11/06/17 11/06/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is >> as a state, we're dealing with the largest mass shooting in our state's history. there are so many families who have lost family members -- fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. the tragedy, of course, is worsened by the fact it occurred in a church, a place of worship, where these people were innocently gunned down. amy: 26 people are dead and 20 more are wounded after a gunman walked into the first baptist church in sutherland springs, texas, and opened fire, killing children, elderly, and a pregnant woman.

the suspect -- a white, ex-air force soldier who was court-martialed and jail for a year for assaulting his wife in 2012. he was still able to purchase a military style assault rifle last year. we'll look at the connections between, race, domestic violence and mass shootings. then to the "paradise papers." >> i intend to be quite scrupulous about refusal on any topic where there is the slightest scintilla of doubt. amy: that's commerce secretary wilbur ross, one of more than a dozen trump cabinet members, advisers, and major donors whose shady business ties and offshore tax holdings have just been revealed in a massive leak of 3.4 million documents. we'll speak with co-author of the "paradise papers" story, frederik obermaier all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in texas, a gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic assault rifle on a sunday morning church service in the small town of sutherland springs, killing 26 people and wounding at least 20 others. white mansay a dressed in black wearing tactical gear and a ballistic vest began firing outside the church before entering the building, shooting dozens of people inside. among the victims, a pregnant woman, the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor, and other children as young as five years old. the suspected shooter has been identified as a 26-year-old white man named devin patrick kelley from new braunfels, texas. kelley was found dead in his c from a gunshot wound shortly after the shooting. it is not yet known whether he

killed himself or whether he was shot by a local resident who opened fire on kelley after the church massacre, and then chased him along with another resident in his car 11 miles away from the church. kelley enlisted in the u.s. air force in 2010. in 2012, he was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and child, leading to year-long imprisonment and bad conduct discharge in 2014. we'll have more on the texas massacre after headlines. particularly, looking at how it was possible he was legally able to purchase a gun. president trump kicked off a 12-day, five-nation trip to asia with a stop in japan saturday, pressing prime minister shinzo abe for a better trade agreement and urging japan to purchase more u.s. weaponry. at a joint news conference with abe on monday, trump repeated a threat against north korea over its nuclear program, saying the era of strategic patience is over. trump is scheduled to visit

south korea on tuesday. ahead of his visit, anti-war activists gathered outside the u.s. embassy to protest trump's threats to totally destroy north korea. >> we average u.s. president trump to solve issues on the korean peninsula by halting the south korean-u.s. joint ella terry drills and making north korea stopped of element of the nuclear and missile programs through dialogue and negotiations, not sanctions or pressure. amy: shocking new revelations reveal the way the world's richest men stash away billions of dollars in wealth and offshore tax havens. the revelation known as the paradise papers came in 13.4 million leaked documents published over the weekend, revealing how the bermuda law firm applebee helps corporations in the world wealthiest people of a taxes and them secure their ownership of everything from private planes to whole

companies. among those implicated, wilbur ross, who continued to invest in a shipping company tied to russian president vladimir putin's son-in-law, even after he became president trump's commerce secretary. the shipping company navigator holdings is also linked to russian oligarchs subject to u.s. sanctions. implicate trumps secretary of state rex tillerson , his chief economic advisor gary cohn, treasury secretary steve mnuchin, jon huntsman, trump's new u.s. ambassador to russia, and carl icahn, trumps billionaire former advisor. we will have more on the paradise papers later in the broadcast. in afghanistan, residents of the northern kunduz province say u.s. airstrikes killed scores of civilians friday after bombs fell on three villages west of the district capital. residents say afghan security forces wouldn't allow them to access the attack sites to pick

up the bodies of their relatives, making an accurate account of the death toll impossible. one provincial council member said about 55 civilians were killed, while an afghan aid worker put the toll at least 40. the attack came two days after 15 people were killed and dozens wounded after an attack on a fuel tanker northwest of kabul set a passenger bus on fire. there was no claim of responsibility for that attack. elsewhere, the u.s. military said one soldier was killed after a battle in the eastern logar province. the increased violence comes as the trump administration ramps up the war in afghanistan, already the longest war in u.s. history. in saudi arabia, authorities arrested scores of prominent officials over the weekend, including 10 princes, four dozens of former ministers, in a massive shakeup by king salman aimed at consolidating power for his son,

