01/13/21 01/13/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. trump: free speech is under assault like never before. the 25th amendment is of zero risk to me. it will come back to hot joe biden the biden administration. as the expression goes, the careful what you wish for. amy: in president trump's first public appearance since his

supporters stormed the capitol, he denies any responsibility for the violent insurrection. the mob included police officers from seattle to new york. now, the fbi is warning trump loyalists plan to hold armed protests nationwide ahead of biden's inauguration next week. we'll speak with timothy snyder, about his new cover story in "the new york times" magazine about trump, the mob and what comes next. then, 4327. that's the record shattering one-day coronavirus death toll in the united states. we'll go to los angeles, which is expected to hit one million covid infections this week to look at how the virus has hit

latinx and indigenous communities hardest. >> many people were left without work in industries such as otels, restaurants, or factories. so many ople in our commuty, because they have the necessity and others because they do not have documents, do not receive aid from local or state or federal government, have no other option but tgo to work in the fields. in many of them do not know the risks. amy: we will speak with odilia romero, a zapotec interpreter who founded indigenous communities in leadership, which helped raise more than $1 million in covid relief to help us endless indigenous -- los angeles indigenous communities. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. the house is voting toy to impeach president trump for the

second time in his single term. lawmakers will vote on one article of impeachment against trump for inciting the deadly riot at the u.s. capitol last week which left five people dead. on tuesday, house lawmakers approved a resolution calling for trump to be removed by invoking the 25th amendment but vice president mike pence has rejected that effort. pence spoke with trump monday evening in their first reading since last week's mob violence. among the chants of the mob, "hang mike pence." four house republicans said tuesday they would vote to impeach president trump, including wyoming congressmember liz cheney, the third-ranking republican in the house. the white house says they expect at least 20 republicans will support impeachment though other estimates are lower. "the new york times" reports

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell believes trump committed impeachable offenses and privately supports democrats' efforts to remove him, which he hopes will help purge trump from the republican party. meanwhile, house minority leader kevin mccarthy, a close trump ally, has reportedly asked other republicans if he should call on trump to resign. trump continues to deny any involvement or responsibility for the violent insurrection last wednesday, calling his pre-riot speech totally appropriate and casting himself again as the victim of a witch hunt. he instead blamed democrats for fomenting anger and creating a dangerous situation. pres. trump: this impeachment is causing tremendous anger as you are doing it, and it is a terrible thing they are doing. for nancy pelosi and chuck schumer to continue on this path, i think it is causing tremendous danger to our country

and it is causing tremendous anger. i want no violence. amy: president-elect joe biden has reportedly spoken to mitch mcconnell this week about using the process of bifurcation once he is sworn in, which would allow impeachment proceedings to go ahead while at the same time allowing for the confirmation of his cabinet picks and taking up a sweeping pandemic relief package. "the washington post" is reporting the fbi explicitly warned of violence and war at the u.s. capitol in an internal report issued one day before last wednesday's deadly invasion. the report cited online posts, including one which said -- "congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their blm and pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. get violent. stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. go there ready for war. we get our president or we die."

pantifa is a derogatory reference to antifa, or anti-fascist, protesters. the military's joint chiefs of staff have issued a rare joint message condemning the riot at the u.s. capitol. chair of the joint chiefs of staff general mike millie -- mark milley signed on to the letter, which reads in part -- "the rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection." illinois congressmember brad schneider is at least the third lawmaker to test positive for covid-19 following the capitol hill lockdown, during which multiple republican lawmakers refused to wear face masks in the cramped isolation space. the house adopted a new rule tuesday which would fine lawmakers if they refuse to wear a facemask on the floor.

