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Amy Goodman

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Robert Wilkie Sworn In as New Veterans Affairs Secretary

HeadlineJul 31, 2018

Air Force reserve officer Robert Wilkie has been sworn in as the new secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. While serving in the Pentagon last year, Robert Wilkie led efforts to defend Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. He was once a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which defends public displays of the Confederate flag. In the 1990s, he also opposed proposals to ensure equal pay for women. Wilkie replaces David Shulkin, who claims he was fired by Trump for opposing the privatization of the Veterans Affairs agency.

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More Headlines fromJuly 31, 2018

Judge Orders All Children Transferred Out of Texas Detention Center over Abuse Claims

Jul 31, 2018

Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered the Trump administration to transfer all children out of the Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, due to allegations of widespread abuse in the immigrant detention center. Judge Gee condemned the detention center for injecting children with psychotropic drugs without their parents’ consent, imprisoning some children in overly restrictive confinement and prohibiting the children from making private phone calls. She also explicitly ordered that the detention center must obtain permission from a legal guardian before giving any psychotropic drugs to detained children.

Trump Praises Italy’s Far-Right Anti-Immigration Policies

Jul 31, 2018

President Trump praised Italy’s far-right anti-immigrant policies on Monday during a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

President Donald Trump: “I agree very much what you’re doing with respect to migration and illegal immigration and even legal immigration. Italy has taken a very firm stance on the border, a stance that few countries have taken. And frankly, you’re doing the right thing, in my opinion.”

Italy has recently begun blocking refugee boats from docking at its ports, stranding asylum seekers at sea in the Mediterranean.

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Trump Administration Proposes $100 Billion Tax Cut for the Rich

Jul 31, 2018

The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress and giving a $100 billion tax cut to the rich. Experts say 97 percent of the benefits would go to the richest 10 percent of Americans and that nearly two-thirds of the benefits would go to the ultra-rich—the top 0.1 percent of Americans. The proposal comes after President Trump pushed through a highly unpopular $1.5 trillion tax cut last year, which overwhelmingly benefited big corporations, multimillionaires and private equity managers.

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Trump Says He’d Meet with Iranian President Without Preconditions

Jul 31, 2018

After threatening Iran last week, President Trump said Monday he’d meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani whenever Rouhani wants, without preconditions. Only hours later, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a slew of preconditions for a possible meeting, including Iran being willing to enter into a new nuclear deal.

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Top FEMA Official Resigned Amid Sexual Harassment Investigation

Jul 31, 2018

A recently resigned top official with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been accused of sexual harassment, including hiring women as possible sexual partners for male employees. Corey Coleman led FEMA’s personnel department from 2011 until his resignation a few weeks ago amid an internal sexual harassment investigation. FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long says the sexual harassment was a systemic, years-long problem.

States Sue to Block Blueprints for 3D-Printable Guns from Going Online

Jul 31, 2018

Nine states and the District of Columbia have sued the Trump administration, aiming to block downloadable blueprints to make semiautomatic assault weapons from 3D printers from going online Wednesday. The suit comes after the State Department granted the Texas-based gun rights group Defense Distributed permission to post the blueprints for the homemade, printable semiautomatic weapons. Twenty-one state attorneys general have also sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slamming the State Department’s decision, saying it is “deeply dangerous and could have an unprecedented impact on public safety.”

Tens of Thousands of California Residents Flee Deadly Wildfires

Jul 31, 2018

In California, tens of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate as deadly wildfires continue to rage across the state. The worst wildfire, the Carr Fire, has engulfed more than 100,000 acres in and around Redding, California. Eight people have died in the fires so far. Increasingly strong wildfires have been linked to climate change.

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Justice Department to Create “Religious Liberty Task Force”

Jul 31, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the Justice Department is creating a new so-called religious liberty task force. Sessions said the task force aims to protect religious groups from persecution. But human rights groups say the task force is a thinly veiled effort to sanction discrimination against LGBTQ people. The task force will be led by conservative lawyer Jesse Panuccio, who fought to uphold California’s ban on marriage equality, known as Proposition 8.

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Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort’s Trial Begins Today

Jul 31, 2018

Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort’s trial begins today. He’s facing charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, witness tampering and failing to register as a foreign agent. The charges center on allegations he hid tens of millions of dollars earned in Ukraine in overseas bank accounts, and failed to pay taxes on the money. Manafort’s is the first trial resulting from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia.

Millions Voted in Zimbabwe’s First Post-Mugabe Presidential Election

Jul 31, 2018

In Zimbabwe, millions of voters went to the polls Monday for the first presidential election since the army ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe from power last year. The election pits opposition leader Nelson Chamisa against Mugabe’s former vice president and longtime political ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

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No Charges for White Officers Who Shot Black Man in Minneapolis

Jul 31, 2018

In Minneapolis, prosecutors have announced there will be no charges filed against the white police officers who fatally shot a 31-year-old African-American man who was running away from the police, shouting “Please don’t shoot me” and “Leave me alone.” Video footage of the June 23 shooting shows Thurman Blevins, who was armed, running away from the police when the officers opened fire. On Monday, protesters and members of Blevins’s family disrupted the news conference of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Mike Freeman: “Use of force cannot be evaluated from the perspective of a civilian, nor can it be evaluated with more clear vision affected by 20/20 hindsight, under Graham v. Connor.”

Protester 1: “The police officers were not afraid.”

Unidentified: “Keep going.”

Mike Freeman: “The court further—the court further”—

Protester 1: “When they [inaudible] on a person in that situation”—

Unidentified: “Just keep going.”

Mike Freeman: “The court further stated the fact that law enforcement officers are”—

Unidentified: “Just keep going.”

Protester 1: “You have justified police murder.”

Protester 2: “The revolution is televised! The revolution is televised!”

Protester 3: “Us black people, every fucking year, we’re here looking for justice, and we’re tired of watching these snuff movies by the Minneapolis Police Department! And I’m here to tell y’all that we’re tired of it!”

Former Congressmember and Antiwar Activist Ron Dellums Dies

Jul 31, 2018

And former California Congressmember and former Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has died at the age of 82. Dellums was a legendary figure in Washington for leading the congressional opposition to the Vietnam War and against apartheid in South Africa. Dellums was on President Richard Nixon’s enemies list. He died Monday of cancer at his home in Washington, D.C. We’ll spend much of the hour bringing you Ron Dellums in his own words.

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