i'm amy goodman. massive protests against white supremacy spread across the united states over the weekend, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets from coast to coast to condemn violent white nationalist groups and to call for the removal of confederate monuments and other statues memorializing slavery and racism. in downtown boston, 40,000 people poured into the streets around the boston common to protest a planned so-called free speech rally by white nationalists. the flood of counter protesters so overwhelmed the white nationalist rally, that aerial photos show only a handful of the extremists even showed up, and that they spent the day huddled in a gazebo on the boston common. this is one of the 40,000 antiracist counterprotesters. >> there are so many groups that are marginalized in our community. people of color, women, people many gender expressions. i think we need to stand together and say that is not o . as a country, we have a right to free speech. that is why we exist as a coun

i'm amy goodman. "the new york times" is reporting the justice department is preparing to investigate and sue universities for affirmative action policies, in the latest assault against civil rights by attorney general jeff sessions. "the times" says the justice department sent out an internal announcement looking for lawyers to lead up, quote, "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." quote. the susupreme court has upheld e constitutionality of affirmative action policies, which take race and ethnicity into account in college admissions in efforts to address centuries of institutionalized discrimination against people of color and women. the naacp legal defense fund promised to sue the administration if it attacks a friend of -- affirmative action policy, saying, quote, "we will bring the full force of the law if this justice department attempts to resegregate our institutions of higher learning." on tuesday, the se

i'm amy goodman. massive protests against white supremacy spread across the united states over the weekend, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets from coast to coast to condemn violent white nationalist groups and to call for the removal of confederate monuments and other statues memorializing slavery and racism. in downtown boston, 40,000 people poured into the streets around the boston common to protest a planned so-called free speech rally by white nationalists. the flood of counter protesters so overwhelmed the white nationalist rally, that aerial photos show only a handful of the extremists even showed up, and that they spent the day huddled in a gazebo on the boston common. this is one of the 40,000 antiracist counterprotesters. >> there are so many groups that are marginalized in our community. people of color, women, people many gender expressions. i think we need to stand together and say that is not ok. as a country, we have a right to free speech. that is why we exist as a coun

i'm amy goodman. massive protests against white supremacy spread across the united states over the weekend, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets from coast to coast to condemn violent white nationalist groups and to call for the removal of confederate monuments and other statues memorializing slavery and racism. in downtown boston, 40,000 people poured into the streets around the boston common to protest a planned so-called free speech rally by white nationalists. the flood of counter protesters so overwhelmed the white nationalist rally, that aerial photos show only a handful of the extremists even showed up, and that they spent the day huddled in a gazebo on the boston common. this is one of the 40,000 antiracist counterprotesters. >> there are so many groups that are marginalized in our community. people of color, women, peoplele many gender expressions. i think we need to stand together and say that is not ok. as a country, we have a right to free speech. that is why we exist as a co

i'm amy goodman. "the new york times" is reporting the justice department is preparing to investigate and sue universities for affirmative action policies, in the latest assault against civil rights by attorney general jeff sessions. "the times" says the justice department sent out an internal announcement looking for lawyers to lead up, quote, "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." quote. the supreme court has upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action policies, which take race and ethnicity into account in college admissions in efforts to address centuries of institutionalized discrimination against people of color and women. the naacp legal defense fund promised to sue the administration if it attacks a friend of -- affirmative action policy, saying, quote, "we will bring the full force of the law if this justice department attempts to resegregate our institutions of higher learning." on tuesday, the se

i'm amy goodman. "the new york times" is reporting the justice department is preparing to investigate and sue universities for affirmative action policies, in the latest assault against civil rights by attorney general jeff sessions. "the times" says the justice department sent out an internal announcement looking for lawyers to lead up, quote, "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." quote. the suprpreme court has upheld e constitutionality of affirmative action policies, which take race and ethnicity into account in college admissions in efforts to address centuries of institutionalized discrimination against people of color and women. the naacp legal defense fund promised to sue the administration if it attacks a friend of -- affirmative action policy, saying, quote, "we will bring the full force of the law if this justice department attempts to resegregate our institutions of higher learning." on tuesday, the se

