual fees, cutting credit limits and hiking interest rates. Credit card issuers established or expanded the use of at least eight hidden charges to circumvent the rules, according to a report from the Center for Responsible Lending. [includes rush transcript]

In Afghanistan, the number of civilian casualties continues to rise. On Tuesday, at least eight people died after a bomb exploded in the southern provincial capital of Lashkar Gah amid a major US-led offensive in the area. Local authorities said all those killed in the attack were civilians. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's government has condemned a NATO air strike on a convoy on Sunday that killed twenty-seven civilians, including four women and a child. NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal went on Afghan television to apologize for the attack. Last year was the deadliest of the war for civilians and foreign troops. And while there is no reliable count of the number of Afghans killed, the number of US soldiers killed in the war has reached 1,000. [includes rush transcript]

The top Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have asked eight oil-field companies to disclose the chemicals they've used and the wells they've drilled in over the past four years. Last week, Waxman also revealed two of the largest gas drilling companies have pumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel-based fluids into the ground in violation of a voluntary agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency. [includes rush transcript]

McChrystal Apologizes for Afghan Civilian Casualties; US Death Toll Reaches 1,000, US Commander: Withdrawal from Iraq May Be Delayed, Sudan to Sign Darfur Peace Deal, Democrats $15B Jobs Bill Advances in Senate with GOP Help, Report: Wall Street Bonuses Increased 17 Percent in 2009, Obama Outlines Healthcare Priorities Ahead of Bipartisan Meeting, Afghan Immigrant Pleads Guilty in NYC Subway Bombing Plot, EPA Delays New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations, Energy Department OKs Loan Guarantee for Solar Power Plant in California, Friends of Earth Challenges Proposed New Nuke Plant in South Carolina, Toyota Faces Criminal Probe, Turkey Arrests Former Generals in Alleged Coup Plot, Poland Confirms Secret CIA Flight Landings, Lawmakers Calls for Phasing Out of Military Contractors, Police Officers Acquitted in Sodomy Case

Haitian President René Préval said Sunday that the death toll from the earthquake could reach 300,000 once all the bodies are recovered from the rubble. We speak to Peter Hallward, professor of Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex University. "Unless prevented by renewed popular mobilisation in both Haiti and beyond, the perverse international emphasis on security will continue to distort the reconstruction effort, and with it the configuration of Haitian politics for some time to come," wrote Hallward recently. "What is already certain is that if further militarisation proceeds unchecked, the victims of the January earthquake won't be the only avoidable casualties of 2010." [includes rush transcript]

We end today’s show with the words of Malcolm X. Sunday marked the forty-fifth anniversary of his death. He was assassinated February 21, 1965, as he spoke before a packed audience in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. He was just thirty-nine years old. This May 19th would have been his eighty-fifth birthday. This is an excerpt of a speech Malcolm X gave at the Audubon Ballroom about half a year earlier. It’s called “By Any Means Necessary.” [includes rush transcript]

We turn now to a story of environmental contamination that has been brewing for decades. Last week, the US Navy finally agreed to pay over $1.5 million to fund a study looking into the health effects of water contamination at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina. The study could show a link between toxic water at the base and the illnesses and deaths of Marines and their family members over a thirty-year period from the late 1950s to the late 1980s. Thousands of Marines and their families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune have long complained of illnesses and deaths linked to exposure to toxic water. Health officials estimate that one million people were exposed to contaminated well water at the base before the main well was shut down in 1984. [includes rush transcript]

33 Afghan Civilian Killed in NATO Air Strike, Dutch Troops to Leave Afghanistan After Gov't Collapses, German Activists Protest Against Afghan War, Sunni Party to Boycott Iraqi Election, Justice Dept. Clears Torture Memo Authors, Report: Netanyahu OKed Assassination of Hamas Commander, Toyota Cited $100 Million Savings by Delaying Safety Regulations, Toyota Expands Lobbying Presence in Washington, House Panel to Probe Natural Gas Drilling, Penn. School Admits to Remotely Activating Webcams on Student Computers, Study: Gay Soldiers Accepted in Foreign Armies, Ron Paul Wins CPAC Poll, Activists Interrupt Israeli Ballet Performance in Vermont, Roslyn Brock to Chair NAACP Board, Ex-Sec. of State Alexander Haig, 85, Dies, Anniversary of Malcolm X's Assassination Marked

