This week was filled with news, especially big developments in the war in Syria, the Moon-Kim summit in North Korea, and the future of the Iran nuclear deal. The hosts dig in to all three.
Friday is Loud & Clear's regular segment on the midterms, taking a look at political races around the country in the runup to midterm elections in November. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, joins the show.
A diplomatic standoff is heating up between Washington and Beijing over new US sanctions on China. The Trump Administration announced the sanctions because China agreed to purchase Russian jets and S-400 missiles. But China has bought Russian weapons for decades. And even the Trump White House admits that the new sanctions strategy for weapons purchases is unprecedented. Brian and John speak with John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations.
Despite at least 16,000 deaths in Yemen, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has decided to continue funding Saudi Arabia with monetary aid-because he doesn't want to risk a weapons deal, according to a leaked memo. Meanwhile, the day he certified that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were working to reduce casualties in Yemen, the coalition killed 27 civilians, mostly children. Whitney Webb, a journalist and a staff writer for MintPress News, and Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, join the show.
President Trump lashed out at Congress yesterday for not approving of his long-promised border wall. But this time it's not just Democrats opposing it. Many Republicans, including several in the leadership, say that the wall is impractical, unrealistic, and just too expensive. Brent Wilkes, a leading immigrant rights advocate, joins Brian and John.
Today British Prime Minister Theresa May made strong comments about the Brexit process, stating about the EU's suggested alternative plan, "That is unacceptable. We will never agree to it. It would mean breaking up our country." British and European Union leaders met yesterday in Salzburg to discuss the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the body and things did not go well for May. The sticking point is what to do about the Irish border. May said that no deal on Brexit and the border is better than a bad deal-and that may be where negotiations are going. Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the UK's Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union, joins the show.
It's Friday! So it's time for the week's 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 and on twitter @leftiblog, and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell.
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