i'm amy goodman. in charlottesville, virginia, residents cheered and celebrated as wororkers covered two confederate statues -- one of general robert e. lelee and another of general stonewall jackson -- with black fabric on wednesday in order to mourn the death of heather heyer, who was kikilled by a neo-nanazi duringa white supremacist rally in charlottesville on august 12. >> i feel like it is progress. i am concerned it wiwill be an invitation for people who disagree with shrouding the statue to come back here. i have concerns about that. the real resolution that i would like to see is the statue coming down. i feel really impatient about that at this point. but i also feel hopeful that all of this has tipped off something in our country, a shift of consciousness. and that is kind of the hope i am holding onto. amy: charlotte hill resident anne-marie. the city councilors voted unanimously in favor of covering the statues earlier this week, after a highly contentious town hall meeting on monday. hun

i'm amy goodman. in texas and louisiana, at least 30 people have died, more than 17,000 people are in shelters, hundreds of thousands are under evacuation orders, and all past u.s. rainfall records have been shattered as tropical storm harvey continues to wreak climate chaos in houston, the fourth largest city in the united states. around 4:00 a.m. this morning, harvey made landfall for a second time, just west of cameron, louisiana. in texas, a third of harris county -- which encompasses houston -- is currently underwater. houston officials have imposed a mandatory curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. exxonmobil says harvey has damamaged at leastst two of itss refineries, causing thousands of poununds of chemicicals to be released into the air. residents in crosby, texas, are being evacuated amid concerns a chemical factory damaged by harvey could explode. on tuesday, the world meteorological organization spokesperson clairere nellis explained how harvey's devastation is linked to climate change. >>

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from hurricane harvey is rising as massive amounts s of rain n continue to flood houston and d other paparf texas and louisiana. at least 14 people have died, including four children and their great-grandparents. the houston police and coast guard have rescued over 6000 people from their homes but many are still stranded. so much rain has already fallen that the n national weather service has had to add two new colors to its maps to indicate rainfall levels. meteorologists forecast another foot of rain could fall on houston in the coming days. concern is also growing over the environmentatal impact of ththe storm. residents of houston's industrial communities are reporting strong gas- and chemical-like smells coming from the many nearby refineries and chemical plants. texas senators ted cruz and john cornyn are both facing criticism for having voted against the $51 -- against the hurricane sandy aid package. more than 20 house republicans in texas also voted against the

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from hurricane harvey is rising as massive amounts of rain continue to flood houston and other parts of texas and louisiana. at least 14 people have died, including four children and their great-grandparents. the houston police and coast guard have rescued over 6000 people from their homes but many are still stranded. so much rain has already fallen that the national weather service has had to add two new colors to its maps to indicate rainfall levels. meteorologists forecast another foot of rain could fall on houston in the coming days. concern is also growing over the environmental impact of the storm. residents of houston's industrial communities are reporting strong gas- and chemical-like smells coming from the many nearby refineries and chemical plants. texas senators ted cruz and john cornyn are both facing criticism for having voted against the $51 -- against the hurricane sandy aid package. more than 20 house republicans in texas also voted against the hurricane

i'm amy goodman. in charlottesville, virginia, residents cheered and celebrated as workers covered two confederate statues -- one of general robert e. lee and another of general stonewall jackson -- with black fabric on wednesday in order to mourn the death of heather heyer, who was killed by a neo-nazi during a white supremacist rally in charlottesville on august 12. >> i feel like it is progress. i am concerned it will be an invitation for people who disagree with shrouding the statue to come back here. i have concerns about that. the real resolution that i would like to see is the statue coming down. i feel really impatient about that at this point. but i also feel hopeful that all of this has tipped off something in our country, a shift of consciousness. and that is kind of the hope i am holding onto. amy: charlotte hill resident anne-marie. the city councilors voted unanimously in favor of covering the statues earlier this week, after a highly contentious town hall meeting on monday. hundreds of

