Mexicans will go to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president and Congress at a time of widespread disillusionment at unchecked corruption, poverty, and violence that has claimed more than 200,000 lives since 2007. Left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to win a landslide victory, but the political right and billionaire businessmen-including Americans-are doing everything they can to stop him.
On today's regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts talk about the huge upsets that happened in this week's primaries. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the co-host of the Facebook livestream "Coffee, Current Events & Politics" Thursdays at 9 p.m., join the show.
Yesterday, Jarrod Ramos allegedly shot and killed 5 people and injured several more in a newsroom in Annapolis, MD. Commentators jumped on the issue for political gain, with some blaming Trump's rhetoric about fake news, while others tried to link the shooting to Rep. Maxine Waters's recent comments about confronting officials over immigrant rights. How is news of mass shootings being manipulated for narrow political purposes, leading the country to hysterical conclusions? Brian and John speak with Kevin Zeese, the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, at popularresistance.org.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are expected to rally on Saturday to protest the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy on immigration. While the main rally will be here in Washington, at 11 a.m. at Lafayette Square, there will be another 628 demonstrations in all 50 states. Karla Reyes, an immigration activist and teacher in the NYC public school system, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
Italy's new populist government forced a standoff at an already tense European Union summit yesterday, stalling the release of a list of diplomatic conclusions amid concerns that the bloc is doing too little to help Italy relieve its migration burden. The move prompted EU leaders to cancel an evening news conference and head toward the final day of the summit with growing doubts about Europe's ability to commit to a unified response on the refugee crisis. John Wight, host of the weekly Sputnik Radio show Hard Facts, joins Brian and John.
Turkey's Economy Minister said yesterday that the country will ignore sanctions on Iran and will continue to buy Iranian oil. Meanwhile, a Senate amendment to the defense budget yesterday froze the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey if Ankara continues with its purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system. And Trump confidants Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich will tomorrow address a conference organized by the MEK, which many consider to be a terrorist organization. Mazda Majidi, an author, journalist, and educator, joins the show.
The hosts continue the regular segment of the worst and most misleading headlines. Brian and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News, where you can find more ridiculous headlines from the week, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.
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