they will face a $500 fine for the first offense and a second strike incurs a $2500 fine, which would be deducted from their pay. new jersey democrat congressmember mikie sherrill said tuesday she witnessed unnamed republican colleagues giving reconnaissance tours one day before the riot and that she would make sure those lawmakers are held accountable. meanwhile, new york congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez says she had a "very close encounter" during the capitol siege during which she feared for her life. she refrained from providing further details, but said in an instagram live post tuesday that her fellow right-wing congressmembers contributed to her fears that day. >> i myself did not even feel safe going to that extraction point because their work qanon

and white supremacist members of congress in that extraction point who i know and who i have felt would disclose my location. miko ali alexander, a leader of last week's "stop the steal" riot, has said three republican house members helped organize last week's violent attack on the capitol: house freedom caucus head andy biggs, paul gosar, and mo brooks. meanwhile, around the country, law enforcement and the military are looking into whether their members took part in last week's violent riot. philadelphia transit police is investigating seven officers who took part in the siege. the fbi has opened some 170 cases on individuals involved in the attack and says hundreds more will be opened in the coming weeks.

over 70 people have been charged so far. the fbi is warning trump loyalists plan to hold armed protests nationwide ahead of biden's inauguration next week. meanwhile, screen shots of archived content appear to show plans for mass armed actions in washington, d.c., this weekend. the plans, posted by the patriot action for america, involves sending 15,000 armed extremists to surround government buildings and lock down central d.c. in indiana, officials at the federal prison in terre haute executed lisa montgomery today and in early morning hours despite a series of last minute court orders that temporarily halted her death. the supreme court ultimately sided with trump and ruled to proceed with her execution. montgomery was the only woman on federal death row and the first woman to be executed by the u.s. government in nearly 70 years.

her lawyers repeatedly argued that a lifetime of sexual abuse and trauma led to severe mental illness. the federal government has also appealed stays on the executions of cory johnson and dusting higgs, who were scheduled to die later this week. the u.s. reported a new world record for covid-19 deaths tuesday with 4327 people dying around the country. over 215,000 new cases were reported. in an effort to speed up the rollout of vaccines, the centers for disease control and prevention has expanded its guidelines to include eligibility to anyone 65 years and older, as well as those with some underlying health conditions. this is health and human services secretary alex azar. >> every vaccine dose that is sitting in a warehouse rather

than going into an arm could mean one more life lost or one more hospital bed occupied. amy: the cdc also announced tuesday it will start requiring all international travelers to the u.s. to show proof of a negative covid-19 test before boarding their flights. in california, the superintendent of the los angeles school district said students must get vaccinated when it becomes possible, before they are allowed to return to campus. in international news, indian authorities have started distributing vaccine doses in its effort to administer shots to 1.3 billion people in what officials are calling the world's biggest vaccination drive. malaysia has suspended its parliament and state legislatures, declaring a state of emergency amid a new lockdown. rights groups say the extraordinary measure is an attempt by the prime minister to hold on to power, by blocking elections and removing

parliamentary oversight. in the middle east, israel has refused a request from the world health organization to make coronavirus vaccines available to palestinian medical workers. israel rolled out its vaccine at record speed but has come under fire for neglecting to vaccinate palestinians in the occupied territories. secretary of state mike pompeo tuesday claimed al-qaeda's new home base is iran and that the group has centralized its leadership in tehran. pompeo did not provide any substantial evidence. iranian officials immediately refuted the allegations. this comes as iranian leaders have warned the trump administration may be planning an attack before president-elect joe biden is sworn in next week. india's supreme court has stayed the implementation of highly contested farm laws that seek to deregulate agricultural markets. the laws triggered historic, ongoing protests outside of new

delhi and around the country since late november. the court is appointing a committee to hear farmers' grievances. prime minister narendra modi has said he would not repeal the laws while farmers have vowed to keep protesting as long as needed. in ireland, a devastating new report details the neglect and other abuse faced by tens of thousands of babies, children and women at so-called "mother and baby" homes, which were run by the catholic chch from the 1920's to the 1990's. an estimated 9000 children and babies died in the homes, which were created to hide away unmarried pregnant people in the strict catholic country. the government will issue a formal state apology to the survivors. this is peter mulryan, who survived one such home, describing the abuse he and others faced. >> we were neglected. no love shown whsoever. babies crying, crying.

