03/01/18 03/01/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! pres. trump: it doesn't make sense i have to wait until i'm 21 to get a handgun, but i think at this weapon at 18. i was curious as to what you did in your bill. >> we did not address it, mr. president. pres. trump: because you are afraid of the nra. amy: two weeks after the school shooting in parkland, florida, president trump appears to break with the nra and his republican colleagues, urging lawmakers to pass, rants of gun control measures, including expanding background checks, raising the minimum age to buy guns, and other measures. but trump is still pushing to

arm teachers and get rid of gun-free zones. we will speak with the brady campaign to prevent gun violence, the campaign to keep guns off campus, and randi weingarten, president of the american federation of teachers. valueddren should be more than guns. children should be valued more than guns. amy: we will also look at the arctic, where temperatures have soared to record shattering highs. is alarming heat wave causing scientists to reconsider even their bleakest forecast of climate change. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in parkland, florida, teachers and students at marjory stoneman douglas high school returned to

classes wednesday for the first time since valentine's day when gunmen nikolas cruz opened fire with an ar 15 semiautomatic rifle, killing 17 people, wounding 15 others. this is stoneman douglas student and shooting survivor samuel safaite. >> in spanish class, my teacher was taking attendance and she actually said luke's name waltz was doing role in a lot of people do started crying because we all knew he was gone. amy: last month massacre sparked unprecedented youth movement, mobilizing a nationwide rally against gun violence called "march for our lives" and washington, d.c., on march 24. meanwhile in new mexico, schools on the jicarilla apache reservation were placed on lockdown wednesday after a caller phoned in a threat of a mass shooting. the nearby navajo technical university also locked down for several hours. in dalton, georgia, police

arrested a social studies teacher named jesse randall davidson after he barricaded himself alone inside a classroom and fired shots from a pistol as a principal tried to enter. this is dalton police spokesperson bruce frazier. >> when the principal put a key in the door to try to unlock the classroom, mr. davidson apparently fired a shot from it handgun through exterior window of the classroom. it did not appear that it was aimed at anybody. i broke out the window and at that point, the school when into lockdown. amy: the white house, the president renewed his call wednesday to arm teachers and other school employees with concealed firearms. but trump also shocked members of his own republican party when he appeared to reverse course and support raising the age that a person can purchase a rifle from 18 to 21. he also called out pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey

during a meeting with lawmakers at the white house. pres. trump: it doesn't make sense that i have to wait until i'm 21 to get a handgun, but i can get this weapon at 18. i don't know. i was curious as to what you did in your bill. >> we did not address it, mr. president. pres. trump: because you are afraid of the nra, right? amy: trump's proposal came as walmart said wednesday it will raise the minimum age to buy guns and ammunition at its stores to 21. the retailer also said it would remove items resembling assault-style rifles like airsoft bb guns from its online store. the move came as dick's sporting goods said it would stop selling all assault-style rifles and would similarly raise the minimum age of gun sales to 21. the ceo said he expects backlash over the move, but added "we don't want to be a part of the story in a longer." nikolas cruz have bought a rifle at a field & stream store. alaskan republican congressmember don young is under fire over his recent

comments that jews would not have suffered the holocaust if they'd been armed. this is congressman young in a recording aired this week by alaska public media. >> how many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed? million because their citizens were not armed. how many jews were put in the ovens because they were unarmed? amy: in a statement to "the washington post," the anti-defamation league condemned congressmember young's comments, saying -- "it is mind-bending to suggest that personal firearms in the hands of the small number of germany's jews could have stopped the totalitarian onslaught of nazi germany when the armies of poland, france, belgium, and numerous other countries were overwhelmed by the third reich." in syria, airstrikes and artillery fire continue to pound the rebel held damascus suburb .f eastern ghouta

the u.n. humanitarian affairs coordinator said wednesday the deal failed to allow even a single vehicle to access the besieged region. noso if there's been humanitarian access is the resolution on saturday, what has happened in the last days? more bombing, more fighting, more death, more destruction, more maiming of women and children, more hunger, more misery. more, in other words, of the same. amy: the fighting raged as sergey lavrov denied reports that syria's military launched a chlorine gas attack on eastern ghouta, calling it a provocation aimed at sabotaging the humanitarian pauses in fighting. on capitol hill, three u.s. senators have introduced a bill that would force congress to vote for the first time on whether to continue u.s. support for the saudi-led coalition's war in yemen. the measure was introduced by republican mike lee, democrat