A new investigation from ColorLines Magazine supported by the Nation Institute's Investigative Fund shows that some poor families are forced to sell their food stamps on the black market for cash in order to survive this prolonged recession. We speak to journalist Seth Wessler, whose investigation focuses on the impact of both the recession and welfare reform in Hartford, Connecticut, a state which has the shortest welfare time limit in the United States. We're also joined by Luz Santana, a veteran community organizer and welfare rights activist who heads the advocacy group Vecinos Unidos. [includes rush transcript]

President Obama held a forty-five-minute meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House Thursday amidst deteriorating US-China ties and Beijing's warnings against the talks. Beijing has summoned the US ambassador to China in protest, saying Washington had interfered in Chinese domestic affairs and "seriously damaged" Sino-American relations. We speak to Robert Barnett, director of the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University. [includes rush transcript]

As the Dalai Lama visits the White House, we air an excerpt of the his comments on the Iraq war in September 2003. Amy Goodman took part in a public dialog with the Dalai Lama and asked him for his views on the then-six-month-old invasion. [includes rush transcript]

Israel is under growing international pressure over the assassination of a top Hamas commander in Dubai last month. On Thursday, the international police agency Interpol placed eleven members of an alleged hit squad on its most wanted list. The team of eleven suspects included six holding fake British passports bearing the names of Israeli citizens and three holding Irish passports. At least seven of the names on the passports belong to Israeli residents whose identities had been stolen. [includes rush transcript]

Admin to Seek Senate Ratification of Test Ban Treaty, Report: Largest Corporations Responsible for $2.2T in Environmental Damage, Obama to Back Health Bill through Budget Reconciliation, Study: Highest Medicaid Enrollment in Decades, Admin Criticizes Insurer Profits, Rising Premiums, UN Launches Record $1.4B Appeal for Haiti, Second Major Rainfall Since Quake Hits Haiti, 6 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Offensive, IAEA: Iran Could Be Developing Nukes, US Changes Name of Iraq War, Niger President Overthrown in Military Coup, Texas IRS Building Attacked in Suicide Flight, Obama Names Bipartisan Panel on Deficit, US Reaches $1.25B Settlement with Black Farmers, Family of Slain Journalist Brad Will Praises Release of Oaxaca Activist, Kerik Sentenced to 4-Year Term

President Obama has pledged $8.3 billion in loan guarantees needed to build the first nuclear reactors in nearly three decades. The move, along with a tripling of nuclear loan guarantees in the President's budget, represents a new federal commitment to the nuclear power sector. We speak to independent journalist and longtime anti-nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman, who helped found the grassroots movement against nuclear power in the United States in the 1970s. [includes rush transcript]

As President Obama defends the success of his one-year-old $787 billion stimulus package, we speak to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who says the stimulus was both not big enough and too focused on tax cuts. Stiglitz is the author of the new book Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy, which analyzes the causes of the Great Recession of 2008 and calls for overcoming what he calls an "ersatz capitalism" that socializes losses but privatizes gains. [includes rush transcript]

Obama: Stimulus Saved 2 Million Jobs, Averted Depression, As US Seizes Marjah, UN Rejects "Militarization" of Aid, UN: US Restrictions Curbing Aid Efforts in Somalia, UN Relief Coordinator "Disappointed" in Haiti Response, 8 Missionaries Freed in Haiti, Return to US, UK, Ireland Summon Israeli Ambassadors over Dubai Killing, 10 Killed in Iraq Bombing, Interior Minister: Iraq to Seize Weapons from Foreign Contractors, UN: Cluster Bomb Treaty Could Be Ratified, Top UN Climate Change Negotiator Resigns, Poll: Wide Majority Opposes Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Electioneering, Portland Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed African American, Va. Governor Rescinds Workplace Protections for Gay Men and Lesbians, Johns Hopkins Students Disrupt Yoo Speech, ACLU Asks UN Rapporteur to Intervene for Montana Prisoner