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from hurricane harvey is rising as massive amountnts of raiain continue to flood houston anand other r parf texas and louisiana. at least 14 people have died, including four children and their great-grandparents. the houston police and coast guard have rescued over 6000 people from their homes but many are still stranded. so much rain has already fallen that thehe national weather service has had to add two new colors to its maps to indicate rainfall levels. meteorologists forecast another foot of rain could fall on houston in the coming days. concern is also growing over the environmenental impact of f the storm. residents of houston's industrial communities are reporting strong gas- and chemical-like smells coming from the many nearby refineries and chemical plants. texas senators ted cruz and john cornyn are both facing criticism for having voted against the $51 -- against the hurricane sandy aid package. more than 20 house republicans in texas also voted against the

i'm amy goodman. in charlottesville, virginia, mourners gathered wednesday for a memorial service for heather heyer, who was killed saturday when a 20-year-old white supremacist named james alex fields plowed his car into a crowd of anti-fascist demonstrators. heyer was a long-time anti-racist activist who repeatedly championed civil rights issues on social media. this is heather's mother susan bro. >> remember in your heart, if you are not outraged, you're not paying attention. and i want you to pay attention. find what is wrong, don't ignore it. don't look the other way. make a point to look at it and said yourself, what can i do to make a difference? and that is how you're going to make my child's death worthwhile. i would rather have my child, but by golly, if i got to give her up, we're going to make it count. [applause] amy: the funeral came after charlottesville anti-racist organizer tyler magill suffered a stroke on tuesday that friends say was brought on by injuries that the 46-year-old susta

i'm amy goodman. in texas, tropical storm harvey made a second landfall wednesday near the border with louisiana, bringing more rain and catastrophic flooding to the gulf coast as the death toll from the unprecedented storm rose to at least 38. on thursday, the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. port arthur is home to the largest oil refinery in the united states. meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the barker reservoir area which has already , reached capacity. up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. more than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. texas governor greg abbott said wednesday the storm will likely be the most expensive disaster in u.s. history. was overtrina funding $100 billion. i want to say it was over $125 bil

i'm amy goodman. president trump ramped up his threats of hitting north korea with fire and fury. letter, 62 house democrats called on the secretary of state rex tillerson to de-escalate tensions, calling trump's words the legitimate and reckless. a group of korean american elected officials sent president trump a letter calling for diplomacy and dialogue. among those signing the letter was philadelphia councilperson helen again who said -- as we observe the anniversary of the atomic bombs that destroyed musthima and nagasaki, we learn the lessons of history which is never again. president donald trump intensifies attacks on mitch mcconnell on thursday, implying the republican leader should step down if he fails to pass trump's legislslative prioritie. this is president trump, speaking to repoporters at his private golf resort in bedminster, new jersey. >> if he does s not get repeal d replace done and taxes done and infrastructure, he does not get them done then you can ask me that question. amy: tru

i'm amy goodman. in charlottesville, virginia, mourners gathered wednesday for a memorial service for heather heyer, who was killed saturday when a 20-year-old white supremacist named james alex fields plowed his car into a crowd of anti-fascist demonstrators. heyer was a long-time anti-racist activist who repeatedly championed civil rights issues on social media. this is heather's mother susan bro. >> remember in your heart, if you are not outraged, you're not paying attention. and i want you to pay attention. find w what is wrong, don't igne it. don't look the other way. make a point to look at it and said yourself, what can i do to make a difference? and that is how you're going to make my child's death worthwhile. i would rather have my child, but by golly, if i got to give her up, we're going to make it count. [applause] amy: the funeral came after charlottesville anti-racist organizer tyler magill suffered a stroke on tuesday that friends say was brought on by injuries that the 46-year-old susta

i am amy goodman ahh. let's take a culinary trip together and visit the beautiful mediterranean, with balmy breezes, calm waters, and delicious food. singers: ♪ mediterranean on today's show, i'll share plant-based versions of a salad with homemade nondairy cheese... singers: ♪ nondairy cheese in my salad ♪ a lemony mediterranean-style dessert... singers: ♪ lovely dessert, yum ♪ laura: and tangy greens to make our delicious journey totally jazzalicious. then julieanna hever, the plant-based dietitian, will join me in the kitchen. this one cup right here has half your day's worth of fiber. so these are really good for blood-sugar control, for cholesterol, for weight management, and all that. all today on "jazzy vegetarian." so please, join me.