chris murphy, and vermont independent bernie sanders -- who noted that the constitution gives congress, and not the president, the power to declare war. sanders said the u.s. was contributing to a humanitarian catastrophe in yemen. >> the united nations emergency relief coordinator said that yemen was on the brink of "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades." so far, at least 10,000 civilians have died and over 40,000 have been wounded in the war and 3 million people have been displaced. many americans are also not aware that u.s. forces have been actively involved in support of the saudis in this war, providing intelligence and aerial refueling of planes whose bombs have killed thousands of people and made this crisis far worse. amy: in honduras, police injured at least six demonstrators outside the us embassy wednesday

as they protested a visit by nikki haley. the protest came as she met with honduran president who was inaugurated for a second term in january despite allegations of widespread voting fraud in the november 26 election. back in the notice states, what has committed nations director hope hicks said wednesday she'll step down in the coming weeks. hicks's announcement came a day after she appeared before the house intelligence committee to answer questions about alleged russian meddling in the 2016 election. as part of her eight hours of testimony, hicks told lawmakers she sometimes told white lies on behalf of donald trump, though denied any of the lies were about russia. hicks is a 29-year-old former model who joined trump's campaign in 2016 without any experience in electoral politics. she was reportedly romantically involved with rob porter, the former white house staff secretary who resigned last month after both of his ex-wives accused him of verbal and physical abuse. she is one of the closest

advisors to president trump. "the washington post" reports that special counsel mueller is looking at donald trump's efforts last summer to oust attorney general jeff sessions in the latest sign the investigation is looking into whether the president may have committed the crime of obstruction of justice. mueller is reportedly looking into a series of twitter attacks trump made on sessions last july and august, and whether trump was attempting to force sessions out to replace him with an attorney general who would rein in the russia investigation. the news came as trump took to twitter wednesday to launch a fresh attack on jeff sessions, calling his decision to launch an internal affairs investigation into alleged surveillance abuses at the justice the -- justice department disgraceful. "the post" also reports trump now refers to sessions derisively in private conversations as "mister magoo," referring to the bumbling cartoon character. president trump's former campaign chair paul manafort pleaded not guilty on wednesday to new criminal charges brought by robert mueller, the special

counsel in the russia investigation. manafort faces dozens of charges in two separate indictments, including conspiracy, tax evasion, bank fraud, money laundering, and failing to register as a foreign agent even as he secretly worked as a lobbyist for ukraine's pro-russia government. last week, manafort's top aide rick gates pleaded guilty to charges and is now cooperating with the special counsel's investigation. the white house said wednesday president trump's son-in-law jared kushner will retain his role as senior advisor even after he was reportedly stripped of interim security clearance allowing him to view top secret documents. kushner failed to report over 100 foreign contacts on his initial application for permanent security clearance, which he has since revised three times. meanwhile, "the new york times" has an explosive report on kushner's real estate company receiving multimillion dollar loans after he met with powerful financial executives at the white house.

one loan, for $184 million, came from apollo global management months after kushner met with the company's co-founder, joshua harris, at the white house, and reportedly discussed giving him a job in the trump administration. another loan, even larger for , $325 million, came from citigroup shortly after kushner met the bank's chief executive, michael corbat, at the white house. department of housing and urban development secretary ben carson is under fire after his office agreed to spend $165,000 on furniture in its washington, d.c., headquarters. details of the purchases -- which included a $31,000 dining set for carson's office -- emerged this week after a hud whistleblower said she was demoted after she refused to exceed a $5,000 spending limit on office furniture. the purchases came as the trump administration proposed slashing hud's budget by $6.8 billion, or about 14%.

