10/06/17 10/06/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> good morning, everybody. the norwegian nobel committee has decided to award the nobel 2017 to thefor international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, ican. amy: as the nobel peace prize award is them president trump is , expected decertify the landmark 2015 iran nuclear deal next week. we will speak with the

ona-pacific director of ican winning the nobel peace prize and we will go to tehran and washington to get the latest. then following the massacre in ,as vegas when stephen paddock the 64-year-old white men killed 59 people, including himself, the national rifle association says it will support regulation on the gun accessory known as bump stocks that enables semiautomatic rifles to shoot like automatic machine guns. critics say it is not enough. we will go to las vegas. then as fema removes data about rodriguez like of access to drinking water and electricity from its website, we go to the puerto rican island of the echoes just big with residents of the air that the u.s. navy used as a bombing range for decades, now a superfund site.

know that any place of our island we can find bombs, toxic waste from their practice them scrap metal, etc. notg other things they have told us. anything like that, which could've been around for only god knows where they can be now. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goman. this year's nobel peace prize has just been announced. >> good morning, everybody. the new region nobel committee -- the norwegian nobel committee has decided to award the nobel to therize for 2017 international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. amy: the international campaign tobolish them for apons is a

coalition of non-government organizations in more than 100 countries. launched in 2007, helped organize landmark victory: the world's first legally binding treaty banning nuclear weapons. the treaty was adopted by 122 u.n. member states in july, and signed by 51 countries during u.n. general assembly week in september. the treaty prohibits the development, testing, and possession of nuclear weapons, as well as using or threatening to use these weapons. it was adopted and signed by dozens of countries despite the fierce opposition of the united states and other nuclear armed nations. this is the executive director betrice fihn. ,>> we are working very hard on trying to make nuclear weapons illegal. they are not yet prohibited by a weapons.he nuclear i think we're trying to change peoples minds. people have been accepting nuclear weapons as legitimate tools for providing security for 70 years now. we are trying to change the mindset that it is not acceptable to threaten to level

an entire city just to keep herself secure. amy: that is the executive director of ican speaking in geneva where the organization is based. the nobel peace prize announcement comes as "the washington post" reports trump is expected decertify the landmark 2015 iran nuclear deal next week, saying the agreement is not in the united states' national interest. if this happens, congress will decide whether or not to reinstate harsh economic sanctions against iran. the move comes despite the fact the trump administration begrudgingly certified iran has complied with its obligations under the agreement earlier this year, as has the international atomic energy agency. has also said he is in favor of sticking with the iran nuclear deal. president trump's potential sabotaging of the deal is only one of a growing number of nuclear threats under the trump administration.

tensions have also risen sharply between the u.s. and north korea over its nuclear program. trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy all of north korean, a nation of 25 million people. after trump took office, the scientists behind the doomsday clock, which tracks the likelihood of nuclear war and other existential threats, moved the clock's minute hand 30 seconds closer to midnight. the clock is now the closest to midnight than at any time since 1953. we'll have more on the iran nuclear deal, the nobel peace prize, and the threats of nuclear war after headlines. meanwhile, president trump issued a cryptic threat thursday night during a meeting with military leaders at the oval office, saying this is the "the calm before the storm." pres. trump: do you know what this represents? maybe it is the calm before the storm. calm before the storm. >> what storm?

most confident military people in this room. i will take you that. thank you all for coming. thank you. >> what storm, mr. president? pres. trump: you will find out. amy: trump's comments follow his recent admonishment of his military leaders during a cabinet meeting, telling them "moving forward, i also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options when needed at a much faster pace." in news on climate change, at least 22 people have been killed in central america by the powerful tropical storm nate. the storm has sparked widespread flooding across in nicaragua, costa rica, and honduras and shut down several off-shore oil rigs in the gulf of mexico. the storm is now barreling toward the u.s. gulf coast.