We speak to the mothers of Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, two of the three Americans detained after mistakenly hiking into Iran last July. This week brought a glimmer of hope when Iran's top human rights official said he was considering a request by the families to visit them in prison. But with no word from their children for over 200 days and ongoing tensions between the US and Iranian government, the prospects for their release are as uncertain as ever. [includes rush transcript]

In the Loop takes the view that the US-UK effort to attack Iraq was so absurd that it's perfect fodder for a comedy. The Oscar-nominated film is a satire of the Anglo-American diplomatic wrangling in the lead-up to the war. We speak to In the Loop director and co-writer Armando Iannucci. [includes rush transcript]

As the Iraq war continues, Britain is in the midst of an ongoing public inquiry into the UK's role in the US-led war in 2003 invasion. The public hearings began in late November and the committee is expected to report its findings by June of this year. We speak to author and columnist George Monbiot, who has begun a campaign encouraging citizen's arrests of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for crimes against peace in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]

The US is coming under increasing criticism over the rise in civilian casualties during the assault on the Afghan city of Marjah, one of the largest military offensives of the eight-year war. At least nineteen civilians have been killed so far, including six children who died when a missile struck their house on the outskirts of the city. We speak with Matteo dell’Aira, medical coordinator of the Emergency Lashkar Gah hospital. [includes rush transcript]

Afghan Civilian Toll Rises in NATO Assault on Marjah, US Drone Attack Kills 3 in Pakistan, Obama to Boost Nuclear Loan Guarantees, Study: Haiti Damage Could Top $13.2B, Clinton: Iran World's "Largest Supporter of Terrorism", Ahmadinejad: Iran Open to Fuel Swap, White House Won't Rule Out Military Action in Iran, US to Appoint Ambassador to Syria, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit over Gitmo Deaths, Group: Record Killings of Journalists in 2009, No Civil Rights Charges in Police Killing of Sean Bell, La. Jury Acquits White Officers in Killing of 73-Year-Old African American

Senate Republicans are currently using the filibuster to paralyze the Senate and derail Democratic initiatives, according a McClatchy Newspapers investigation. Since President Obama took office, Republican senators have used the filibuster to stall legislation on healthcare reform, global warming, and financial regulation and the confirmation of fifteen Obama nominees. Last week, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Tom Harkin introduced a bill aimed at curtailing the filibuster. Their proposal would gradually reduce the number of votes required to overcome a filibuster, so a simple majority of fifty-one votes could eventually end debate. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dismissed their efforts, noting that changing the rule would require sixty-seven votes. We speak with attorney and writer Thomas Geoghegan, a vocal advocate of ending the filibuster. [includes rush transcript]

Much of Port-au-Prince remains under mountains of rubble, and Haitian officials say it would take years to clear out the rubble and begin the process of rebuilding the destroyed city. As pledges of billions of dollars of international aid and investment are made, debates over the vision of a new Haiti are already underway. Journalist Avi Lewis was recently in Haiti exploring the politics of rebuilding the shattered country. He spoke to a number of people, including Haitian presidential adviser Patrick Elie and economist Camille Chalmers. His report aired on the program Fault Lines on Al Jazeera English last week. [includes rush transcript]

In Afghanistan, thousands of US and NATO forces have entered the fourth day of a major offensive in Marjah in southern Helmand province. At least nineteen civilians have been killed so far, including six children who died when a missile struck their house on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the Italian NGO Emergency says that dozens of seriously injured civilians are being prevented from reaching hospitals in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, due to military blockades. We speak to Wall Street Journal reporter Anand Gopal in Afghanistan. [includes rush transcript]

Report: Taliban's Top Military Commander Captured, Civilian Casualties Mount During US Offensive in Afghanistan, 11 Face Arrest for Assassination of Hamas Commander in Dubai, Four Haitian Children Die in School Collapse, Haitian President: It Will Take Three Years to Remove Rubble, Regulators: Toyota Flaws Linked to Deaths of 34, Anti-Coup Activists in Honduras Still Facing Human Rights Abuses, US to Give Loan Guarantees to Build New Nuclear Reactors, 26 Arrested at Anti-Nuke Protest in Britain, Hundreds Protest in Geneva Calling for Human Rights in Iran, Egyptian Dissident Ayman Nour Considers 2011 Presidential Run, New York to Give $72 Million to Help Build Charter Schools, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) Will Not Seek Reelection, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Faces Right-Wing Challenger, Polk Award Given to Unnamed People Who Filmed Death of Iranian Student