in britain, investigators with scotland yard wednesday said they have opened another criminal investigation into disgraced hollywood producer harvey weinstein. the latest complaint, from a westminster woman who says she was sexually assaulted by weinstein in the mid 1990's, brings the total number of british women who've brought complaints against weinstein to 10. native american author and filmmaker sherman alexie apologized wednesday over multiple, anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct. among the allegations, author litsa dremousis wrote online that over 20 women have accused alexie of sexual harassment. in a statement, alexie said -- "over the years, i have done things that have harmed other people, including those i love most deeply. to those whom i have hurt, i genuinely apologize. i am so sorry." the head of the u.s. olympic committee, scott blackmun, is stepping down over his handling

of the case of dr. larry nassar, the former usa gymnastics team doctor who was convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of women and girls. blackmun's resignation came after the "wall street journal" reported he and the u.s. olympic committee failed to intervene in 2015 when they first heard allegations of nassar's sexual abuse -- a full year before the crimes were reported publicly by "the indianapolis star." in west virginia, public schools remain closed today after the state's teachers' union remained on strike over the high cost of health insurance. on tuesday, west virginia governor jim justice agreed to boost teacher salaries by 5% in the first year of a new contract, but the teachers say the deal isn't enough to offset skyrocketing premiums in the public employees insurance agency. some 20,000 teachers and 13,000 school staffers say they'll remain on strike until they win a better agreement on healthcare costs. in argentina, convicted mass

murderer luciano benjamin menendez has died in prison at the age of 90. menendez was a senior military commander nicknamed "the hyena" during the u.s.-backed argentine dictatorship of the 1970's and 1980's. in 2010, menendez was sentenced to 13 terms of life in prison for crimes including torture and murder at secret detention camps. menendez died without ever confessing what he did with the bodies of thousands of activists who were disappeared during the dictatorship. in bratislava, slovakia, hundreds of people took the streets to protest official corruption following the murder of prominent investigative jan kuciak and his girlfriend last week. at the time of the murders, kuciak was investigating tax fraud by people associated with slovakia's ruling party. his final story was headlined, "italian mafia in slovakia: its tentacles reach as far as politics." this is slovak politician igor matovic speaking at wednesday's protest.

remain silent. you have the courage to speak out about careful people in the state and that is why they also want this -- to silence us, politicians as well as journalists, and you. they just want us to shut up and vote. shut up and vote. amy: in san francisco, california, hundreds of marched on the offices of u.s. immigration and customs enforcement wednesday. the protesters blocked streets and locked themselves together to barricade doors at ice's building. it came on the heels of an ice suite that has seen over 200 immigrants arrested by ice in northern california this year. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. two weeks after the mass school shooting in parkland, florida, that left 17 people dead, 14

students and three teachers, president trump appears to have broken with the nra and his republican colleagues. at a televised white house meeting with lawmakers wednesday, trump urged republican and democratic lawmakers to pass copper ins of gun control. pres. trump: you had to be very, very powerful on background checks. don't be shy. very strong on mentally ill. yet to be very, very strong on that. and to worry about bump stocks. we're getting rid of it. you don't have to come to get the bill by adding another two paragraphs. we're getting rid of it. i will do that myself because i'm able to. fortunately, we're able to do that without going through congress. amy: during the meeting, president trump accused in savanna republican senator pat toomey of the afraid of the nra. --s. trump: you can by hand you have to wait until you're 21, begun by the kind of weapon used in the school shooting at 18.

i think it is something you think about. going toy what, i'm give it a lot of consideration and i'm the one bringing it up and a lot of people don't even want to bring it up because they are afraid to bring it up. at 18, cannot by handgun 19, or 20. yep to wait until you're 21. you can by the weapon used in this verbal shooting at 18. you're going to decide, this people of this room pretty much, you're going to decide. i would give very serious thought. i can say the nra is opposed to it. i am a fan of the nra. no bigger fan. these are great people. they love our country. but that does that mean we have to agree on everything. it doesn't make sense that i have to wait until i am 21 to get a handgun, but i can get this weapon at 18. i was just curious as to what you did in your bill. >> we did not address it, mr. president. pres. trump: you know why? because you are afraid of the nra, right? >> it never came up.

pres. trump: it is a big issue right now. a lot of people are talking about it. a lot of people are afraid of that issue, raising the age for that weapon to 21. amy: after the white house meeting that stunt people across the political spectrum, the nra criticized president trump. nra spokeswoman jennifer baker said -- now by three guests. from washington, d.c., randi weingarten is with us president , of the american federation of teachers. she wrote an open letter to president trump. also with us in washington, d.c., kris brown co-president at , the brady campaign to prevent

gun violence. and here we have andy pelosi, executive director of the campaign to keep guns off campus. i want to begin with kris brown who is one of the cochairs of the brady campaign. the brady campaign is named for jim brady who was shot in the head in the attended assassination of ronald reagan. brown, what was your response to yesterday's white house meeting? after the meeting, my copresident avery gardner and i issued a release saying we agreed with president trump and actually think a comprehensive approach to the issue of gun violence is long past due. expansionprehensive and support of our background check system is necessary. that we should look at the issue of assault weapons ban. in the other issues that he