i'm amy goodman. president trump ramped up his threats of hitting north korea with fire and fury. letter, 62 house democrats called on the secretary of state rex tillerson to de-escalate tensions, calling trump's words the legitimate and reckless. a group of korean american elected officials sent president trump a letter calling for diplomacy and dialogue. among those signing the letter was philadelphia councilperson helen again who said -- as we observe the anniversary of the atomic bombs that destroyed musthima and nagasaki, we learn the lessons of history which is never again. president donald trump intensifies attacks on mitch mcconnell on thursday, implying the republican leader should step down if he fails to pass trump's legislative priorities. this is president trump, speaking to reporters at his private golf resort in bedminster, new jersey. >> if he does not get repeal and replace done and taxes done and infrastructure, he does not get them done then you can ask me that question. amy: trump'

i'm amy goodman. in texas and louisiana, at least 30 people have died, more than 17,000 people are in shelters, hundreds of thousands are under evacuation orders, and all past u.s. rainfall records have been shattered as tropical storm harvey continues to wreak climate chaos in houston, the fourth largest city in the united states. around 4:00 a.m. this morning, harvey made landfall for a second time, just west of cameron, louisiana. in texas, a third of harris county -- which encompasses houston -- is currently underwater. houston officials have imposed a mandatory curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. exxonmobil says harvey has damageged at least t two of its refineries, causing thousands of poundsds of chemicalals to be released into the air. residents in crosby, texas, are being evacuated amid concerns a chemical factory damaged by harvey could explode. on tuesday, the world meteorological organization spokesperson claire nellis explained how harvey's devastation is linked to climate change. >> wh

i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: president trump's chief strategist steve bannon has left the white house and rejoined the far right-wing website breitbart news as the executive chairman. breitbart has been described as after departing the white house, he said -- "in many ways i think i can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda president trump ran on. and anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with." in an interview with the weekly standard, bannon also said he feels jacked up now that he's returned to breitbart, saying -- "i've got my hands back on my weapons. someone said, 'it's bannon the barbarian.' i am definitely going to crush the opposition." his departure came after a series of meetings last week with billionaire funder robert mercer, who funds breitbart and funded trump's campaign. bannon met with mercer wednesday, and trump met with mercer on thursday. bannon departed the white house the following day. well, last week, just before he was ousted, steve bannon granted an e

i'm amy goodman. special panel wrote a little or expansive from a to russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. the move first reported by the wall street journal gives mueller's investigation the power of subpoena and opens the door to possible criminal charges against president trump and his associates. mueller is reportedly looking into whether trump for the firing of fbi james comey last may constituted obstruction of justice. he also reportedly subpoenaed documents related to the business dealings of paul manafort, as well as general michael flynn, trop's one-time national security adviser. news of the grand jury came after mueller added a 16th lawyer to his timid -- team of investigators, a former member of the criminal division of the justice department. on capitol hill, the senate barred president trump thursday from making recess appointments while lawmakers returned to their home states for summer recess. that will last through labor day weekend. the move was widely see

i'm amy goodman. the white house on monday fired communications director anthony scaramucci, just 10 days after he was hired, capping a tumultuous week that saw scaramucci repeatedly insult his colleagues in vulgar and sexually explicit terms. scaramucci's departure came just days after trump fired his white house rival, former chief of staff reince preibus, and less than 2 weeks after former press secretary sean spicer resigned in protest of scaramucci's appointment. on twitter, president trump dismissed reports of turmoil within his administration, tweeting a boast about stock market and employment numbers and adding -- no white house chaos. sarah huckabee sanders speaking. >> if you want to see chaos, come to my house. this does not hold a candle to that. amy: scaramucci was reportedly fired by general john kelly just after he was sworn in as chief of staff monday. at the white house, president trump praised kelly over his brief tenure as head of the department of homeland security. >> this is our

i'm amy goodman. in barcelona, spain, 14 people have died after a van plowed into a crowded walkway thursday along las ramblas, the city's most famous avenue. more than 100 people were injured. eyewitnesses described scenes of horror. >> people were scared, running all over the place with blood on their faces. it was terrible. >> it is an attack, my friends, and attack in barcelona. there are a lot of dead people. even kids, mothers, and little kids dead in the middle of las ramblas. amy: the self-proclaimed islamic state claimed responsibility. in the hours after the attack spanish police shot five people dead during what they described as an anti-terrorism operation in cambrils, a town south of barcelona. police said the men were linked to the barcelona attack but provided little information. spanish prime minister mariano rajoy has declared three days of mourning. earlier thousands of people filled the streets of barcelona chanting "we are not afraid." president trump responded to the attack in bar