starved and cold. amy: in nigeria, prominent journalist and activist omoyele sowore has been released by authorities following his arrest at a peaceful new year's eve anti-government protest. sowore ran for president of nigeria in 2019 and is the founder of the new york-based news outlet sahara reporters. he has previously been targeted and arrested for organizing protests against president muhammadu buhari and calling for a popular revolution. to see our interview, go to democracynow.org. a warning to our viewers, this headline contains disturbing images. in china, images of a delivery driver who set himself on fire to protest unpaid wages has gone ral. the driver previously worked for the e-commerce giant alibaba. can be hed in socl media deos telli witness who rushed to his aid, "i want my blood and sweat money back." hidaughter h set up a crdfunding pe to help ver

the cost of medical treatments for his severe burns. in u.s. labor news, the service employees international union and drivers for ride-hailing companies are asking the california supreme court to invalidate proposition 22, arguing it is unconstitutional. prop 22, which passed in november, exempts companies like uber and lyft from having to classify their workers as employees rather than as independent contractors, depriving gig workers of basic wage and labor protections. the associated press reports former michigan governor rick snyder and other former officials are being charged in the wake of a new investigation of the flint water crisis. in 2014, flint's unelected emergency manager, appointed by then-governor snyder, switched flint's water supply to the flint river as a cost-saving measure. the move has been linked to at least 12 deathfrom an outbreak

of legionnaires' disease and widespread lead poisoning in residents, including children, in the majority black city. to see our documentary on the poisoning of an american city, go to democracynow.org. and billionaire casino owner and republican megadonor sheldon adelson has died at the age of 87. adelsowas donald trump's largest single donor during the 2016 race. since 2015, adelson donated more than $250 million to trump, other republicans, and right-wing super pac's. he was also an influential political power in israel where he used his news outlets to back prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the expansion of illegal israeli settlements in the occupied palestinian territories. he will be buried in israel. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. when we come back, we turn to yale scholar timothy snyder,

talking about the american abyss. yes, an historian of fascism, political atrocity on trump, the mob, and what comes next. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman in new york joined by my co-host juan gonzález in new brunswick, new jersey. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: history is being made today in washington, d.c., as the house is voting to impeach president trump for a second time, one week after he encouraged a violent mob to "fight like hell" and attack the capitol as members of congress voted to ratify joe biden's electoral college victory in the 2020 election. the deadly siege so enraged senate majority leader mitch mcconnell that he now reportedly privately is backing impeachment, along with a

growing number of republicans, including congressmember liz cheney of wyoming, the third ranking republican in the house. on tuesday, vice president pence rejected a call from the house to invoke the 25th amendment to the constitution to remove trump from office. meanwhile, several republican lawmakers bypassed metal detectors to enter the house floor that were installed after last week's deadly attack, including newly-elected colorado republican and qanon supporter congressmember lauren boebert, who vowed in a viral video to carry a gun in the capitol. far from the commotion, president trump surrounded himself with supporters during a visit to the border wall in alamo, texas, in his first public appearance since the violence at the capitol. he continued to deny any involvement with or

respsibility for the violent insurrection. this comes as "the washington post" reports the fbi explicitly warned of violence and war at the u.s. capitol in an internal report issued one day before last wednesday's deadly capitol invasion. police officers from seattle to new york are under investigation for storming the capital along with members of the new york fire department and apparently seven philadelphia transit police officers. two black officers who defended the capitol during the attack confirmed to buzzfeed news that some of the insurgents they came face-to-face with were off-duty cops. others were reportedly former military service members. on tuesday, the joint chiefs of staff sent a reminder to members of the armed forces that -- "the rights of freedom of speech

and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition, and insurrection." the fbi has open some 170 cases on individuals involved in the assault is as hundreds more will be open under the coming weeks. over 70 people have been charged so far. now the fbi is warning trump loyalists plan to hold armed protests nationwide ahead of biden's inauguration next week. screenshots of archived content appear to show plans for mass armed actions in washington, d.c., this weekend. for more, we are joined by timothy snyder, professor of history at yale university and fellow at the institute for human sciences in vienna where he joins us from now. he is the author of several books, including "on tyranny: twenty lessons from the twentieth century." his new essay in "the new york times" magazine is headlined "the american abyss: a historian