crown prince mohammed bin salman. among those arrested was prince alwaleed bin talal, one of the world's richest people with an estimated net worth of at least $17 billion. tala has investments in many well-known u.s. companies like apple, twitter, citigroup, and rupert murdoch's media empire newscorp. separately, a senior saudi prince died sunday when his helicopter crashed near the border with yemen, fueling speculation he'd been assassinated. the arrests, on unspecified corruption charges, came just hours after the crown prince convened a new anti-corruption committee with wide-ranging powers to detain and arrest anyone accused and to search their homes and seize their assets. the arrests came as the white house said president trump called king salman to offer thanks for the kingdom's purchases of billions of dollars in u.s. weaponry, while praising what it called the kingdom's modernization drive. the white house made no mention

of the arrests. president trump's son-in-law and senior adviser jared kushner was in saudi arabia last week. meanwhile, the saudi-led coalition began a massive bombing campaign in western yemen over the weekend, just hours after houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile toward the saudi capital riyadh. residents of the capital sanaa say bombs rained down on government buildings, including the presidential palace, the national security headquarters, and the interior ministry. lebanese prime minister saad al-hariri resigned unexpectedly saturday, citing iran's growing power in the middle east and saying he feared being assassinated like his father, the former leader rafiq hariri. , the move stunned observers and cast the lebanese politics into disarray. hariri made the announcement in a televised speech from saudi arabia that aired on the saudi-funded al arabiya network, prompting speculation that

hariri was forced out by the saudi royal family. this is hassan nasrallah, head of the powerful hezbollah militia and political party. this information gives us a clear conclusion that the resignation was a saudi decision, dictated to prime minister hariri. it was in his decision. -- it wasn't his decision. amy: in vietnam, at least 49 people are dead after the most powerful typhoon to strike the country in nearly two decades made landfall saturday, bringing damaging winds and flooding. the storm follows flooding blamed for another 80 deaths last month. the floods came as a comprehensive new study by the u.s. government finds global average temperatures have increased 1.8 degrees fahrenheit since 1900 and will continue to rise along with greenhouse gas emissions, with human activity as the only plausible driver. the stark warning came as part

of the national climate assessment, a congressionally-mandated report due every four years. the assessment was approved by the white house, a move that surprised many observers, though spokesman raj shah later sought to downplay its scientific findings. the report was released shortly before thousands of delegates from nearly 200 countries gathered monday for united nations climate talks, with president trump's move to withdraw the u.s. from the paris climate accord casting a shadow over negotiations. the talks are presided over by the republic of fiji, one of several small island nations that face an existential threat from sea level rise caused by climate change. this is fiji's prime minister frank bainimarama. >> we bring a message from bg and the pacific and the wonderful nations of the world to say that enough is enough.

we need the political will of the party to make the changes necessary to bring about -- to get rid of suffering. amy: ahead of this year's climate talks, thousands of activists marched saturday through the streets of bonn calling for an end to coal production. organizers said as many as 25,000 joined the protest. on sunday, thousands of protesters stormed onto the grounds of the massive hambach coal mine west of bonn, shutting down a massive coal excavator. the site is the largest open-pit mine in europe. in brussels, a judge has ordered the ousted president of spain's catalonia region and four of his former deputies not to leave belgium after a spanish judge issued an international arrest warrant on charges of rebellion, sedition, and embezzlement over their role in declaring catalan independence. the judge freed carles

puigdemont and the other four sunday night after they turned themselves in, ordering them to return to court within 15 days to face a hearing that could see them deported to spain. last month, the spanish government seized control of catalonia after its leaders proceeded with a banned independence referendum. in bowling green, kentucky, republican senator rand paul said sunday he's suffering from bruised lungs and five broken ribs after he was allegedly assaulted by his next-door neighbor. police have charged 59-year-old retired doctor rene boucher with fourth degree assault after he allegedly attacked paul on friday as the senator mowed his lawn. it's not known what might have prompted the attack, but neighbors reported the two had an ongoing feud. senator paul's injuries are worse than initially reported, and if he's unable to return to

capitol hill this fall, it could derail republican efforts to pass tax cuts that would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest americans. in fort bragg, north carolina, a military judge has released army sgt. bowe bergdahl with a $10,000 fine and a dishonorable discharge, but no prison time, in a case that could have seen the former taliban captive sentenced to life in prison. bergda pleaded guilty this month to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after he was returned to the u.s. in 2014 in exchange for five prisoners held at guantanamo. he'd been held captive by the taliban for five years after he walked off his post in what an army investigation found was an attempt to reach another u.s. base to report on wrongdoing in his unit.