in puerto rico, doctors say the island's health system remains damaged two weeks after hurricane maria, leaving more than 90% of the island without electricity and half of its residents without drinking water. that's, at least, according to statistics published by fema on wednesday. but on thursday, fema removed data about access to drinking water and electricity in puerto rico from its website. also on thursday, billionaire elon musk, owner of the electric car company tesla, said he thinks his company could resolve puerto rico's energy problem through solar power. on thursday, puerto rico's governor, ricardo rosello, replied to elon musk on twitter writing -- "@elonmusk let's talk. do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #teslatechnologies? pr could be that flagship project." the puerto rico electric company is currently the largest publicly owned utility in the

united states, and the electric power industry has long sought to privatize it. in a rare move, the national rifle association says it will support regulations for gun accessories known as bump stocks, which allows my autograph to act like machine guns. this comes following sunday next massacre in las vegas. stephen paddock, a 64-year-old white man, killed 59 people, including himself, and injured nearly 500 people. authorities say paddock had at least twelve bump stocks, which -- 12 bump stocks. the nra wants it to be imposed by the bureau of alkyl tobacco firearms and explosives. but republican and democratic lawmakers are pushing for regulation on bump stocks. this is what has president rick perry sarah huckabee sanders. >> we know both members of both parties and multiple

organizations are planning to and a look at bump stocks related devices. we welcome that and would like to be part of that conversation. we would like to see a clear understanding of the facts. amy: but many say on stocks regulation does not go far massh to prevent future shootings. for example, the potential regulation would not address how stephen paddock was able to stock tile dozens of firearms including buying 33 weapons in the past year alone from nevada, utah, california, and texas. "usa today" is reporting president trump's son-in-law jared kushner and his wife ivanka trump -- both of whom also serve as senior white house advisers -- rerouted their personal emails to computers run by the trump organization amid investigations into their use of private email accounts for white house matters. the rerouting came after they received a letter from maryland congressman elijah cummings, warning them not to delete

emails sent over private accounts. they rerouted the emails through the trump organization, despite claiming that neither of them work for the organization any longer now that they hold official roles in the white house. meanwhile, white house officials say they believe chief of staff john kelly's personal cell phone has been compromised, perhaps since as early as last december. the white house's technical support staff reportedly discovered the potential hack after kelly complained this past summer his phone hadn't been working properly for months. in more news from washington, special counsel robert mueller's investigators met earlier this year with christopher steele, a former british intelligence agent who created an unsubstantiated dossier about donald trump during the 2016 campaign. the 35-page dossier alleged the russian government had a slew of compromising information that it could use to blackmail president trump.

the meeting with steele comes as part of mueller's widening investigation into whether the trump campaign colluded with russia to influence the 2016 election. a new bombshell report by "the new york times" has revealed the powerful hollywood producer harvey weinstein has been the subject of sexual harassment and assault accusations for decades and that he's paid off at least eight women who confronted him about the alleged humiliating and degrading harassment. among those who have accused him is award-winning actress ashley judd, who says that when she arrived for a professional meeting with harvey weinstein, he showed up in a bathrobe and asked if he could massage her or whether she would watch him shower. weinstein is one of the most powerful producers in hollywood, co-founding miramax films and the weinstein company. one of his employees, lauren o'connor, wrote in an internal memo alleging a pattern of sexual harassment within weinstein company -- "there is a toxic environment for women at this company." pennsylvania republican

congressman tim murphy has resigned after revelations that the vehemently anti-abortion lawmaker had pressured a woman he was having an affair with to have an abortion. forensic psychologist shannon edwards wrote to murphy in january in the midst of a pregnancy scare, saying -- "you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options." according to text message records from murphy's cell phone, he responded -- "i get what you say about my march for life messages. i've never written them. staff does them. i read them and winced. i told staff don't write any more. i will." meanwhile, the trump administration is slated to sharply limit contraceptive coverage under the affordable care act, a move that could eliminate birth control coverage for hundreds of thousands of women.