of fascism and political atrocity on trump, the mob and what comes next." professor snyder, welcome back to democracy now! we are glad you are physically doing well. we will talk about that later. but let's talk about what happened. from your vantage point and it vienna, austria, if you can talk about what you watched last week and why you see race at the core of this trump-inspired insurrection? >> number one, it is kind of you to mention the article. the reason why i could publish a big article about this part about the could attempt but after it happened was that this was completely and utterly predictable. i already have the uncle drafted before january 6 becauset was obvious to me what was going t happen. i want to underline the points

you were suggesting earlier about how strange it was that this kind of thing could happen so easily. as to race, this is a classic historian's point. the point i make in the article is about the big lie. i say these are the kinds of things that happen if a charismatic leader with a big megaphone, with a lot of reach, is able to consistently tell one thing -- which is simply not true but deeply matters. for example, i won in election that i lost. that has to lead to violence. as you rightly suggest, the big lie has to be rooted in particular society. in the u.s., it will be rooted in race. let's count the ways. number one, what mr. trump is saying when he won the election is there was fraud. i fraud, he means the reality

that african-americans are allowed to vote. when he speaks in milwaukee or atlanta or detroit, what he is saying is black voters. when he says "i won," he is saying if you only count the votes of real americans. think of senator cruz and his invocation of 1877. as every historian to the u.s. knows, and lots of african-americans no, the compromise of 1877 is a very moment when the american south was allowed to build a basically the american apartheid. the compromise of 1877 is what allowed american states to push african-americans away from the voting booths and into a jim crow condition, which was going to last for nearly a century and we are still dealing with today. number three, look at the people who actually invade the capital. this is not been covered enough. has not been hit hard enough was of these are basically white

supremacist. the white supremacists are leading the way in making the argument this is our house. in other words, what we think is american government should be in the hands of white full who are willing to be violent about black people. juan: professor snyder, i would ask in terms of you characterize it more as an temptedoup then perhaps maybe insurrection -- a coup assumes there was -- it seems to me, an actual plot afoot by the coup makers. in this situation, it appears that trump -- he egg on th mob. it seems to me there has always been a right-wing fascist movement in the united states in search of a leader. if you go back to father coughlin inhe 1930's, huey long, george wallace, always a significant person of the

american popation th has lent itself forcg itself in right-wing and antidemocratic terms. now they have a lead ithe white house. to what degree was this any opportunism that trump took advantage of to unleashhe mob as opposed ta coup where metals terry leaders ricky officials national cheerleaders got together to plan and overthrow? >> i would emphasize it is importantly not get to lost in definitional disagreements about whether we're going to say coup or insurrection. the american republic is hanging by a thread because the president of the united states sought to use violence to stay in power and essentially overthrow our constitutional system. there is broad agreement about that. i have been calling it for a coup for months for the following reasons. or coup attempt, to be precise.

it is been clear for a long time mr. trump has set himself that he intends to stay in power after losing the election. that has been his language for more than six months. he has been trying to bring the military into it. that was clear on june 1 in lafayette square. it is clear from these repeated statements from today, the joint chiefs of staff, a few days ago the secretaries of defense. the reason why these people have to make these statements is they are aware mr. trump is trying to get or has a certain amount of support in the military. it is a could attempt in my view because mr. trump has said he is going to try to change the nature of the american regime and has been trying to use instruments inside american institutions. beyond that, i would point out this was not just a mob. these are not just people who happened to be there.

