"Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has frequently refused to wear a mask in the Capitol, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday ahead of a planned trip with President Trump on Air Force One, officials familiar with the matter said," the New York Times reported Wednesday. "The results immediately sent a shudder through the Capitol, where Mr. Gohmert has actively participated in multiple congressional hearings this week, including Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee session with Attorney General William P. Barr" and "a hearing held by the Natural Resources Committee," during which he did not wear a mask, the Times noted. What are we to make of this?
The White House said on Tuesday that it will "refuse all new applications and only allow one-year renewals for existing participants while the program undergoes a review," Common Dreams reported Tuesday about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to remain in the country for renewable periods of two years rather than be deported. What does this mean for the DACA program, its recipients and the country?
According to Raul Diego in MintPress News, "The US is starting to fret about the imminent completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the second of two underwater gas pipelines running from the Russian Baltic city of Ust-Luga to Greifswald, Germany, and has begun issuing informal threats of repercussions to companies who are backing the nearly-finished project." What are people saying about this as the issue continues to fester?
This Associated Press headline from Tuesday is laughable: "US officials: Russia behind spread of virus disinformation." The article says, "Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November, US officials said Tuesday." What is the real story?
A Wednesday headline in Newsweek read: "Iran Won't Start War, General Says as Drill Targets Mock US Carrier." Meanwhile, a Tuesday headline at AntiWar.com said: "US: 'Irresponsible' for Iran to Attack Dummy Ship During Military Exercise." Could this war of words turn into a real war?
"Many small businesses nationwide are reaching similar breaking points in an economy with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression," Reuters reported about the US on Wednesday. "Small firms have survived the pandemic so far with a mix of government aid, forbearance on debt and rent and creativity in selling to an increasingly homebound and financially distressed populace." Can this last much longer?
"The prolonged UN-brokered peace talks between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels might fail, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths warned on Tuesday," Xinhua News Agency reported. What are we to make of this projection?
Reporting on US Attorney General Bill Barr's Tuesday testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the Wall Street Journal said, "In his first congressional appearance in more than a year, Mr. Barr said the federal response was needed to confront violent demonstrators and fight crime in cities where local officials had done little to keep their streets and federal property safe." Is that true?
Guests
Dr. Yolanda Hancock - Board-certified pediatrician
Carlos Castaneda - Immigration lawyer
Daniel Lazare - Investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup"
Mark Sleboda - Moscow-based international relations and security analyst
Scott Ritter - Former UN weapons inspector in Iraq
Richard Lachmann - Professor at the State University of New York at Albany and author of "First Class Passengers on a Sinking Ship: Elite Politics and the Decline of Great Powers"
James Carey - Editor and co-owner of Geopoliticsalert.com
Gregory A. Joseph - Director of communications for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
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