embraced, we are clearly in support of and actually legislation is pending in congress to do all of those things. we appreciate that he wants to have a comprehensive solution, that he appears to be bucking the nra, and we suddenly hope congress is able to deliver a conference of package to him to solve this issue. amy: now he still did call for the arming of teachers. i want to go to that meeting were president trump stood by the idea of arming school personnel. trump: first, we must harden our schools against attack. these include against allowing people with a certified training, very talented people, to carry firearms will stop some people are going to disagree with that. i totally understand that. if you do, i want you choose the cup today and we will listen.

randi weingarten, your response to this proposal? >> the more you know about -- the more you know about schools and the more you think through this proposal, the more insane it is. it is not that we don't believe that there should be a comprehensive solution. we completely agree with what the folks from brady just said and all of the issues that they have raised and we have re-raised over the course of the less, i don't know, 10 years or so. but think about what he is saying. even prisons do not arm correction officers in the interior of a prison. first, schools need to be safe sanctuaries, not armed fortresses. if we can do that with planes and federal courthouses, we need to be a validity that with schools where our kids -- the able to do that with schools

where our kids are. secondly, think about what he is talking about. logistically. what is a kindergarten teacher going to do, where her gun on a holster? what about somebody who has been certified, where is that gun going to be? in a locked closet? where is the key going to be? is a handgun actually going to be able to stop someone who is deranged within ar-15? so there are lots of things we should be doing like if communities want, there should be armed security personnel who are trained in the perimeter of schools. there should be a bunch of different safety ideas. there should be the mental health issues. but we also have to get guns off the streets and not into schools. amy: i want to bring andy pelosi

into this conversation. andy pelosi is executive director of the campaign to keep guns off campus. that is mainly college campuses you are talking about, but you have worked extensively for years in florida and across the country. president trump did repeatedly say that gun-free zones are the most dangerous places there are. they attract killers, he said. >> that is a myth. the mass shootings over the years, they've been done by people either h grievances and a workplace or sometimes of a connection to the school. there's always a connection for the most part. in many cases, those people know they're going to die during the incident. amy: that they themselves, going in and committing suicide. >> i did want to tag onto what full mentioned, we are in support of not arming teachers. the last thing we need to do is add more guns into the mix.

the students in parkland and across the country, they're leading on this issue. it is very important for us as advocate and elected officials to listen to them. they are angry, but they are also afraid. we have to hear that and do something about it. there are other things we can do to protect the schools. there are so many things short of introducing weapons. teachers should not be carrying weapons. that is non-negotiable for us in florida right now. amy: i'm going to play a clip and a want people to guess who is speaking. >> we believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. [applause] that means no guns in america's schools period, with the rare exception of law enforcement officers were trained security personnel. amy: yes, that is when lapierre,

head of the nra, speaking almost 20 years ago in 1999 after the columbine massacre in which 13 students and one teacher were killed. that is wayne lapierre. >> yes it is. schoolsing, don't arm and talking about the importance of gun-free zones. >> in the gulobby solution to thisroblem is addingore weapons, wthert be on our ,treets or in our schls having tchers, whose maijob is to teach our kids. that is t the solution. lapierre,hat is wayne completely opposite point of view. he is saying what you are saying. >> yes, 19 years after columbine. but he doesn't feel that way anymore. eventhe nra has gone after now, president trump, and what he has proposed.

, one after the clips another, were quite astounding. for example, when steve scalise, the majority whip in the house who is a shooting survivor himself -- we did not know he would make it for a little while -- but has recovered and was talking about conceal carry. let's go to congressman steve scalise and president trump's response. >> if you look at the conceal the population, these are people by and large who are helping us stop crimes, people who are well-trained, who go out and help prevent crimes. that is not a medially dismissed. there's a lot of talk of putting that on the side. pres. trump: you know i am a big fan. billnk that maybe that will someday pass, but it should pass as a separate -- if you're