these are several different kinds of white supremacist and extreme right wing paramilitaries who are appearing at the capitol. they're getting mixed in now with members of the police. this is extremely dangerous because it is that mixture of outside the state come outside the law paramilitaries and police forces or policeman who started to go on the others, is very characteristic of the way fascist regimes come to power. juan: i want to follow-up specifally on thissue of t military because, obviously, those who ow the history of the rise of hitler know a lot of his base was embittered disillusioned veterans of world war i thought they had been unjustly treated. the united states military today is 40% people of color. to what degree by the progressives of this country not paying enough attention to

actually organizing and reaching out to the enlisd troops o our countryn terms of what is going on? back in the days of the etnam war, there was organizing among e military that filly convinced this government that they could no longer continue to move forward with the war. >> that is an interesting question. i think looking back at the last half-century, 60 years of u.s. history, the military is one of the most significant things that happen not just in terms of obvious justice -- as everyone knows, we fought the second world war against racism with any army that was organized by race. not ju ethical, but politically. befo even tting the point th you'reaking, it is very much the casthe commanders of our armed services are perfectly aware what it means to have integrated services.

it means any kind of attempts to get involved in politics and a trump he way would be divisive. it also means people in the military, perhaps more other walks of life, white people in the military, perhaps other walks of life, are in contact with and sometimes points of you have, folks who have different backgund withifferent experiences than themselves. i would agree cpletely th your poi. it is t only ey toe in contact wit peoe who are the mitary, ty can be ovseas, ey can bon a base, but to your point folks on the left sometimes have a tendency to miss some openings. amy: i want to ask you, professor snyder, about who was involved in this attack. some have called it the coup klux klan. you make no apologies about referring to white supremacists

leading this. let's talk about the military and police involvement. it is just coming to light right now. it looked like this disorderly array of people who took an opportunity last week, but now as more and more video is coming out, it may well be the front lines were quite well ordered and now this latest news that the seattle police were involved, that new york police officers were involved, that philadelphia transit officers came down en masse, that pyops --at least one person was involved -- psychological operations? talk about this. >> number one, when we talk about the coup plotters, the

most important point is donald trump himself who has been creating -- had been creating the psychological and moral environment that makes this possible by telling a big lie in which he is a victim and people who voted for him are victims. i think in the second rank, lift up a senators cruz and hawley. it is important these senators decided to make january 6 a kind of carnival but density in which they were going to exploit their official position in order to tell the big lie and indication that should be formal and solemn. i think that makes them the second rank of the plotters. number three, as you say, there was a good deal of organization taking place in the anti-defamation league and other nongovernmental organizations or tracking this, but not able to get much of a hearing it seems to me from government institutions.

as a spectator from a long way away, it was obvious to me something like this was going to happen. i think what follows from this is in this interval between impeachment -- which is now going to happen -- and a trial -- which i'm that he happen after biden's 100 days -- there should be something like independent blue-ribbon commission of forensics experts, digital for exec experts come historians, national security people, lawyers, and activists who put together a beautiful and organized and fact-based report. what happens so three months from now when there's a senate vote, which i believe there will be, there will also be this document that makes it clear how people should bow but also a document that can go down in history. other days in infamy compared to this one don't compare. i day in infamy which we have to get right for historical purposes. if this becomes a myth of

victimhood, something we should treasure, than the country is in trouble. we need to get the facts right in the history right and the story right on this one. juan: professor snyder, where do yosee the republic party and donald trump going after biden is inaugurated? clearly, the party had hitched its started trump and now there is enormous of people within it in terms of the road ahead. >> yeah, i mean, not many people think this, but i will say it, i think it will be hard for mr. trump to continue to reside in the united states of america. he has a lot of debt and is facing -- even before january 6, he was facing a number of criminal charges -- not directly, but being investigated for a number of criminal charges in new york. i think will be hard for him to

keep his feet in the united states of america. perhaps i am wrong. as far as the republican party, the way i see it come the largest group of republicans are people you could call the gamers, the ones who work the system with the gerrymandering, dark money, voter suppression who are in favor of the "democracy" that we have in america now but a limited mocracy because they know how to work it. then there is a smaller faction which in the article i called the breakers, people like trump for cruz or hawley who understood one could come to power in the united states by entirely nondemocratic means, by the way of a mob, throwing the election and lying about it. i think that fraction is going to be there. there is a third smaller group, the people who have positions that i might disagree with but believe in the rule of law and believe in telling the truth like in zinger or cheney or mitt romney. i think the interesting thing to watch for is whether the etc.