The Olympic Games last only two weeks, but their legacy will be felt in Vancouver for years to come. The price tag for taxpayers is estimated at around $6 billion, including around $1 billion in "security" costs. Last week, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge praised Vancouver organizers, calling the Vancouver model "a blueprint for future games." To talk about what that blueprint could mean for Vancouver, as well as future host cities, we go now to Vancouver, where we are joined by Am Johal, chair of the Impact on Communities Coalition, a watchdog group around the Vancouver Olympics founded in 2001. [includes rush transcript]

Our Olympic coverage begins today in the streets of Vancouver, where some say a historic convergence is taking place. Indigenous groups, anti-poverty activists and civil liberties advocates are some of the voices being heard in protests against the Olympic presence. Franklin Lopez of the Vancouver's Media Co-op has been following the Olympic protests. He filed this report. [includes rush transcript]

The Vancouver-based Dr. Gabor Maté argues that too many doctors seem to have forgotten what was once a commonplace assumption -- that emotions are deeply implicated in both the development of illness and in the restoration of health. Based on medical studies and his own experience with chronically ill patients at the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver Hospital, where he was the medical coordinator for seven years, Dr. Gabor Maté makes the case that there are important links between the mind and the immune system. He found that stress and individual emotional makeup play critical roles in an array of diseases. [includes rush transcript]

12 Die as US Bombs Wrong House as Part of New Afghan Offensive, Targeted Killings Increase Under President Obama, Haitians Hold Day of Mourning One Month After Earthquake, Record $3.47 Billion Spent on Federal Lobbying in 2009, Report: Goldman Sachs Helped Greece Hide Mounting Debts, Clinton: Iran Moving Toward a “Military Dictatorship”, Israel to Reroute Part of West Bank Wall Following Years of Protest, Palestinians Dress as Avatar Na'vi to Protest Israeli Wall, British Journalist Jailed in Gaza, Burmese Pro-Democracy Leader Released from Detention, Report: Oceans to Become More Acidic than Any Time in 65 Million Years, Anthem Blue Cross Puts Off Plan to Raise Rates, Forestry Company to Pay $2.75 Million to Immigrant Guestworkers, Floridians Protest Offshore Oil Drilling Proposal

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are opening today in Vancouver. Large-scale protests are planned over the weekend. The Olympic Resistance Network has organized a people’s summit to coincide with the Games’ opening ceremonies. Franklin Lopez of the Vancouver Media Co-op filed this report. [includes rush transcript]

Despite fears of the euro's future amidst Greece's economic collapse, author Steven Hill of the New America Foundation argues the United States still has much to learn from Europe's social and economic policies. We speak to Hill about his new book, Europe's Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope for an Insecure Age. [includes rush transcript]

As record snowfall crippled the mid-Atlantic this week, many Republicans used the blizzard-like conditions to argue that global warming is a hoax. We speak to climate scientist Brenda Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who argues the extreme weather is in fact a part of global warming. [includes rush transcript]

Chinese courts are cracking down on dissident activists. Liu Xiaobo lost his appeal Thursday and now faces eleven years in prison for advocating political reform. Earlier this week, another prominent writer and activist, Tan Zuoren, was sentenced to five years in prison. Zuoren had been campaigning on behalf of thousands of parents whose children were killed when shabbily built schools collapsed in the massive Sichuan earthquake two years ago. To discuss China's crackdown, we're joined by two guests behind an Oscar-nominated film on the earthquake, China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province: co-director and DCTV founder Jon Alpert, and co-producer and Hunter College professor Peter Kwong. [includes rush transcript]