i'm amy goodman. in phoenix, arizona, thousands of people poured into the streets outside the phoenix convention center tuesday night to protest president trump's campaign style rally. during his speech, trump defended his response to the deadly white supremacist rally in charlottesville, virginia. he also spent at least 20 minutes attacking the corporate media and its coverage of his response to last weekend's events in charlottesville. trump read from a printout of remarks he made on three separate occasions, yet omitted that he blamed both sides for the violence. trump did not pardon notorious arizona sheriff joe arpaio on tuesday as many had expected. but during his speech, he did speak highly of the sheriff, who has been convicted of contempt of court for defying a court order to stop his deputies from racial profiling. pres. trump: by the way, i'm just curious. do the people in this room like sheriff joe? [cheers] was sheriff joe convicted for doing his job? [cheers and boos] he should have had

i'm amy goodman. massive protests against white supremacists and the trump administration continued nationwide on monday from the streets of north carolina, where a crowd of activists toppled a confederate statue in durham, to the halls of washington, where three separate corporate ceo's resign from president trump's american manufacturing council over trump's failure to quickly condemn the deadly white supremacist violence in charlottesville, virginia, over the weekend. in durham, the crowd of activists shouted "we are the revolution" as a woman climbed up a ladder, looped a rope around the top of the confederate soldiers monument in front of the old durham county courthouse, and then pulled the statue to the ground as the crowd erupted in cheers. meanwhile, in nashville, tennessee, activists rallied around the bust of confederate army general nathan bedford forrest, putting a black cloth over his head and demanding the bust be removed from the state capitol. in gainesville, florida, workers removed

i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: president trump's chief strategist steve bannon has left the white house and rejoined the far right-wing website breitbart news as the executive chairman. breitbart has been described as after departing the white house, he said -- "in many ways i think i can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda president trump ran on. and anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with." in an intervrview with the weeky standard, bannon also said he feels jacked up now that he's returned to breitbart, saying -- "i've got my hands back on my weapons. someone said, 'it's bannon the barbarian.' i am definitely going to crush the opposition." his departure came after a series of meetings last week with billionaire funder robert mercer, who funds breitbart and funded trump's campaign. bannon met with mercer wednesday, and trump met with mercer on thursday. bannon departed the white house the following day. well, last week, just before he was ousted, steve bannon granted an

i'm amy goodman. in texas and louisiana, at least 30 people have died, more than 17,000 people are in shelters, hundreds of thousands are under evacuation orders, and all past u.s. rainfall records have been shattered as tropical storm harvey continues to wreak climate chaos in houst, the fourth largest city in the united states. around 4:00 a.m. this morning, harvey made landfall for a second time, just west of cameron, louisiana. in texas, a third of harris county -- which encompasses houston -- is currently underwater. houston officials have imposed a mandatory curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. exxonmobil says harvey has damaged at least two of its refineries, causing thousands of pounds of chemicals to be released into the air. residents in crosby, texas, are being evacuated amid concerns a chemical factory damaged by harvey could explode. on tuesday, the world meteorological organization spokesperson claire nellis explained how harvey's devastation is linked to climate change. >> what i think

i'm amy goodman. in texas, at least five people have died amid catastrophic flooding in houston, the fourth largest city in the united states. the crisis began on friday when hurricane harvey made landfall in rockport, texas. it was the most powerful hurricane to hit texas in more than half a century. the national weather service issued a warning saying -- "this event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. follow orders from officials to ensure safety. the washington post reports the storm has already dumped more than 9 trillion gallons of water -- enough water to fill the great salt lake in salt lake city twice. and meteorologists project another 5 to 10 trillion gallons of water could be dumped on the region in coming days. this is u.s. coast guard vice admiral karl schultz. >> this is a very dangerous storm with catastrophic consequence. folks need to not underestimate that. it will be a sustained challenge for the coming days. many time folks wrongly presume the

i'm amy goodman. the white house on monday fired communications dirirector anthoy scaramucci, just 10 days after he was hired, capping a tumultuous week that saw scaramucci repeatedly insult his colleagues in vulgar and sexually explicit terms. scaramucci's departure came just days after trump fired his white house rival, former chief of staff reince preibus, and less than 2 weeks after former press secretary sean spicer resigned in protest of scaramucci's appointment. on twitter, president trump dismissed reports of turmoil within his administration,n, tweeting a boast about stock market and employment numbers and adding -- no white house chaos. sarah huckabee sanders speaking. >> if you want to see chaos, come to my house. this does not hold a candle to that. amy: scaramucci was reportedly fired by general john kelly just after he was sworn in as chief of staff monday. at the white house, president trump praised kelly over his brief tenure as head of the department of homeland security. >> this is o

