Extreme Weather Slams Europe; DACA under Attack; Transphobia in LA

Peter Oliver, journalist and  RT correspondent in Berlin, talks to us about the situation in  Germany and Western Europe, where they continue to face the fallout from last week’s torrential rains and flooding that has resulted in 180 deaths and 700 missing so far.  We talk about how rescue and recovery efforts are progressing, whether there will be more survivors among the missing, the response by the government to this disaster, whether there will be any political fallout from the German government’s handling of the situation, and about recognizing the impact of climate change as one of the main drivers of extreme weather events.  

Maru Mora Villalpando, founder of La Resistencia, community organizer and immigrant activist, talks to us about a federal judge in Texas on Friday declaring that the DACA program was against the law and barring the Biden administration from accepting new applications for it, which may affect around 600,000 beneficiaries of the program. We talk about how this challenge to DACA differs from previous ones, the reaction from the Biden administration on this court decision, whether it will put up a fight to protect DACA, and whether the democratic party will change course in a significant way from Trump-era immigration policies.  

Mónica Cruz, producer, host, and labor beat reporter for BreakThrough News, and Tina-Desiree Berg, host of the podcast District 34 and reporter for status coup, join hosts Michelle Witte and Bob Schlehuber to talk about Amazon announcing its support for lawmakers’ efforts to decriminalize marijuana and portraying themselves as the good guys despite their terrible record on working conditions. We talk about the strike at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama, why the workers are striking, and vehicle ramming attacks on the picket line.  We also talk about news coming out of Los Angeles, where right-wing groups engaged in various transphobic attacks over an alleged incident at a spa in Koreatown, and the response by police that may have escalated the situation and failed to protect trans people.