power in the republican party now shifts from being the breakers and the gamers together to be the gamers and the honorable few together. i think that is now likely to happen. it would be a very good thing for the republican party because the republican party by way of generations of voter suppression has now got itself into a cul-de-sac, into a dead end where what is happening now is honestly the only thing which can happen. if you don't try to win campaigns with policy, try to win them by gaming the system, eventually there will people say, hey, let's just break the system. that happened january 2021. there is nowhere to go except further debt into chaos and blood. -- further down into chaos and blood. this is an opportunity for them to regroup and i hope never will see it that way. amy: let's talk about the coming days, what you expect, the word of all 50 state capitols deeply

concerned about attacks, the fbi warning about those attacks through inauguration day. then you have congressmember 30 line, cheney, who said there is never been a greater betrayal by president of the united states of this office and owed to the constitution, i will go to impeach the president. many are asking why it took her so long. but privately, mcconnell speaking with biden and working out what would happen -- like, today he will be impeached by the house. but that trial could determine if they convict president. they could decide the sanctions like you could never run again for public office or for president, could end the pensions and the millions of dollars -- people don't realize former presidents get that kind of thing. but working out this bifurcation deal where the senate will work

both on approving cabinet members but that also holding a trial, whether goes from the leadership of mcconnell to the leadership of chuck schumer? can you explain what will be taking place and if you expect this time, unlike last time when trump was impeached, that he will be convicted in the senate? >> you're asking an historian. i will answer as an american that doesn't know anymore than you do, probably less. my gut feeling about this is it works very well for both joe biden and mitch mcconnell to have impeachment now and trial after 100 days of biden. it works very well for biden because he has 100 days of stuff he really needs to pass and he needs to get his appointments made as quickly as possible, especially after this terribly chaotic transition. it works well for mcconnell

because it gets republicans out of the heat of the moment, gives them some time to think about what happened. right now mr. trump is very popular. three months of twitter silence, he will probably be less so. probably some other things will happen in the meantime to make him less popular. for me, someone who is concerned about facts, an important element is in three months, we could have a really good nonpartisan expert-based investigation of what happened in the department of defense, homeland security, the fbi, police departments, and on capital -- capitol hill that day, report that can be used when the trial happens to make sure people see and the people with any reasonable -- it is based on fact and not some emotional partisan exercise. i can see how both sides have an interest in woing it that way, impeachment now and a trial later. yes, i think the republicans --

what i feel is the republican gamers, i think they're shifting toward conviction. i think conviction is now a reality. amy: finally, i would ask about your new book "our malady: lessons in liberty from a hospital diary." in it you write "door freedom is hypocritical "the word freedom -- "the word freedom is hypocritical when spoken by the people who create the conditions that leave us sick and powerless. if our federal government and our commercial medicine make us unhealthy, they are making us unfree." since we last spoke, almost died on new york christmassy in 2019. if you can link what happened to you then and described what happened to what we're saying -- this was pre-pandemic today. >> there's a big misunderstanding in america about what freedom is. you can see that in the behavior

of a lot of the people that stormed the capitol. a lot of us seem to think freedom is just about believing what ever we want to believe even if it is not true and freedom is about acting on our impulses. we don't seem to understand you can't really be a free person unless there is some fashionable world you share with other people. we don't seem to understand you cannot be a free person unless there are values you can talk about out in the world. one of the things that is been clear for a long time in the u.s., only clear in the last year, is if you deny people health care, you're making them less free. if you put people at unnecessary risk and make them more subject to disease or the fear of disease, you're making them less free. you're also making them more vulnerable physically and mentally to various times of demagoguery. what happened on january 6 is