i'm amy goodman. president donald trump on tuesday defended his decision to wait two days before placing blame on white supremacists for the deadly violence in charlottesville, virginia, last saturday. during a rambling and angry news conference at trump tower. he repeated that both sides were to blame for the violence. pres. trump: what about the alt left they can charging as you say, the alt-right, do they have any semblance of guilt? let me ask you this, what about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? due to have a new problem? i think they do. amy: during the press conference, trump seemed to ridicule the national movement to remove confederate monuments, saying the protesters would next want to tear down statues of george washington and thomas jefferson. trump also attacked anti-fascist -- trump also defended some of the white nationalists who descended on charlottesville. pres. trump: i have condemned neo-nazis. i have condemned the different groups, but not all

i'm amy goodman. in texasas, at least five peopoe have died amid catastrophihic flooding in houston, the fourth largest city in the united states. the crisis began on friday when hurricane harvey made landfall in rockporort, texas. it was the most powerful hurricane to hit texas in more than half a century. the national weather serervice issued a w warning saying -- "thihis event is u unprecedeede& all l impacts e unknown & & beyd ything expxperienc. follow o orders from o officls o enensure safetety. the washington post reports the storm has already dumped more than 9 trillion gallons of water -- enough water to fill the great salt lake in salt lake city twice. and meteteorologists project another 5 to 10 trillion gallons of water couould be mped on thee reregion in coming days. ththis is u.s. coast g guard vie admiral karl schultz. >> this is a very dangerous storm with catastrophic consequence. folks need to not underestimate that. it will be a sustained challenge for the coming days. many time fol

i'm amy goodman. in texasas, at least five peopoe have died amid catastrophihic flooding in houston, the fourth largest city in the united states. the crisis began on friday when hurricane harvey made landfall in rockporort, texas. it was the most powerful hurricane to hit texas in more than half a century. the national weather serervice issued a w warning saying -- hihis event is u unprecedeeded & all l impacts e unknown & & beyd anything expxperienced. follow o orders from o officls o enensure safetety. the washington post reports the storm has already dumped more than 9 trillion gallons of water -- enough water to fill the great salt lake in salt lake city twice. and meteteorologists project another 5 to 10 trillion gallons of water couould be mped on thee reregion in coming days. ththis is u.s. coast g guard vie admiral karl schultz. >> this is a very dangerous storm with catastrophic consequence. folks need to not underestimate that. it will be a sustained challenge for the coming days. many time

i'm amy goodman. massive protests against white supremacists and the trump administration continued nationwide on monday from the streetets of north carolina, whe a crowd of activists toppled a confederate statue in durham, to the halls of washington, where three separate corporate ceo's resign from president trump's american manufacturing council over trump's failure to quickly condemn the deadly white supremacist violence in charlottesville, virginia, over the weekend. in durham, the crowd of activists shouted "we are the revolution" as a woman climbed up a ladder, looped a rope around the top of the confederate soldiers monument in front of the old durham county courthouse, and then pulled the statue to the ground as the crowd erupted inin cheers. meananwhile, in nashville, tennessee, activists rallied around the bust of confederate army general nathan bedford forrest, putting a black cloth over his head and dedemanding te bustst be removed from the state capitol. in gainesville, florida, workers r

. ♪ amy: welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy y goodman. the trump administration sent mixed messages wednesday over the possibility of nuclear war with north korea, as secretary of state rex tillerson sought to defuse tensions, while defense secretary james mattis threatened a nuclear attack. on wednesday, mattis warned north korea not to take any action that could result in the "end of its regime" and the "destruction of its people." his comments came a day after trump startled the worldand reportedly, his own advisors, advisersthreatening north korea with, "fire and fury like the world has never seen." secretary of state tillerson downplayed the rhetoric. rex tillerson: i think american should sleep well at night and have no concerns about this particular rhetoric over the last few days. t the president, again, as commander-in-chief. i think he felt it necessary to issue a strong rhetoric. amy: in response, north korea threatened to hit guam. north korea said its military is working on a plan to fire four missiles. that sound mitigation