former democratic national committee interim chair donna brazile revealed saturday she seriously considered swapping out democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton for vice president joe biden with new jersey senator corey booker as his running mate after clinton collapsed from exhaustion at an event on september 11 of last year. the bombshell came as brazile published her new memoir, entitled "hacks," describing a dnc in disarray, with a clinton campaign brazile labeled anemic and tainted by what she called the odor of failure. last week, donna brazile revealed that the dnc made an unethical agreement with hillary clinton's presidential campaign during the lead-up to the 2016 election, skewing the primary in her favor in exchange for money to keep the indebted party afloat. and hundreds of protesters rallied in cities around the united states over the weekend

protesting president trump and his administration support for the far right. in new york city, hundreds marched under "refuse fascism." i am a co-initiator of refuse fascism.org. today is the beginning of the end for the trumppence regime. november fourth here in manhattan and 20 other cities across the country, people are in the streets, engaging in nonviolent protest, but not as a one-day registration of opposition to trump because november 4 is going to be the beginning of a process. people in the streets, day after day and night after night with one single demand. this nightmare must and. the trump-has regime must go. amy: 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 sunday's mass shooting at the

first baptist church in sutherland springs, a tiny rural community east of san antonio, texas. just after 11:00 a.m. on sunday, a man walked into the church wearing a ballistic vest and carrying a ruger ar-556 assault-style rifle and opened fire. first outside, then went back to his truck, went back to the church and killed 26 people, wounding at least 20 more. among the victims was a pregnant woman, the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor, other children as young as five years old. the suspected shooter has been identified as a 26-year-old white man named devin patrick kelley from new braunfels, texas. kelley enlisted in the u.s. air force in 2010. in 2012, he was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and child, leading to year-long imprisonment and bad conduct discharge in 2014.

the bad conduct discharge versus a dishonorable discharge meant kelley was still eligible to buy firearms legally. in 2014, kelley was also charged with mistreatment, neglect or cruelty to animals in colorado, though the case was ultimately dismissed. in april 2016, kelley purchased the ruger ar-556 rifle at an academy sports & outdoors store in san antonio, texas. in filling out the background check paperwork, kelley indicated he did not have a criminal history that disqualified him from purchasing the firearm. on sunday, kelley was found dead in his car from a gunshot wound shortly after the shooting. it was about 11 miles away. it is not yet known whether he killed himself or if he was shot by a local resident who opened fire on kelley after the church massacre, then chased him along with another resident to that 11 miles away. late on sunday night, sutherland

springs residents gathered for a candlelight vigil to mourn the victims of the attack. >> it is hard to hear the people you know were hurt that bad. knew?ldren you >> yes. she worked in the nursery. only personthe outside of my family that i trusted with my children. this is really hard to hear st.p amy: the shooting came as president trump was visiting japan as part of a 13-day tour across asia. as part of the tour, president trump is attempting to sell weapons and other military equipment to japan and south korea amid escalating tensions sparked by president trump on the korean peninsula. ahead of the trip, trump tweeted -- "i am allowing japan & south korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the united states."

on sunday, president trump addressed the shooting from tokyo, saying it was not the time to talk about gun control, and that mental health, not firearms, was the problem. pres. trump: i think mental health is your problem here. preliminarybased on reports, a deranged individual. a lot of problems over a long. of time. we have a lot of mental health problems in our country come as to other countries. guns situation. i mean, we could go into it, but it is a little soon to go into it. fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction. otherwise, it would have been much worse. but this is a mental health problem at the height level. it is a very sad event. these are great people and a very sad event, but that is the way i view it. amy: in february, president trump signed legislation

repealing an obama-era law that made it more difficult for some people with mental illness to buy firearms. sunday was the deadliest mass shooting in texas state history. it comes only a month after the shooting massacre in los vegas, where another white man, stephen paddock, opened fire on concert goers, killing 59 people, injuring 500 others. he also killed himself. we are joined by sarah tofte research director at everytown , for gun safety. her team has investigated the links between domestic violence and mass shootings. welcome to democracy now! why don't you begin by responding to this massacre and then talk about what you have discovered. >> thank you for having me. like any massacre like this, any mess shooting like this, we are sad and we are angry and as