partly the result, i would say come of a sick country. when you look at the people who carried this out and you have a hard look at their faces come at the way they carry themselves, apart from all world judgments, you're not looking at a healthy society. i think part of the rentals of american freedom in 2021 has to be the concept that we all have held as a human right, that americans, people living on this territory of the united states of america, should have access to health as a human right. health is one of the things that should come before profit. if we do that, we will not only feel better and be freer, we will recognize each other better as americans because we will be sharing this together. thanks for the question. amy: thank you, timothy snyder, and thank god you recovered from your appendicitis misdiagnosed from where you were to where you are here in the united states. timothy snyder, professor of history at yale university and fellow at the institute for

human sciences in vienna, author "the new york times" magazine is headlined "the american abyss: a historian of fascism and political atrocity on trump, the mob and what comes next." we will link to it at democracynow.org. when we come back, another record-smashing day of coronavirus in the united states. we go to los angeles. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: lola beltran singing "amor eterno." this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. 4327. that's e world record shattering one-day coronavirus death toll in the united states. that is more than the total number of people who have died of covid in south korea. more than the total number of people who have died of covid in japan. again, through the entire pandemic. as the u.s. hits yet another covid-19 world record, we go now to california where epicenter los angeles county is expected to hit one million covid-19 infections by the end of the week amid reports of overflowing hospitals and record death tolls. with 1600 deaths in the past week, l.a. is averaging a death

every six minutes. the crisis point for los angeles comes as numbers soar across the state. on monday, governor gavin newsom said the state would open mass vaccination sites. >> recognize the current strategy is not going to get as to where we need to go as quickly as we all need it to go, so that is why we are speeding up the administration not just for priority groups, but opening up large eyes to do so, meaning dodger stadium, padre stadium, calexico -- these large mass vaccination sites. you see this coming up as early as this week. amy: the virus has hit latinx and indigenous communities in los angeles hardest, as covid-19 ravages working class neighborhoods where many are essential workers. this is dr. edgar chavez, who works in a community clinic in los angeles, speaking to nbc. >> it is hard for us to see our

population doing the work that nobody else wants to do, exposing themselves to covid, then dying from covid and not getting the health care they need, not getting the vaccine fast enough. amy: los angeles' indigenous communities from mexico and central america have been particularly impacted, as they face both the crisis of covid-19 and additional language barriers and lack of access to information and care. for more, we go to los angeles where we're joined by odilia romero, co-founder and executive director of indigenous communities in leadership, or cielo, an indigenous women-led nonprofit that has raisedver $1 million for coronavirus relief aid for l.a.'s indigenous communities. it also recently published a book called -- a book, which i'm going to ask her to pronounce, documenting the stories of undocumented indigenous women from mexico and guatemala living in the midst of the pandemic in odilia romero is a zapotec

interpreter and has been an indigenous leader with the binational front of indigenous organizations for over 25 years. welcome back to democracy now! please, so i don't mispronounce it, tell us the name of your book and that talk about the indigenous immigrant communities and what is happening now in the midst of this record shattering pandemic. >> thank you for having me again. the name of the book is "dia' no'ole." what covid and indigenous communities in l.a. county have been devtating. every time i talk to someone in the community, the mechanic died, the healer died, the dancer died. and that is like every day we get to talk toeople and it is a tragedy. i spoke to someone yesterday and

they were like eight people died is week in my community. another woman told me fou people died in my community. this happens because indigenous people -- we don't have the privilege to stay home and not go to work, right? we have to go to work. we have heard a lot of stories, "i don't have money to pay for my rent," the funds i am getting from cielo go directly to rent. "i'm selling food on the streets." you put yourself at risk to get covid and once you have it, you are in an apartment and some have lost apartment a now livin with otheramils, so ongets infect andhe rest will get infect. its paful to seehe effec of covid in thindigeno

communities. the fection te is ve high. whenhey go tthe hpital, even iyoupoke spash or glish, y are alo. as you gethere, the is no one the thatnterprs your language wh we stted the fun a pers inow no personhat i know had covid. during the summe "oh, a rson in mfamily h covid." nowhenou talk to people, "i have covid "my mother has been in the hospil." personally, my mother was in t hospal for 10 days. her being there not beg able to see her or talk to her, her not being able to communicate in her indigenous lanwhich was devastatgnd sheell in a deep, deedepreson for a momente thoughwe we goin toose her. all of this happeni witn dinous comnities.