the administration is expected to announce the rule change today. a senior official within the interior department has resigned in protest of interior secretary ryan zinke. he was interior department scientist focusing on the dangers that climate change poses to alaska native communities in the arctic until he was reassigned from his position and instead tasked with collecting royalty checks from oil and gas companies. dozens of other scientists inside the interior department have also been reassigned. after he resigned, clement said "secretary zinke the is really acting against all of the issues that are important to the health and safety of americans and natural resources." deceive interview with him, go to democracynow.org. international news in pakistan suicide bombing at a shiite , a mosque killed at least 20 people on thursday. the bombing was in a village in the southwest region of

baluchistan. 25 more people are wounded, some in critical condition. isis has claimed responsibility for the bombing. in syria, the international committee of the red cross is warning of a harrowing spike in violence in regions across the country, including in raqqa and deir ez-zor, where the u.s.-led coalition is launching daily airstrikes against isis militants. the red cross says the fighting is the worst since the siege of east aleppo in 2016. at least 10 hospitals have been damaged over the last 10 days. the syrian and russian governments are accused of killing dozens of civilians in airstrikes in recent days in deir ez-zor. this is red cross regional director for the middle east, robert mardini. >> we bear witness to the suffering of people. we get testimonies from deirians fleeing raqq and ez-zor par breaking stories to tell every day. it is hard to meet one single

family who is left the area who do not have a family member killed on the way to safety and this is unacceptable. amy: and california has adopted a so-called sanctuary state law aimed at limiting police statewide from cooperating with federal immigration agents and carrying out president trump's mass deportations. the new sanctuary state law signed thursday is the most expansive in the united states. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show with news that the nobel peace prize has been awarded to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the group, known as ican, is a coalition of non-government organizations in more than 100 countries. this is the chair of the norwegian nobel committee, berit reiss-andersen. >> good morning, everybody. committeeian nobel

has decided to award the nobel peace prize for 2017 to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, ican. the organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition on such weapons. amy: after the announcement, reporters questioned the message the committee is trying to send with its award this year. could unravel?

>> there has been an american diplomatic pressure on countries like sweden to prevent them from signing the ican treatment. leg himway, kicking the as one of your predecessors said, to the american president donald trump. >> the carefully monitored elimination of nuclear weapons by the five original state it would that help to prevent proliferation among states like north korea? amy: some of the reporter's at a news conference after the nobel committee announced that the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons had won this year's nobel peace prize. ican was founded in 2007. it helped organize a landmark victory -- the world's first legally binding treaty banning nuclear weapons. the treaty was adopted by 122 u.n. member states in july, and signed by 51 countries during u.n. general assembly week in september.

the treaty prohibits the development, testing and possession of nuclear weapons, as well as using or threatening to use these weapons. it was adopted and signed by dozens of countries, despite the fierce opposition of the united states and other nuclear armed nations. this is the executive director of the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, betrice fihn. >> we are working very hard on trying to make nuclear weapons illegal. they are not yet prohibited by treaty, nuclear weapons. and i think we are trying to change peoples minds. people have been accepting these weapons as legitimate tools for providing security for 70 years now. we are kind of change the mindset, really, that it is not acceptable to threaten to level in entire city just to keep yourself secure. amy: for more, we are joined by democracy now! video stream by tim wright, asia-pacific

director of ican, the nobel prize-winning organization. first of all, tim, congratulations. >> thank you very much, amy. amy: how did you hear? >> we received the news about 10 minutes before it was broadcast. there was a livestream on the nobel peace prize website that we were following. we knew that we had been nominated, but we really did not expect to receive it. so it came as a huge surprise and we are really thrilled. amy: we were all monitoring it here new york time at 5:00 in the morning as the announcement was made. talk about what ican does and what message you think the nobel committee is sending by awarding you the nobel peace prize. >> well, we were a ride it -- awarded the prize for our role in securing the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons adopted earlier this year. there are many countries that

don't support this treaty. so i think the prize will help us to put pressure on them to sign into ratify it. it is not just the nuclear armed states, but some of their allies that can protection from u.s. nuclear weapons, for example. we really need to bring them on board and join the two thirds of the international community that weapon-freeuclear world and voted in favor of this treaty. amy: can you respond to some of the questions that were asked at the news conference after the nobel peace prize was announced for the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons? , well,rd the issue of the announcement that president trump wants to decertify the nuclear deal -- which will be made next week, apparently. and also, the question of what sent tomessage is being