always, we are compelled to action. this mass shooting in particular, while every mass shooting is unique, especially to the community it impacts and the victims it impacts, we know from our research and our reporting that we are seeing a massf things in this shooting that we are seen in others, and that is a link between mass shootings and domestic violence. the majority of mass shooters in this country -- mass shootings are connected to family violence in some ways. either they are targeting their own family members and loved ones or they have a history of domestic violence. and you see that in this case. it only reinforces the in extreme global and deadly links between -- the deadly links between firearms in this country reported this to make

sure they don't get access to firearms. amy: police say they don't know thiseason for him going to church, choosing this church, if there was one, and opening fire, but his record is remarkable. he was in the u.s. air force. he was arrested for assaulting his wife and his child. he was imprisoned for a year in the military. this was back in 2012. he leaves the military with a bad conduct -- on that conduct. was notuse this attack a dishonorable discharge, he was legally able to purchase this weapon? >> yes. like you all are trying to still figure out the details around his record in the

background check itself, again, we know how essential it is district in our laws, to make sure in particular that those that have a record of, a history of domestic violence, do not get access to firearms. that means expanding the number and types of domestic violence crimes and conduct, which would prohibit someone from purchasing a firearm, and then making sure once and abuser is prohibited, they have to turn in the firearms. we know these laws work. in fact, recent research from outside academics tell us that laws that prohibit abusers from possessing firearms and require them to turn in the firearms they own are responsible for 14% reduction in firearm gun homicides of interment partners. so we know these laws can have an impact. we know they can work. we have a lot of work to do to make sure these laws are as

strong as possible. amy: the findings in your report, what, since 2009, more than half of the mass killings are committed by usually a white man who has somehow engaged in domestic or family violence before. women in the u.s., 16 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other high income countries, making this country the most dangerous in the developed world when it comes to gun violence against women. every year, mick and limits of her from 5.3 million incident of intimate partner violence, and then you're suggesting that this then come in these cases, goes much larger. why especially it is critical that this be caught early, not to mention, of course, the horror of violence committed against the women originally. >> absolutely. we've heard people talk about the link between domestic violence and mass shootings.

domestic violence is often the canary in a coal mine for which the way these shooters can have every verb rate in impact both on their families -- reverberating impact both on their families and nick unity around them. we would reiterate we know so much about the links between domestic violence and firearm violence both in terms of death as you mentioned, but also in terms of the way firearms play a role in domestic violence generally. report beingomen threatened with a firearm in a lifetime. one of four victims of domestic violence say a firearm played a role in the abuse. we also know from our mass shootings announces that you referenced, the way children are impacted. of all of the mass shootings with analyzed since 2009, children make up one quarter of the fatalities. and those for tallies are driven by the connection between mass shootings and domestic violence. what we think about this, we should be thinking about it both in terms of the women, the victims, the way -- in terms of

their families, and when it comes to mass shootings, think has on ourmpact community and the country as a whole. amy: the company that manufactured the bump stocks used by the las vegas shooter stephen paddock to kill 59 people, including himself, and injuring nearly 500 others, the company that manufactures -- i think most people in the us have never heard of bump stocks. it said last week it has resumed sales of the devices, which s semiautomaticn into machine guns. on tuesday, the company said it would make a number of its bump stocks available online at a starting price of 180 dollars. i think a lot of people say, no, no, congress voted against this after the las vegas massacre. i think they thought the nra said it was ok.