i'm amy goodman. president donald trump on wednesday embraced a proposal to slash the number of immigrants allowed into the u.s. by half, in what would be the biggest overhaul of immigration law in over half a century. the raise act, or reforming american immigration for strong employment, would create a so-called "merit-based" immigration system that would favor applicants who speak english, have advanced degrees or can demonstrate job skills. trump unveiled the bill in a white house ceremony with its republican co-sponsors, senators tom cotton of arkansas and david perdue of georgia. president trump: this legislation will not only theore our competitive edge 21st century, but restore the sacred bond of trust between america and its citizens. this legislation demonstrates our compassion are struggling american families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first, and puts america first. amy: the raise act would dramatically limit the number of immigrants allowed into the u.s. to reu

i'm amy goodman. in texas, tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities thursday, as forecasters predicted hurricane harvey could make landfall late friday as a major category 3 storm, delivering a life-threatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the gulf coast. texas governor greg abbott called out 700 members of the national guard, as several coastal counties ordered mandatory evacuations. hurricane trackers expect the storm's eye to come ashore near the city of corpus christi, where mayor joe mccomb called for a voluntary evacuation. >> so we are recommending in the strongest terms that if you live in those low-lying areas, that you get out and you begin to get out now. go to a family member, a friend, somewhere -- just get to higher ground. we are requesting that you do that. again, this is on a voluntary basis. amy: some computer models predict harvey could stall over texas, delivering catastrophic flooding before drifting back over the gulf of mexico towards louisiana.

i'm amy goodman. in charlottesville, virginia, mourners gathered wednesday for a memorial service for heather heyer, who was killed saturday when a 20-year-old white supremacist named james alex fields plowed his car into a crowd of anti-fascist demonstrators. heyer was a long-time anti-racist activist who repeatedly championed civil rights issues on social media. this is heather's mother susan bro. >> remember in your heart, if you are not outraged, you're not paying attention. and i want you to pay attention. find whahat is wrong, don't igne it. don't look the other way. make a point to look at it and said yourself, what can i do to make a difference? and that is how you're going to make my child's death worthwhile. i would rather have my child, but by golly, if i got to give her up, we're going to make it count. [applause] amy: the funeral came after charlottesville anti-racist organizer tyler magill suffered a stroke on tuesday that friends say was brought on by injuries that the 46-year-old susta

i'm amy goodman. in texas, tropical storm harvey made a seconond landfall wednesy near the border with louisiana, bringing more rain and catastrophic flooding to the gulf coast as the death toll from the unprecedented storm rose to at least 38. on thursday, the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. port arthur is home to the largest oil refinery in the united states. meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the barker reservoir area which has already , reached capacity. up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. more than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. texas governor greg abbott said wednesday the storm will likely be the most expensive disaster in u.s. history. was overtrina funding $100 billion. i want to say it w was over $125 b

i'm amy goodman. in texas, tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities thursday, as forecasters predicted hurricane harvey could make landfall late friday as a major category 3 storm, delivering a life-threatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the gulf coast. texas governor greg abbott called out 700 members of the national guard, as several coastal counties ordered mandatory evacuations. hurricane trackers expect the storm's eye to come ashore near the city of corpus christi, where mayor joe mccomb called for a voluntary evacuation. >> so we are recommending in the strongest terms that if you live in those low-lying areas, that you get out and you begin to get out now. go to a family member, a friend, somewhere -- just get to higher ground. we are requesting that you d do that. again, this is on a voluntary basis. amy: some computer models predict harvey could stall over texas, delivering catastrophic flooding before drifting back over the gulf of mexico towards louisiana

i am amy goodman. the average temperature in the u.s. has risen dramatically and the impacts of climate change are being felt across the country. the new york times obtained and published a copy of the unreleased report monday, amid concerns from scientists that the study's findings may be suppressed, changed or censored by the trump administration, which has sought to deny the effects and human impacts on climimate change.. ththe report wasas conducted by scientiststs from 13 fedederal agencies, but it is awaiting the trump administration's approval before it an be officially released. it concludes "evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans." it also conclusively statates tt human activities, particularly the emissions of greenhouse gases, are the primary driver of climate change. the g guardians revealed that rkers at t u.s. depament ofgriculture have been instructed not to use the words "climate change" in their reports. a series of emails sh