the countries that did not sign, including the united states, this treaty, this groundbreaking treaty? has been given at a time of great global tension. we have heard threats from president trump that he will totally destroy north korea. the development in north korea, incredibly, frightening. adoptedty that has been offers an alternative way forward. deal, itof the iran makes no sense whatsoever that the united states would want to withdraw from that. this is a deal that is designed to stop another country from acquiring nuclear weapons. why would president trump be opposed to that deal? the treaty that we have been involved in creating as much further than just trying to stop

the spread of nuclear weapons. it is about getting rid of the 15,000 nuclear weapons that already exist and around 7000 of those are in the u.s. nuclear arsenal. about so can you talk what happened in the signing of the treaty and then the ratifying of it? what exactly this does and what does it mean that the united states and the other nuclear powers would not sign on? >> this is a treaty principally intended to stigmatize nuclear weapons and establish a pathway to their elimination. we never expected the nuclear arms nations would join the treaty at the outset, but they do have that option of joining at some point in the future. the more countries that do get on board with this treaty, the more effective it will be in putting pressure on them to do

the right thing and to join the international majority on this issue. it is simply unacceptable from our point of view to have weapons that are designed to kill civilians indiscriminately and on a massive scale. there are prohibitions on chemical weapons, biological weapons, landmines and cluster munitions. it is only logical there is no prohibition globally on nuclear weapons. amy: and in this time when president trump threatens to obliterate the entire nation of north korea -- 25 million people -- what about the question the reporter asked, "if nuclear countries signed on to this nuclear ban, would that give an incentive to countries like north korea to disarm?" >> yes, absolutely. and i think the spread of

nuclear weapons has much to do with the failure of countries like the united states to honor their disarmament obligations. if they were serious about disarmament, if the original nuclear arms nations were actually committed to that, then we would not see other countries seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. this new treaty establishes the same standard of all countries. it says that north korea cannot have nuclear weapons and the united states cannot have nuclear weapons. because they are weapons with catastrophic consequences. amy: there was a very frightening moment for many when president trump, standing with military officials yesterday, said this is the calm before the storm. and when pressed by reporters, was storm, he said, "you will see." >> yeah, it is really

frightening. thes easy to see how situation could spiral out of control. and the consequences could be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, people's lives lost as a result. we need to take action now. and the most responsible thing for countries to do is to sign and ratify this treaty and to, clearly display -- to display their opposition to the's worst weapons of mass destruction. amy: i want to ask you, tim wright, about the role of survivors. the only two atomic weapons dropped in the world were on japan in world war ii august 6 and august 9, 1945. , ofsurvivors of that bomb those bombs, have spoken around the world. what kind of work as the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons done

with them? >> we afford to very closely with survivors from those two cities, as well as survivors of nuclear testing around the world whose testimonies to diplomats at the u.n. has been really powerful -- a really powerful motivating force. when you hear what these people have gone through, to defend these weapons just becomes, you know, immoral. they really helped us get this treaty over the line. the treaty and the prize that we have now been awarded is really a tribute to the thousands of people around the world who have spoken out against nuclear weapons, food have protested at nuclear weapons facilities. we need more of that. we need people to take their

money out of banks that are investing in nuclear companies. we need people to be putting pressure on the politicians. every bit of every action that is taken will have a positive impact on making sure that this treaty fulfills its objectives. amy: i want to return to abacca anjain-maddison, from the marshall islands. she spoke on behalf of of the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons at the u.n. conference for the treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons earlier this year. >> four years of my home, the marshall islands, was years as testing ground for nuclear bombs , which contaminated our beautiful and pristine for all times. today, we carry in our bodies the legacy of these dreadful experiments. a cancer rate in the marshall islands is among the highest in the world.

they treated us as guinea pigs. they told us it was for the good of mankind. the adoption of this landmark agreement today fills us with hope that the mistakes of the past will never repeat. amy: that was abacca anjain-maddison, from the marshall islands comes to gumby have of the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. the organization, ican, that has won the 2017 nobel peace prize. it will be awarded in oslo on international human right stay december 10. when we come back, we will talk reportedsident trump's decertifying the iran nuclear deal, despite the fact the trump administration has certified iran has complied. stay with us.