going to put conceal carry between state and of this bill, we're talking about a whole new ballgame. i am with you, but let it be a separate bill. you will never -- amy: the republicans were gob smacked in the room. chris round, the brady campaign, were you? this is president trump admonishing a shooting survivor who once conceal carry, one of the most hurtful forces in the house. surprised, butty then again, president trump likes to be, you know, his own man, so he says. ultimately, the policy directives that he embraced in that meeting yesterday are foursquare in line with what we know at brady is necessary to save lives. the conceal carry -- so-called conceal carry bill that representative sculley's was

referencing, we call the arm anyone bill. it would basically allow anyone to obtain a concealed carry time,e anywhere at any and law enforcement opposes it. it effectively eviscerates permitting standards and other requirements that states have put together to determine who can carry a concealed permit when. iraq's on states rights. we think -- the president saying you should not include a bill like that and bills like expanding background checks and closing back to the system that are actually about saving lives. amy: explain the background checks. .xplain what is being asked for explain what so is is background check, how they might be of is a rating background checks and what a meaningful background check system would look like. >> happy to do that. thank you so much. i have to say yesterday was the bradyrsary of the

background check system. that law was enacted in 1994. what is says is if you are a federally licensed firearms dealer, you are required to conduct a background check before someone purchases a gun. the issue is that in the time since that law was enacted, there's this thing called the internet and there are gun shows where private sellers who are not subject to the law are able to sell guns. as a result, one in five guns sold today is sold without a background check. we also have a system that --ows a background check to this sale to proceed if the background check is not come back within 72 hours. that is called the charleston loophole because that is how the shooter in charleston was able to secure a gun -- the background check had not come back on him after three days -- and the seller sold it anyway.

and he went on to kill people at ame baptist church. we want those gaps closed. it will save lives. the background check system today has stopped the sale or purchase of 3 million guns to individuals we all deemed dangerous. the third thing we want is an investment in the system so federal and state agencies charged with inputting names into the system have appropriate funding to do that. with thee problem sutherland springs shooting were the shooter had a charge against him and a conviction that should have been put into the background check system by the air force, just was not put in. amy: he attacked his wife and baby or partner and baby. >> that's right. you then dishonorably discharged from the military. his record should have been put in by the air force within 24 hours. they admitted that. never problem. many state and federal agencies are not appropriately in putting the names into the system.

that needs to change. trump appears to be embracing is an expansive reform of the background check system. there are bills pending in congress to cover all of these things that will save lives. we want that comprehensive package presented to him for signature. amy: one president trump spoke to senator corner -- senator what hisan you explain bill is, what you feel it does that go far enough? although, by the end of the meeting, trump was in, trump was income you're going to add all of this other stuff, right? >> yes, he was. s first step. it would fix the last issue i just referenced. it provides more money to state and federal agencies to ensure all names we already agree and are required to be put into the system are put into the system. what it does not do is actually

address the gaps in the system that allow guns sold today to be sold without a background check come a so it does not close the private sale loophole. and it does not close the charleston loophole that allows a gun purchase to proceed even without a background check. so we want universal background appropriatee wipe funding to state and federal agencies. there are three bills pending that would do all of those things. amy: and they are? bill. fix nix there is one in the house and senate to actually close the charleston loophole. and there is another introduced also by senator murphy that would close the loophole, the one in five loophole, and ensure that all background checks apply to all guns else, whether private or through federally licensed -- amy: that is senator chris murphy, who was elected right -- right before sandy hook, but before he took office.

continue this conversation. chris brown is head of the brady campaign. andy pelosi is with a campaign to keep guns off campus. and randi weingarten is head of the afc, the american federation of teachers. after that conversation, we are going to copenhagen and talk about what is happening in the arctic. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "to the teeth" by ani difranco. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. to go back to the white house meeting yesterday that stunned people across the political spectrum, but may well placeributed to what took -- well, very far away in parkland, florida, where the .ids were returning to school that's right, where the children who have survived the parkland massacre, the valentine's day massacre, where nikolas cruz opened fire with an ar 15 and killed 17 people -- 14 students and three teachers. they went back. they're going back for a few hours each day, not allow to have backpacks. they don't want them to have books. the have over 100 dogs to help them feel good in the school. many, many, many counselors.