but in fact, this legislation did not go through congress will step is that right? i'm in, the nra. they could change a rule because they didn't want it to be permanent. the republican led congress stopped even the bump stock ban from going forward. >> that is correct. amy: what does this mean, sarah tofte? >> well, i think it shows how do to getwe have to comes to do the right thing, not only in terms of bump stocks, but to do the right thing in terms of comprehensive blockingd checks and nra-backed legislation that would deregulate silencers, blocking nra-backed legislation that would lessen and basically obliterate sort of state permitting processes. we need congress to do more in terms of strengthening our

domestic violence laws. but i think the failure to remove bump stocks is in indication of how much work we have to do. and how many people we need to join us in doing this work and turning our prayers for peace and our prayers an end to gun violence and action. any career going to go to break. we will return with sarah tofte. urging just reported on the links between domestic violence and mass shootings. this is democracy now! we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. ofcontinue our coverage sunday's mass shooting at the first baptist church in sutherland springs, a tiny community east of san antonio,

texas. the governor said it is the worst shooting in texas history. 26 people dead, 20 more wounded, including children, elderly, a pregnant woman, the suspect them in catterick kelly -- devin patrick kelley. he was jeffrey year for assaulting his wife in 2012, still able to legally purchase a military style assault rifle. our guests are in austin, texas, ed scruggs, vice chair and spokesperson for texas gun sense. philadelphia, we're joined by george ciccariello-maher, political science professor at drexel university and the author -- he was banned from campus after questioning why mass shootings in the united states are almost always carried out by white men. and we are joined by sarah tofte is research director at everytown for gun safety. ed scruggs, your response to the shootings and what is allowed in texas. >> well, thank you for having me today.

of course, it is a tragic time here in texas. this quite a bit of shock throughout the state, especially in small communities that the crime of this magnitude could occur. of course, our thoughts are with those families and the victims at this time. but part of what our organization is here to do is to remind folks that there are steps we can take and the discussion we need to have about ways to eliminate this type of violence and that no one is immune to this violence, whether l. rura in the state of texas or any other state. here in texas, what is allowed -- it is rather wide open in terms of gun ownership. in recent years, our state leadership has taken to loosening gun laws and basically any way they can. a few years ago, they legalized

tampa scary. also legalized open carry of firearms. it has always been legal to carry long guns on the street, or ading a shotgun salt-type weapon like an ar-15. a few years ago, there was a groundswell of some extreme grassroots activists that began working for open carry in locking down the street of our capital city here in austin carrying their ar-15's and having parades, etc. our legislature is free much influenced by what i would call an extremist movement that believes in no gun ownership restrictions whatsoever. and they do have pull the legislature and with our governor. it is pretty manning and shocking to see, but our toanization is working hard

have a conversation in the other direction. and we realize what we're up against year, but we are having a conversation. we are getting in the doors of the legislature and talking with folks. progress is measuredand we rea'p against year, but we here. we are forcing them to have the conversation. so that is where we stand. amy: trump in february signed off on legislation that would make it easier for people who are mentally ill to purchase guns. can you talk about what is the history of dealing with mental illness around guns in this issue we have been talking with sarah tofte about people who have abused their family members, being able to get guns like this man in texas who was jailed for a year for assaulting his wife and child? -- we are less

than one day away from this, but that is the big story to come out of this. how did this man with this record of established violent acts, not only does people, but animals, who served a year in jail, then discharged from the military, how was he able to go out and buy regularly one of the most powerful weapons available and commit this crime? it is shocking. i think it should be eye-opening to people who may think, oh, everyone has a background check or background checks weapons out of the hands of these people, that we have safeguards against the mentally ill. that is not really true first al. there are some and in runs around the background check system. the system that we do have is .ot strict enough it does not go deep enough into personal histories. and that was one element of the

rule that trump rescinded this year, was an attempt by the obama administration to get a real handle on the mental health issue by accessing social security records for those people who are receiving disability due to mental health. that that would be in the system to where that would flag on a background check. that is all it was. but of course, gun rights advocates really did not like that at all. that was touching a third rail for them invading their privacy or something to that effect. and so one of his first acts as president was to rescind that rule. so when the president goes on international television, as he time,te last night our and say "this is a mental health issue," you have to question,

are you committed to doing something about the mental health issue? actually, i think, just to label this as a mental health issue is somewhat misleading because under current law, someone convicted of domestic violence is not qualified as mentally ill. they would not be judged incompetent in a court to handle their own affairs. and that is how you would keep someone from purchasing a weapon -- although, federal law does if you're convicted of domestic violence, you should not be able to purchase. it is not as if this suspect, from what we know now would have been classified as a mentally ill person unable to take care of their own affairs. if something comes out of this thatlation, perhaps it will be that our background system -- our background check system is not adequate. we do not have adequate recording. we are going to find out how he was able to obtain these