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amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. amidst news of the nobel peace prize being awarded to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, we turn to look at whether president trump is trying to sabotage the obama-brokered nuclear agreement with iran and seek a war with iran. according to "the washington post," trump is expected to announce next week the deal is not in the u.s. national interest and will move to decertify the deal. if this happens, congress will decide whether or not to reinstate harsh economic sanctions against iran, potentially tanking the landmark deal. the move comes despite the fact the trump administration begrudgingly certified that iran has complied with its obligations under the agreement earlier this year, as has the international atomic energy

agency, which closely monitors iran's activities will stop -- activities. speaking to the united nations general assembly last month, president trump slammed the iran nuclear deal. company was one of the worst and one-sided transactions the united states has ever entered into. vaguely, that deal is an embarrassment to the united states and i don't think you have heard the last of it and believe me. worldtime for the entire to join us in demanding that iran's government and this pursuit of death and destruction. it is time for the regime to free all americans and citizens of other nations that they have unjustly detained. and above all, iran's government must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people, and respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors.

amy: meanwhile on thursday night, trump issued a cryptic threat during a meeting with military leaders saying "this is the calm before the storm." pres. trump: do you know what this represents? the call before the storm. >> what is the storm? pres. trump: it could be the calm before the storm. >> therein? what storm? [indiscernible] thank you all for coming. >> what storm, mr. president? pres. trump: you will find out. amy: "you will find out," that 's comments.ident it comes following the admonishment of his military leaders telling them moving forward, i also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options when needed at a much faster pace.

if the iran nuclear deal collapses, iran can begin producing uranium and reprocessing plutonium immediately rather than waiting for 13 years as required under the agreement. both secretary of state rex tillerson and defense secretary jim mattis have urged trump to uphold the agreement. this is mattis speaking to senators on tuesday. >> if we can confirm that an is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then, clearly, we should stay with it. i believe at this point in time, absent indications to the contrary, it is something the president should consider staying with. times"he new york reports the trump administration plans to take a broader hard-line stance toward iran, including cracking down on the country's ballistic missile program and its alleged involvement in syria, yemen, and elsewhere in the middle east. for more, we go to tehran, iran, where we're joined via democracy now video stream by reza sayah, a freelance journalist who covered iran for cnn international for over seven years.

after his coverage of the 2009 anti-government protests, iranian authorities denied him permission to work for two years. sayah later returned to tehran to report on the ongoing nuclear talks, the 2013 presidential elections, the signing of the interim nuclear deal, and -- -- and most recently, the 2017 iranian president elections. welcome to democracy now! your response to this news that president trump will decertify the nuclear deal next week cap co how have people responded in iran? off, passing along information, i just spoke an hour ago by phone [indiscernible] he is aware of the report by "the washington post last night. as far as this news goes, i think a lot of people were curious what mr. trump was going to decide next week.

i think a lot of people were eager to hear what he was going to decide. throughout his campaign for the presidency, he was speaking out against this deal, calling it the worst deal ever, an investment. that kind of rhetoric continued into the early months of his presidency. after meeting with benjamin netanyahu, came out suggesting he was going to go after this deal. indications are the stage is set for mr. trump to make an effort to at the very least undermine destabilized and we can this deal. what is striking is this. the entire international community come all of the all of thethe p5+1, world powers, the iea, u.n.'s nuclear watchdog, all of the states and groups, they are saying this deal is working. this deal is fulfilling its narrow objective of rolling back

the rents nuclear program. essentially, it is two countries against this deal. the u.s. led by republican president and the israeli government led by benjamin netanyahu. and it looks like these two countries are going to go against international consensus. but they released, we can the deal. news that jim mattis, the secretary of defense, said just tuesday in testimony before congress that he supports the deal? of course, the u.s. has said that iran has lived up to it's part of the agreement. >> they have. and i think it is going to be important to see what happens in the coming weeks. there are a few things to remember. first off, the u.s. does not have unilateral authority to destroy this deal. this deal belongs to the un security council, the international community is