interestingly, in the morning, they did not go to their homeroom, they went to the room shooting in where the happened was sealed off. they went to their fourth period class so they would be with the students they were with in the massacre took place, to draw comfort, to be back together again. this is the pressure on the florida legislature. this is the pressure on the white house right now. this is the pressure on congress. these young people in mourning are also taking aim and they have not stopped since right after the massacre, demanding action. adults take that they pass legislation. they want these assault weapons out of the hands of those who could kill them. we are going back to this white house meeting on guns. this is president trump speaking about how law enforcement should respond to reports about

potentially dangerous individuals. pres. trump: take the firearm's first and then go to court. that is another system. a lot of times by the time you go to court, it takes so long to go to get the due process procedures. i like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man's case that just took place in florida. he had a lot -- they sell everything will stop to go to court would have taken a long time. you can do what you're saying, but take the guns first and go through due process second. amy: kris brown, head of the brady campaign, can you respond? mostfound that the surprising of the things he said. we have long supported the enactment of what are called .xtreme risk protection laws five states now have them. embedded in everything one of those is a due process standard.

it basically allows family members and law enforcement who have an at risk individual or see an at risk individual, someone at risk to themselves or others, to have the next but i did process -- expedited process review and hearing before an order is issued. we think that is appropriate. despite the fact to process is incorporated in every state that has an active these laws, the nra has fought us tooth and now every step of the way saying somehow due process is not considered. so it was with some shock that i watched donald trump basically say that hearing is ugly not if lawcessary and that enforcement see guns was someone who is at risk, they should just sees them at that time. amy: i want to turn to stephanie murphy in yesterday's meeting. >> i have a bipartisan bill to remove the so-called a memo that

has prevented over the last couple of decades the cdc and other federal agencies from researching gun violence. i think your secretary of hhs has said we should be a little research gun violence. it is a keep these having facts and scientific data is a key piece in helping us address this national public health issue. and so i would hope that we as lawmakers can have opinions about policies, but we should all have good sets of facts. we just have fix, to strike one sentence in the existing law to enable us to conduct the research that is needed. amy: kris brown, can you explain what the cdc reference is? >> yes. over a decade ago, a member of congress included in a funding bill a rider, language that said the cdc could not spend funds

studying gun violence prevention. over the course of many years, has been interpreted to preclude the cdc from actually spending dedicated funds associated with gun violence research. so the bill that representative murphy, who was elected and represents the area where the , is tohooting occurred provide funding and authorize funding r cdc research. we absolutely agree that it is critical. we have a scourge, an epidemic of gun violence in his country that claims over 96 lives a day and injures hundreds more. it is a travesty we don't actually spend significant funds understanding how best to address that issue and ensuring that researchers are properly toded to find the solutions

this. we have many, but research is essential. we strongly support that bill. amy: i want to turn to senator dianne feinstein who was sitting right next to president trump at the beginning of this meeting when she was on one set of president trump and senator cornyn, expected to be his ally was on the other. she would not even look at trump as many democrats didn't. by the end, it was the democrats who were smiling in support -- diane feinstein did appear surprised or i should say that president trump appeared surprised that ar-15's could be purchased in stores. >> what we do about weapons of war easily accessible on our streets? pres. trump: you're going to have to discuss it with everybody. it is a very complex solution. you do. you have weapons on the street. that is what we're talking about with black markets. these are black market weapons. the problem, diane, these are

not when you walk into a store and buy. no, you can go into a store and buy an ar-15. ," you can? -- pres. trump: you can? amy: talk about what exactly you're calling for right now. >> the federal assault ban expired in 2004. seven states have their own ban s. shooting in june 2016, the floor to coalition that we are a part of called for two things. a ban on assault weapons in florida and universal background checks along the lines that chris was talking about on the state level. after the parkland shooting, we renewed our call. that call is being led by the students. they want a state ban and federal ban. large timbers of people are in support of this. two provisions that we

continue to push before the florida legislature. the legislature will be done soon. their proposals right now are much more -- watered down, quite frankly. they include arming teachers. what we need in florida are solutions that will reduce gun violence and not just small proposals raising the age to 21, good, but still includes the selling of assault rifles in florida. amy: in tallahassee, a bill was advanced to require sheriffs to permits to offer teachers training and caring guns in the classroom. the program would spend $67 million to establish teachers and school staff with concealed weapons. your response to this? it isi said before, insane. frankly, think about this, amy, they have done this at the same time as they advanced a bill to strip teachers of their voice in schools. so that when we talk about what works and does not work in