weapons, and i think it will be alarming to some people. amy: what is interesting is president trump, from japan where he was pushing and boasting about them buy more u.s. military weapons from the united states, said this isn't the time to talk about gun control after this chilling massacre in texas. of course, last week when the massacre took place here in new york with a truck, he said we have to cut down on immigration immediately after the killings had taken place. helso want to clarify, rescinded a rule, so it wasn't exactly signing off on legislation, around making it easier for the mentally ill to get guns. but i wanted to bring george ciccariello-maher into this conversation of drexel university. you wrote immediately after the las vegas massacre where the 64-year-old white man named

paddock had opened fire on concertgoers below, killing 59 of them. , you are banned from the drexel campus after questioning why mass shootings in the u.s. almost always carried out by white men? is that right? >> yes. to be clear, when i began to write about what had happened in las vegas, i was really writing about this broad question. i think this is a question we all need to grapple with when you see these shocking mass brutalities. what is it that makes white men so prone to this kind of behavior and what might be going on today in our country in which people are stoking a sort of victim complex among white men? what might be happening today to encourage this behavior to radicalize these kind of actions? i was in the daily subject to torrents of abuse and threats from right-wing media outlets. we're talking about breitbart,

these types of websites. it was on the basis of those and the purported threat that they represented that i was excluded from campus. my classes were initially canceled. despite the fact that in my classes, we've had conversations about this. despite the fact my students were very knowledgeable and intuitively grasped what is going on in the world around them and were open having conversations about these difficult things. amy: so your response to what happened on sunday? think we are seeing these kinds of atrocities occurring and we need to be asking come and not only what can we do? i think these are important questions, what kind of immediate institutional reforms whether it is targeted gun control for domestic violence might be effective, but we also can't lose sight of the broader questions and ask, what is going on in our society today? what is happening with regard only to wake people, that white men in particular, with regards to race and gender as they function together?

in this case, we don't know all of the facts or the details, but we're talking about institutions that also serve as breeding grounds for violent behavior. we are talking about not only sexual assault in the military, but domestic abuse of those surrounding it and those outside of it. we're talking about other institutions as well that you can bring in, like policing, which domestic violence is rife in very difficult to keep weapons out of the hands of those domestic abusers. we need to think deeply about the structural role of what is going inside. a broad selling weapons. in this case, we have someone that was trained to engage in violence abroad. yet we act surprised when these people have breaks, when they fall into some kind of crisis, when they find maybe feelings of entitlement -- frustrated that they then turn to violence. we're talking about a structure institutionally that trains people in violence and encourages them to feel as though they are the losing side of history. trump makes hay out of the fact

that white men in particular feel as though they are the victims of society, despite being in absolute control of it. this is something that is powerfully dangerous. that is why we're not seeing only the rise in attacks more generally in the far right seriouss, but also incidents of mass violence as well. amy: yesterday, hour after hour after this horror on television, it came out that there was this mass killing in taxes and they said the worst church massacre in u.s. history and they said the worst texas massacre. no one was saying anything about the killer. hour after hour. but clearly, people had seen him, some had survived, people outside, the police. he was dead, whether it was self-inflicted or someone shot him. they knew. they were talking about the tragedy and not saying anything. it only led us to believe it

must be a white man who did this because we would have known, i think, right away if the person was a person of color were certainly muslim. when it is a case where someone is a muslim or person of color, that is what they say immediately. now it was just left hanging. so you knew that this would be the case. >> that is absolutely the case. whiteness is never seen as a cause in and of itself of these kinds of massacres, of other forms of violence, despite the fact that whiteness is a structured privilege and a structure when it feels threatened, it lashes out. so that is the kind of thing we need to think about. only why is it -- i think there's a lot of attention to the fact we demonize often muslims or people of color when these attacks occur, the far right jones on any violence by people of color. and yet doesn't want to talk

about the real deep structures of white supremacy in our country. not just the nazi movements, but what people are going through every day and what it is that is driving people to these kinds of situations where they feel so entitled to dominates that when that is questioned, they can explode in these very predictable ways. and on targets -- it is not a question of what's gross he playing a role since the because some of the starving people of color. you're talking about people having clear mental issues but the cause needs to be identified outside and beyond that and we need to think much harder about what is going on in society makes it so sick. amy: and to clarify, what is your status now at drexel and explain how other people have been treated in other situations. you cannot go on campus? thees him and that is status at this point. ing online.ly teachu my students are moving danny

