As independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont announces his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, we continue our conversation with former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, author of the new book, "Return to Sender: Unanswered Letters to the President, 2001-2015."
Watch full press conference by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby when she announced charges against six police officers, including one with murder, in the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old African-American man who was arrested and suffered a fatal neck injury while riding in a moving police van.
"To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America," Mosby said, "I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.'"
Mosby said the officers failed to provide medical attention to Gray even though he asked for help on at least two occasions.
It was 40 years ago today, April 30, 1975, that the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon, today known as Ho Chi Minh City. North Vietnamese tanks smashed through the gates of the presidential palace in the South Vietnamese capital, and Communist soldiers hoisted their flag atop the building. Meanwhile, March marked the 50th anniversary of the first teach-in against the Vietnam War called "End the War Against the Planet.” The 1965 event brought together professors and activists at the University of Michigan to discuss what they called the truths and mistruths of the U.S.
As protests continued in Baltimore over the police custody death of Freddie Gray, relatives of some of the 43 students missing since a police attack in Guerrero, Mexico, marched to the United Nations in New York on Sunday. As they demanded justice over the forced disappearances of their loved ones seven months ago, the relatives drew parallels between state violence in Mexico and the United States. "We see that it's the same police brutality, it's the same system of government everywhere," said Anayeli Guerrero de la Cruz, sister of a missing student.
Watch our extended interview with Nelson Denis, author of "War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony," and see excerpts of Pedro Albizu Campos' 1950 speech made shortly before he was arrested. We also speak with Rep. José Serrano, Democratic congressman from New York. He successfully pushed the FBI to declassify records regarding the Bureau's activities targeting independence activists. He was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Listen to our extended interview with Khalifah al-Akili, a Muslim American from Pittsburgh area who was arrested just days after he emailed civil rights groups to say he believed he was the target of an FBI "entrapment" sting. His story is told in the new film "(T)ERROR." He is now serving eight years in federal prison for illegally possessing a gun after having previous felony convictions for selling drugs. He spoke from prison on April 19, 2015, in a phone call with Democracy Now! producer Renée Feltz.
In part two of our interview with Steve Downs, executive director of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, he details his work on one of the most baffling cases in the so-called war on terror, the story of Aafia Siddiqui. In Pakistan, she is considered a political prisoner, but in the United States she is known as "Lady al Qaeda." She is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, where she is serving 86 years behind bars. Her lawyers say she hasn't spoken with anyone for over a year.
On the 100th birthday of the late Billie Holiday, we speak to journalist Johann Hari about how U.S. drug agents ruined the life of the country's most celebrated jazz singer. Hari writes about Holiday in his new book, "Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War of Drugs." Watch our full interview with Hari here: Part 1 II Part 2
TRANSCRIPT
In a Democracy Now! exclusive, we speak with the father and cousin of two of the 43 students missing from the Mexican state of Guerrero since late September. The Mexican authorities have declared the students dead, saying members of a local drug gang killed them and incinerated their bodies. But only one student’s remains have been identified, and journalists have pointed to the possible involvement of federal authorities.
More than 100 former students of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges system have joined what they say is the nation’s first student debt strike. The students have refused to pay back loans they took out to attend Corinthian, which has been sued by the federal government for its predatory lending. The campaign began in February when 15 students announced the debt strike. Some of the students met with officials from the Department of Education earlier this week. We speak with Andrew Ross, sociology professor at New York University.