Top Insurers Post Record Profits While Dropping 2.7M Policyholders, Improved Corporate Profits Not Leading to Job Growth, Survey: Quarter of Job Losses Will Be Permanent, Reid Touts Dems' "Jobs Agenda", Labor Dept. Reverses Bush-Era Farmworker Regulations, Legislation Seeks to Curb Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Electioneering, Ending Family Era, Rep. Kennedy Announces Retirement, US Sets May 1st Target for Sheltering Haitians, Long After Rainy Season Begins, Judge Calls for Release of Detained Missionaries, US Dismisses Iranian Claims on Uranium Enrichment, European Lawmakers Reject Financial Data-Sharing with US, Report: 700 Military Bases in Afghanistan, Poll: 75% Support Openly Gay Men and Lesbians in Military, Openly Gay Servicemember Resumes Military Drills, Iraq War Vet Faces Court-Martial for Song Criticizing Forced Redeployment, Iranian Forces Arrest Opposition Leaders, Disrupt Protests, US Army to Discharge Single Mother Who Refused Deployment

Three MPs and a peer tell a court they are not guilty of charges of false accounting in relation to their expenses claims.

Plans for a new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham are announced by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.

A man with learning difficulties dies outside his Greater Manchester home after suffering years of abuse from youths.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw meets the mother of murdered toddler James Bulger to discuss the return to prison of one of her son's killers.

Chancellor Alistair Darling warns people not to expect a "giveaway" when he unveils his Budget later this month.

Sebastian Pinera is sworn in as president of quake-hit Chile, as a 7.2-magnitude aftershock strikes the centre of the country.

First results from Iraq's election show PM Nouri Maliki's grouping leading in two southern provinces, officials say.

The Foreign Office says a five-year-old boy from Oldham kidnapped in Pakistan has not been released.

The prime minister attends a service to rededicate the Basra Memorial Wall following its relocation to Staffordshire.

A businessman is jailed for masterminding a scam which saw tens of millions of battery hen eggs sold as free-range or organic.

Pink Floyd tracks may be removed from digital music services like iTunes after a High Court ruling.

Mexican Carlos Slim overtakes Bill Gates as the world's richest man, according to the Forbes "rich list", with a fortune of $53.5bn.

Scientists say they have been able to tell which past event a person is recalling using a brain scan.

Liverpool take on Lille before Fulham play Juventus in the last 16 of the Europa League.

The validity of Portsmouth's administration will not be challenged by HM Revenue & Customs, the BBC learns.

England will make a last-minute call on the fitness of Stuart Broad for the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

Police are failing to record and tackle anti-social behaviour, according to a review. How can they improve?

Find out how thousands of schoolchildren across the UK have been reporting the news

Find out who's made most cash from biggest sites

Profile of Colleen LaRose, charged with terror offences

Were rumours of Sarkozy's infidelity a media hoax?

Keeping up with the theatrical Joneses

Can neuroscience help us solve conflicts?

Are we really ready to let go of the education balloons?

Musician Pete Doherty is banned from driving after admitting allowing his manager to use his car without insurance.

The UK government's proposals for a high-speed rail link must include Scotland, the Scottish government says.

A man is jailed for murdering his ex-girlfriend but his barrister says she would be alive if a 999 call had been handled differently.

Two men are found guilty of murdering a County Tyrone supermarket manager because he was gay almost two years ago.

Hundreds of Nigerian women protest over last week's violence near Jos, where women and children were massacred.

US Vice-President Joe Biden says Middle East peace talks must resume, despite a row over Israeli settlement plans.

Hamas releases a British journalist it had held for a month in Gaza, saying at a news conference that it suspects him of being a spy.

Burma's leaders formally annul the National League for Democracy's 1990 election win, as more details of new poll laws emerge.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych secures a coalition in parliament and one of his loyalists is confirmed as PM.

Afghanistan does not want other countries' "proxy wars" fought on its soil, President Hamid Karzai says in Islamabad.

About 24,000 clients of HSBC's private banking operation in Switzerland had personal details stolen, the bank admits.

The government has said the security services face "difficult choices" amid fears of impending spending cuts.

Too many patients in England and Wales are not getting their medicines in hospital, a safety watchdog says.

Whistleblowing hotlines and random checks should be used to catch parents who cheat over school places, a report says.

The UN secretary general asks the world's leading science academies to review the UN's climate science body.

Take That star Mark Owen says he is "deeply sorry" for cheating on his partner of five years before they married in 2009.

A gaming service that aims to kill off the traditional gaming console will begin streaming games over the net in June this year.