schools, they don't want to hear that, but they want to arm teachers with weaponry. we want to be armed with social workers. we want to be armed with the things that we need to do to help kids. witht want to chime in your other two guests. there are commonsense solutions. we have to have the wraparound services. we need to think through new safety measures. one of the students said that the active shooter training actually really helped. you watched how those teachers really helped shield kids. but at the end of the day, if we don't get assault weapons out of our streets and our schools, we are going to see more of this. the last thing i would say is not just the dickey amendment, but just like auto manufacturers are not immunized from liability , just like tobacco manufacturers were not immunized

from liability, why is it that the gun industry has a complete pass for anything and everything it does? everybody has to take more responsibility here, as says the gun industry. i think we should look at those statutes and pulled as a way as well. amy: i want to and with the words of marjory stoneman douglas high school student him a gonzalez who gave a dramatic speech calling for gun control on saturday in fort lauderdale. the first saturday after the valentine's day massacre. >> if the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and how it should never have happened and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, i'm going to happily ask him how much money he received from the national rifle association. [cheers] it doesn't matter because i already know. $30 million!

and divided by the number of gunshot victims in the united in 2018 alone, that comes out to be $5,800. is that how much these people are worth to you, trump? who isy politician taking donations from the nra, shame on you. amy: that was emma gonzales. a piece just came out gonzalesbout what emma mentioned at the binning of her speech when she warned "i know this looks a bit long, the paper she was holding, but these are my ap gov notes. she was talking about the fact and referred to and has repeatedly thanked her government teacher, her ap government teacher mr. foster, on the day of the shooting foster taught the ap gov students about special groups, like the naacp, american medical association, national rifle association was a lesson plan that included a discussion about

the columbine and sandy hook school shootings with emphasis on how every politician comes out afterward, tragedy, to say the writing about changing gun regulation, students learned how the nra goes to work as soon as news reporters and the public move on the next story. foster said, that is that the nra's fault, that is our faul t. if it is not the nra, then it is another group. this is a lesson that they had right before the massacre took place at their school. i want to thank our guests, kris brown of the brady campaign, andy pelosi of the campaign to keep guns off campus. i want to ask randi weingarten, head of the american federation of teachers, one unrelated question but because it is happening right now, not far from you in west virginia, public schools remaining closed today after the state teachers union remained on strike over the high cost of health insurance. it was believed that the strike was ending yesterday when virginia governor jim justice

agreed to boost teacher salaries by 5% in the first year of the new contract, but the teachers said the deal was not enough to offset skyrocketing premiums for insurance. explain what the demands are. >> also, let me just say what that teacher did in that class, the kind of voice that teachers need, that is what the florida legislature is trying to strip from them, that kind of autonomy. remember,rginia, there's no collective-bargaining. so it is whatever we lobby the legislature and the governor and to deals, so does become of increasing salaries by 5%. it is not enough because of what west virginia teachers make and they need to make more, and to actually freeze the premiums for about 18 months. the problem is, the bills have

not actually gone through a very hostile house and senate, and no one trust the governor. until some of these bills go through and there is a task force that actually takes on these huge premium hikes over the long-term, you have a lot of confusion. so there has been -- what the union said to the governor and to the legislature, was, give us two or three days to actually talk to our members about what deal we think we have struck and get these bills through the legislature. they did not want to do that. as a result, the schools were close on friday. we are working very hard to get schools open on monday. the real issue is, people just don't trust that legislature and the governor because their salaries have gone down and all these fights we have had to try to raise these issues before the strike were unheeded.

they were not listened to until the strike. amy: randi weingarten of the american federation of teachers, thank you for being with us. when we come back, we will look at what is happening in the are take -- arctic, where temperatures have soared to record shattering heights. what does this mean for the world? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: the former drummer died on monday. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in news on the environment and climate change, scientists are expressing dismay over the unprecedented warm temperatures in the arctic. in recent days, temperatures at the north pole have surged above freezing come even know the sunset last october and will not rise again until later this month. on the northern tip of greenland, a meteorological site has logged an unprecedented 61 hours of temperatures above freezing so far in 2018. the record-breaking temperatures are connected to an unusual retreat of sea ice in the sunless arctic winter. scientists suggest warming temperatures are eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once cushioned the frozen north. the alarming heat wave is causing scientists to reconsider even their bleakest forecasts of climate change. according to a leaked draft of a scientific report by a united nations panel of scientists, "the risk of an ice-free arctic in summer is about 50% or