endorsed by the u.n. security council. and the certification process, thereby the u.s. president, every 90 days has to certify this agreement to the u.s. congress is not part of this agreement. iran used this as an internal matter with the u.s.. so iran may not see this as a violation, may not see the certification as a violation. therefore, may not take drastic measures to respond, which could include restarting their nuclear program. so i think in the coming days and weeks, the key is, what the announcement is going to be. is there a strategy behind it and in the 60 days that congress has to decide whether to reimpose sanctions, will they do that? because if they do indeed do that, then it is very likely iran will see this as a violation of the neck and escalate. amy: finally, what would renewed sanctions mean against iran for

the people, for the economy? >> i think it would mean a loss of the glimmer of hope that they wasback in 2015 when this signed. liberals were very much hoping this deal would be to better relations with the west, with the international community that would lead to a better economy. i think that hope will certainly a road. but in many ways, and iranian .re used to this in many ways, they're not see many tangible benefits from this has notause the economy improved. if this indeed unfolds in a way where tensions escalate and the deal is undermined, i think they will see this as more evidence that the intention of the u.s. government is to isolate -- economically isolate a country like iran. it does not serve the u.s. interest, it is not a sign state

like other countries in the region -- saudi arabia, israel, tenant two. amy: reza sayah, thank you for being with us, freelance analyst based in tehran, iran. covered iran for cnn international for over seven years. was denied permission to work in iran for two years. we're also joined and washington, d.c., by trita parsi, founder and president of the national iranian american council. you are author of "losing an enemy: obama, iran, and the legacy of diplomacy" what news do you have in washington? it was "the washington post" reports that trump will decertify the landmark deal that is not just between the united states and around, but between a number of countries. what that means, what role the president plays and what role congress plays. >> thank you.

this was not entirely unexpected. people knew the trump administration was looking for ways to get out of the deal. and much of the focus has been, would congress reimpose sanctions once the president shifts this issue onto them? i think a more important matter may actually be what trump himself chooses to do outside of the nuclear deal once he has decertify. this, to give about this is the calm before the storm. the buzz here is there is going to be a very significant ramping up an escalation in the region against iran, potentially including sitting down iranian airplanes, sinking iranian ships in the persian gulf, targeting iranian troops or allied troops in iraq and syria. bys has been a preference some in washington for quite some time, the believe that the united states for far too long had not been tough enough against the iranians. this was something that has been suggested by some in the pentagon to the obama

administration. it was rejected, mainly because of the believe that this idea that you could have a small war is really not workable. how do you prevent a small war from becoming a really big war? amy: so what will happen in congress? what is your sense, being right there, covering these issues, extremely close -- what congress will do and the significance of president trump pulling out of -- landmarkble arraigned deal? him of out right after the nobel peace prize is awarded to the international campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons? into congress, let me say one thing. if we take a step back, for the last 37 years, there is really only been one example in which the united states has been able to change in a significant way a court iranian policy.

and that has been through these nuclear negotiations. everything else that has been tried from sanctions to pressure just advertised have failed. the only success we have is this nuclear deal. so if the trump administration is concerned about iranian policies in the region, that if it truly wishes to see a change, there is a proven path secondly do that -- which is additional negotiations. free to choose to walk out of this nuclear deal and the pursue a path that has a proven track record of failure, that can only really make sense if you want to see an escalation that could lead to war. if that is not your intent, it is baffling as to why the president would be doing what he is doing right now. when it comes to congress, congress is not eager to take on this issue. they already have too many issues on their plate and then narrowly managed to address any of them effectively. but it is easy for congress to oppose this nuclear deal in 2015, particularly with the

republicans, when they kind of understood their vote was inconsequential. at this point, they will own the disaster that will follow if they reimpose sanctions violate the deal and cause the deal's collapse. this is causing a lot of second thought in congress right now. and the anger or frustration that exists that they feel the president is pushing this issue onto them instead. choosing not to do anything doesn't not seem to be too likely either. there is likely going to be some sort of measure and the measure is going to be important as the, will it be a reimposition of the old sanctions -- which will be a clear violation of the deal -- or are they going to try to find a third route that doesn't violate the deal explicitly so that they can say, well, we are not the ones responsible for collapsing the? deal amy: trita parsi, thank you for being with us founder and , president of the national iranian american council. author of the book "losing an enemy: obama, iran, and the legacy of diplomacy." when we come back, we go to las