reinstated. what you're seeing is a broad wave of aggression against faculty. you seem dozens of cases whether it is tommy. texas a&m, princeton, trinity college. you're seeing far right websites faculty members who dare speak about racism. the is the common thread. are those threatened and having a lives strained over being willing to talk about what is going on in the country today. amy: george ciccariello-maher, thanks for being with us, political science professor at drexel. i want to ask ed scruggs about the plano, texas, mass shooting that occurred in september and a lot of the blessing right now, what? the plano, texas, masculine where an estranged husband shot and killed eight people at a football party. describe what happened and the

reaction. biggest missed stories of the year -- at least the last several months -- was this mass shooting which occurred in plano near dallas. a football watching party where an estranged husband accused of domestic abuse -- or at least heavily suspected did -- in the process of divorcing his wife were splitting up, she was holding a football watching party like they tend to do during the relationship. he did not like that. he showed up at the home in the middle of the party with an a or 15. they argued. he shot her. he enter the home and shot everyone in the home and it was by police and killed. this received almost no national attention on the news. i believe there was something going on with the russia

investigation during that time or something to that effect. but it received almost no coverage. i may have seen one small crawl on cnn, and that is it. not one interview or one report from the scene. what is troubling about that is, one, we have become so desensitized that now nine deaths doesn't qualify as news. but the domestic violence component. it is, as i think sarah mentioned earlier, it is a common link in many mass shootings. this almost was a textbook case where it evolved into a mass shooting. that was a direct connection. you can link it to this case of the church shooting, domestic violence included. the first mass shooting in the united states and the modern history well-known to many company i can 66 ut tower shooting here in austin. that shooter, serious domestic

violence against his wife. it is just a common thing. the media did not have its eye on the ball when the plano shooting occurred. it really stopped covering all of these smaller shootings of murder-suicides also the majority of those involved domestic violence. where perhaps a spouse is killed, a child, or another person. that is happening all across the state and this country. we have either become desensitized or not interested in covering that. people are shocked that this type of crime can happen in the church shooting in texas, but the truth is, it has been happening on a rather large scale, but people are just not paying attention. that is very disturbing to me and i think to many other people. amy: you are referring to the sharpshooter who took rifles and weapons to the observation deck

atop the main building tower at the university of texas austin, opened fire for the next hour ,nd a half, killed 15 people ultimately he was shot dead. but again, began with domestic violence. i want to end -- that he would just say had a history of abuse himself with a very abusive father and surrounded by violence and surrounded by firearms at a very young age. i think that is something when you go into these cases and look at them, you will also find that with many of the shooters as well. one way to attack gun violence is to attack domestic violence. we have a tenure program to attack opioid addiction. we have a war on drugs. held at a war against domestic violence and spousal abuse? you will not only cut that, for you will also cut violence. , you just camee

out with a report for everytown the deepafety around connections between domestic violence and these mass killings. what is everytown for gun safety recommending? >> we have to address of users access to firearms. we can do that in so many ways, making sure they are prohibited from addressing firearms, make sure they turn in the ones they own. we have to understand more, the connections between domestic violence and firearm violence. we have to care more, not just for the victims, but for their families and for our entire community's. it is the way we will prevent mass shootings in this country and the way we can prevent every well isviolence as domestic violence and we can do so much more. amy: sarah tofte speaking to us from atlanta. ed scruggs speaking to us from austin, texas. and george ciccariello-maher of

drexel university speaking from philadelphia. when we come back, paradise papers. how to they implicate everyone from the current commerce secretary to the queen of england? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show with a slew of shocking revelations about how the world's richest men -- ridges people stash away billions of dollars in wealth in offshore tax havens. the revelations, known as the paradise papers, implicate multiple members of president trump's own administration. among them wilbur ross, who continued to invest in a after rossmpany even became commerce secretary. the shipping company, navigator holdings, is also linked to a russian oligarch subject to u.s. sanctions. the papers also show president trump's secretary of state rex tillerson was the director of a bermuda-incorporated oil and gas company, linked to exxon mobil, which ran a controversial scheme to export tens of millions of barrels of natural gas from the