higher" with warming of between 1.5 degrees and 2.0 degrees. for more, we go to copenhagen, denmark where we're joined by jason box, professor in glaciology at the geologic survey of denmark and greenland. jason box, it is great to have you on democracy now! can you explain what is taking place? >> there's actually a lot going on in this story. i think it is worth zooming out to the increase in the amount of heat trapping gases in our atmosphere, the greenhouse effect has been enhanced by human burning of fossil fuels will stop that has elevated atmospheric co2 honest 52%. that is heating the planet. it is the arctic that is warming at twice the rate of areas to the south of the consequence of this. there are feedbacks that allow

the heat to stay in the arctic. when the ci's, which has lost half of its thickness the last 50 years, is away from the shore, we have an ocean surface celsiusabout 30 degrees warmer than the surface would otherwise be of the ice will stop that releases heat into the atmosphere. there's something called the last rate feedback which allows that heat to get trapped near the surface in the atmosphere. it allows it to warm up further. there is an interaction between the loss of arctic sea ice that has been retreating, now at record low, about the area of alaska below its average. the interaction of that heat release with warming in the lower atmosphere that reinforces the slowdown of the jet stream, the polar vortex. they are the same thing. what is normal is the jet -- the

vortex have a secular shape around the arctic. but the warmer it gets, the arctic, the more wavy that structure becomes in the jet stream starts to meander more. and they get locked in. this is the signature of climate change, a more persistent wave pattern which is now driving extra heat into the arctic that was impossible before, and allowing more heat out. right now in copenhagen, it is been very cold the last week at the same time it has been so warm in the arctic. if we just look back to earlier this winter when it was wasold in the u.s., it record warmth in alaska. yet heat being driven up to high latitudes and cold coming down, and it is persistent and sticks for days, weeks, even months. this is the signature of arctic

climate change, the loss of arctic cis, more heat exchange into the atmosphere in the arctic winter, and something similar happens in summer where we lose the reflective cover of cis. in the 24 hours of sunlight is absorbed in the ocean, heating it up and also reinforcing the of then in lacy patterns jet stream. amy: i want to ask you, jason, i know there is a delay so i will ask two questions and you can answer them both as we speak to you in copenhagen, about other impacts of climate change. right now in a jerry, leaders from across africa are gathering to discuss the escalating hunger crisis of 17 million people who depend on lake chad, which is shrinking due to climate change. and finally, i want to ask you about the impact of president trump and his climate to nihilism on global efforts to tackle climate change. -- the nihilism of global efforts to tackle climate change.

>> sure. like the loss of arctic sea ice, this is something that is not that big of a surprise. the warming of the continent and the drying of the continent is a long expected pattern of climate change. the north american continent is getting drier. the desert belts are moving north on the african continent we have a drying effect that is for decades. we start to see more and more of the impacts also on combined with nonsustainable farming practices we can of patterns of decertification where drought is compounded, the loss of land -- forcings driving impact on people where they're losing their food and water security and coming more into conflict with each other, conflict over dwindling resources.

thistunately, -- well, , climatere migration refugees. this is another signature of climate change. we should expect this to get worse, not better. it is something that we have seen coming. it is happening. u.s. claiming the that they would pull out of the pari ago and -- i think it actually gave more resolve to people who have a job to do, and that is to make a transition to are more sustainable economy. it is like those of us outside of the u.s. are like, ok, welcome to we're more work to do. will we get there? will we meet the paris agreement? that is a big question. amy: jason box, thanks for being with us professor in glaciology , at the geologic survey of denmark and greenland. denmark and greenland. that does it for

oh, what a beautiful day it is here in upstate new york, but, you know, it reminds me of growing up on the island in ohio, where we had lots of fabulous crops-- the green beans, of course, which my next-doorots neighbor grew-- crops-- and we would pick the fresh and eat them right out of the garden, but i'm gonna cook so many fresh and fantastic and delicious recipes, you're gonna forget that i'm cooking entirely vegetarian, and i can't wait to get to the kitchen to make my sesame green beans to go along with my amazing walnut loaf. so join me in the kitchen right now. ♪ jazzy ♪ you're gonna be healthy ♪ ♪ with the jazzy vegetarian ♪ jazzy, so snazzy ♪ we're gonna cook something healthy and light ♪ ♪ [scatting] ♪ jazzy, so snazzy so join me in the kitchen right now. ♪ we're gonna cook something healthy and light ♪