vegas. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on thursday, the national rifle association made a major announcement that it would support additional regulation on the gun accessory known as bump stocks. investigators believe the devise was used in sunday night's mass shooting in las vegas, in which stephen paddock, a 64-year-old white man who killed killed 59 people, including himself, and injured nearly 500 people. authorities say paddock bought

at least 12 bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic rifles to act like machine guns, capable of firing hundreds of rounds a minute. the nra's wayne lapierre and chris cox issued a joint statement thursday, writing -- "despite the fact obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on at least two occasions, national rifle association is calling on the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law. the nra believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations." many say the bump stocks regulation does not go near far enough to prevent future mass shootings. legislators are now introducing a bill to deal with bump stocks, but many are saying that congress must go further. we go to las vegas where we're joined by annette magnus-marquart, executive director of the nevada-based battle born progress. welcome to democracy now!

i am so sorry what has happened in las vegas, what has happened in your city, this mass killing come the single largest one by a lone gunman in u.s. history. can you talk about what the nra is doing? rarely has it ever sent it would do anything but clearly, the , they'reis so enormous saying, ok, let's deal with this one thing. >> yeah, and thank you for that. it has been a terrible week in las vegas. i appreciate being on. that many ofto see the legislators, including some of the ones here in nevada, , are supporting these legislations to limit bump stocks. that is part of the reason why this massacre occurred. however, we believe that this is going to then become an excuse for the nra not to go further on

this. at the end of the day, what we really need to do is real substantive gun violence prevention policy. the bump stock issue is a very important part of that conversation. we are very appreciative of that. however, we also know the nra and we know their tactics. this is a political move on the part of the nra to not have to go further for real gun violence prevention measures. and we know they're going to use this as an excuse to say, look, we gave you something. we are not totally against everything. let's move forward with this so we don't have to take real action on gun violence. for me as an advocate, summon who is fighting for this every single day, we want to see these bump stocks be taken out of commission. however, we also want to see real gun violence prevention legislation move forward both at the state level and nationally. amy: do you own a gun? >> i do, yes. amy: i want to ask you about bump stocks, whether or not it

is regulated in the nra wanted to be done through the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms so it does not go to congress. about what is happening in nevada. it is not like you just used bump stocks. he was able to stockpiled dozens of firearms, something like 33 buying from four different states. nevada passed legislation on background checks, but it is being held up by the state attorney general? >> that is right. i am a gun owner. we own a handgun. we don't own 33 weapons. unlike this terrorist did. you know, what we believe as gun owners, responsible gun owners, there needs to be legislation in place to make it harder for people who should not own weapons to own weapons. for me, question one is a great example of that. our background check initiative which passed nevada voters passed in november of 2016. adam like salt is one of the

nra's darlings, refusing to implement that law, even though nevada voters, the will of the people, put a fort and passed it. there's commonsense solutions that we could be putting forward both, at the state level and at the national level, that would make a huge difference in our gun laws and make sure that people who should not own weapons do not own weapons. as a responsible gun owner, it is my responsibility to go out there and say, we want these gun laws passed. we want better gun laws in this country. obviously, something is wrong that we continue to have mass shooting aftermath shooting over and over and again and now it is happening and i'll backyard. amy: president trump has not signed off on muchr legislation, but one of his first moves makes it easier for justo lay disabled people mentally disabled to get weapons easier. he continually talked about paddock as a mentally defective man.