oilfields in western yemen. trump's chief economic adviser, gary cohn, served as president or vice president of 22 separate companies based in bermuda between 2002 and 2006, while he was at goldman sachs. the registered addresses of all 22 bermuda-based companies were 85 broad street in manhattan -- then the headquarters of goldman sachs. even the trump administration's top banking watchdog, randal quarles, vice-chairman for supervision at the federal reserve, was the officer of two separate firms based in the cayman islands. the 13.4 million leaked files also implicate trump's former treasury secretary steven mnuchin, jon huntsman, trump's new u.s. ambassador to russia, and carl icahn, trump's billionaire former adviser. they also reveal how millions of pounds of the british queen's private estate were hidden in an offshore fund based in the cayman islands and have a senior advisor to the canadian prime

minister justin trudeau helped funnel millions of dollars to offshore tax havens. the documents also take aim at the world's biggest companies showing how nike and apple avoid taxes now facebook and twitter received hundreds of lines of dollars linked to the russian state. the files obtained by reporters at the german newspaper mentioned with international consortium of investigative journalists, then analyze from more than three to 80 journalists from over 90 media organizations are crossed seven countries. for more we're joined by frederik obermaier, co-author of the "paradise papers." he is an investigative reporter at germany's leading newspaper. he also worked on the "panama papers" investigation, and is co-author of the book "panama papers: the story of a worldwide revelation." if you could start out by explaining how these papers were released and then talk about some of the most outstanding examples with in it, who this is implicating. >> hello.

we started the paradise papers investigation more than the year ago was that it was the result -- the first results were published yesterday at noon. that was u.s. east coast time. the paradise papers show exactly how the super rich and how corporate hide behind their money offshore. sometimes it is illegal, sometimes it is still legal but i think it is still illegitimate because hiding or avoiding taxes means there is money going away, ,oney that our countries need our societies need, for example, to build streets, schools. i think this is a global problem. it is a problem in the u.s., but also the european union. is a globalhere approach needed. amy: can you talk about some of the most stunning findings in this? what your most shocked by? >> i was really surprised of the

huge expanse of how people being beinglose to donald trump involved in offshore dealings. i think the case from wilbur ross shock to me the most that thereall know were already questions in regards to how he invested. but nobody was aware of his connection to russia. i mean, he now claims the -- that he did not know the company they did business was putin'sia son-in-law. fromnk i must admit that the secretary of commerce, i would expect to at least know

this, to research it. i think it shows huge conflict of interest that in my opinion should be investigative. amy: explained because the commerce secretary one question said he was divesting from his holdings. so what does the paradise papers show? >> the paradise papers show he indeed did disinvest from most of his companies, but he kept even after becoming secretary of commerce, that he capped --kept interest in navigator holdings and that he did not disinvest from that one. and given the current debate in the u.s. about russia's influence in the u.s., i think it is very important to have a close look what went on there. and that only media, but also authorities and investigators should have a look on that one. uncovered, for

example, rex tillerson, the secretary of state. steve mnuchin. explain what you found. of steve mnuchin, it is interesting that his former bank, the cit bank, they they help the customers to set up structures when, for example, they bought airplanes to set up structures to avoid taxes. in this is things we've seen many cases. and we have already cnet millions of dollars of taxes are avoided with these structures. and given the fact that nearly every country in the world needs money, needs tax money to basically keep up infrastructure , universities and schools running, i think this is something the public should be well aware of.

that the trump administration, there are many people with offshore ties. this is something they should have a close look to. amy: and very quickly, the companies like apple and others, what role the paradise papers exposes them playing? show thatadise papers those multinational companies are looking to find always a loophole in the global tax system. so when one is closed, they try to find another loophole. they try to keep their taxes as low as possible. and it is countries like the taxeshat basically miss for some for example, if a company like nike says of a conflict it is structure and have taxes in the netherlands come in means it is huge amounts of taxes that the us dashawn amy: we have to leave it there now but we will do part two and post it online at

democracynow.org. he is co-author of ♪

♪ ♪ -today, on "america's test kitchen"... bridget and julia reveal the secrets to spectacular chicken-and-sausage gumbo. jack challenges julia to a tasting of smoked paprika, and erin makes bridget red beans and rice. it's all coming up, right here on "america's test kitchen." "america's test kitchen" is brought to you by the following: fisher & paykel. since 1934, fisher & paykel has been designing