mentally demented man. >> that is right. congress really this year, one of the first pieces of legislation -- and ago i think we lost her. we will continue the discussion next week. annette magnus-marquart executive director of the battle born progress. as we end today's show where we began the week -- in puerto rico. doctors say the island's health system remains crippled two weeks after hurricane maria hit the island, leaving more than 90% of puerto rico without electricity and half of its residents without drinking water. that's, at least according to , statistics published by fema on wednesday. but on thursday, fema removed data from its website about access to drinking water and electricity in puerto rico from . democracy now!'s juan carlos davilla is on the ground in

puerto rico. and this week he managed to make it to the island of vieques, to speak with residents of the area that the u.s. navy used as a bombing range for decades. since the 1940's, the navy used nearly three-quarters of the island for bombing practice, war games, dumping old munitions, an and napalm. the bombing stopped after campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience. among those like that arrested was current congressman luis gutierrez, he got arrested twice in vieques. but the island now continues to suffer. the navy says it will take until 2025 to remove all the environmental damage left by more than 60 years of target practice. juan carlos filed this report from vieques in the aftermath of hurricane maria. >> like most residents of puerto rico, the people of vieques have been struggling with shortages

of food, water, and medicine since hurricane maria made landfall. we visited the island on wednesday without knowing what we would find. telephones, cell phones, and internet service is now functioning in vieques. the only way in and out of the island is either by boat or plane. we began our visit by speaking to community leader robert rayburn. particular place a particular problems. the u.s. military presence on vieques for over half a century made -- put vieques in a very vulnerable situation. today, the problem with party, over 72% of vieques community lives below the poverty line. some studies indicate the navy presence here for over half a century meant the loss of over $100 million a year impossible ifome for. vieques vieques it had been able to -- the navy

owes the people of vieques. the federal government owes the people of vieques. a complete reconstruction, not just because of hurricane maria, but in light of this hurricane, in the aftermath of this hurricane, the federal government of the united states close at least two vieques to measure every single family here is healthy, fine, has a good solid house and there's economic development happening here on the island, without a doubt. >> as we drove around, we witnessed dozens of houses completely destroyed. unconfirmed estimates are that hundreds of houses are uninhabitable. during the afternoon, we went to a shelter in the neighborhood of los amrias were some of the stories were told to us. but have a concrete house, it had a wooden roof. although it was secured, everything was gone.

we lost everything. furniture, everything that was inside the house. i was surprised. i think god because these people welcomed us here and they take good care of us. house.iss being in my any help i can get to return to my house would be the most important thing right now. heidi.ame is i washe disaster arrived, surprised because i've never experienced anything like this. many houses were lost. many families right now have no home. my house does not have a roof at this moment. the beds are wet. everything was lost. my sisters lost their houses. the families that don't have food and clothing, they lost

everything and it is very hard. haveother concern some after hurricane maria is how the contamination from the u.s. navy might have spread. worsening the already severe health problems that the residents of the island face. again, community leader robert. >> the hurricane moved in with a gigantic tidal wave sweeping directly over the bombing range. cancer us who are patients, write, and i include myself, we are certainly concerned that this is going to bring more toxic into our immediate environment, as well as creating serious danger for people who are in the water, particularly fishermen from other people who are in both gorgeous people who go into the water. >> fishermen of vieques say hurricane maria caused an unprecedented rise in tight.

-- rise in tide. >> we took the boat to secure it at the bay. it is a very enclosed bay. it had a 300 pound anchor with another that was 30 feet long with the two intro. nevertheless, it is a must a mile away from the place it was anchored. it passed over mangroves eight feet tall and arrived on from land here next to an area of soaring trees. it was dragged by what i understand was hurricane tide and winds. the storm could also have direct any contaminant elements that are island could have. i think the bombs, because of the aerodynamic forms, are difficult to move. but without a doubt, the contamination from them, the material exposed at the moment of hurricane tide, could have reached miles and miles away from where it was originally located. we all know that any place in ireland we can find bombs.

toxic waste from their practice to scrap metal, etc. among other things they have not told us. anything like that, which could have been around only god knows where they can be now. that is, let's say, like a box of surprises. now we really don't know where they could be. amy: special thanks to democracy now's juan carlos davilla for that report from vieques, with help from edwin velazquez. and that does it for our show. juanracy now! cohost gonzalez will be speaking tonight in berkeley, california, 7:30 p.m. at pegasus books downtown. next week, he will be speaking at the university of virginia in charlottesville, that is next thursday. and on friday night and saturday, we will both be speaking at the state university of new york in albany. you can check our website for details. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to

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