the lackf funds, lack of od security. we are going through a lot currtly, amy. juan: odilia romero, when we hear the stories, it is one outrageous story after another in recent days, the inequality and how this pandemic is being dealt with. i think specifically, for instan, the national football league athletes, ftball players getting tested for covid every single day just to assure the football games can go on. or we are hearing that elite medical institutions like columbia presbyterian and brigham hostal, vaccinating not only the workers -- the emergency room workers who are actuly doing the covid tients, but vaccinating the grad sdents and administrators -- vaccinating all people who are not really at risk and meanwhile, you're facg this crisis in los angeles. when you hear some of tse

stories, what is your reaction? >> my personal reaction is like, when we hear the community's stories, it is heartbreaking. there are days wn we me in e evenis, we artogether and sit the and do't ow at to do ouhands artied. we've oy rsed 3.4 llion llars anit sounds like aot ofoney, but it only helps000 people. when peoeall, " youave any food for m" ou have y money r the nt?" "i'm being threatened by the landlord." then you hear "i have to go to work and i am infected." when you hear the privilege of others, workers not getting

vaccinated, it is very heartbreaking. personally it is very frustrating. i don't have the words to tell you my feeling of anger at times because i see indigenous communities at the forefront, from the agricultural fields to the hospitality iustry to the cleaners, we are there. we don't have access to the vaccine. we don't have access to any more funds but what we have in cielo. what we have with cielo sounds like a lot of any, but it is really nothing compared to the needs that people have right now. on top of having people not knowing -- they can't wor because their children and they have to stay at home. one parent told me, there are four families that live in our household and the kids are asking for pizza and we have to take turns. one family buys a pizza and we

prioritize the kids. some families have shared they prioriti the kids with the intake of food. juan: i'm wondering also -- i'm wondering also, what has been the actions of governor newsom and at the state level to assist some of the most hard-hit communities, especially in places like los angeles where a good percentage of the people are undocumented, cannot partake of any of the assistance handed down by the federal government? >> well, there's been a lot of support to undocented communities. they had the california relief fund. but there has been an effort, but as far as particularly indigenous people, there hasn't

because then you have to go -- you are labeled as latinx so the box is checked that you have been supporting undocumented latinos. but we are not latinos. in order for indigenous people to access these resources, one, there is the language barrier. a lot of us did not have college education so we don't know how to read and write. that does not allow us to access a lot of the funds. we hear this from different community members, "i have applied" and some of the beautiful things that comes out of this, we can speak the language. we are able to communicate with the community and that makes a big difference for them to access the funds. there's been little effort for indigenous communities. amy: i want to continue on that point of who is dying come the lives lost, and the knowledge

lost. as you were talking, i was thinking about a conversation i had with a member of the standing rock sioux. there they have prioritized speakers of the native languages for 19 vaccine distribution because cultures and linkages are dying out with the deaths of these elders during covid. if you could talk about what is happening in los angeles as you are an interpreter talking about the zapotec. you talk about it erasing indigenous people. >> they said last at the county health department put out deat so far, 288. i know at least 15 people are indigeus people that died because i havtalked to the

family members because our team s talk to them. the new cases, there have been 11,844. i know also that maybe 100 of them are indigenous communities most of you might think the numbers are small, but because we are a small population, the loss of lives, people being affected, the loss of knowledge is there. some of the elders have passed away and there goes our whole worldview. just last week someone in the community died, she knew the stories of migration, one of the first women that came to the u.s. she brought a lot of other women. and although stories are gone. the language is dying with covid more than ever, especially here in l.a. with the elders. i speak the language, but when

my mom was in the hospital, we never documented her story. like, what is going to happen with the recipes of food my mom has? it is one of those things that for us, it is so important -- it would be great if our indigenous community will have access to the vaccine because there's so much knowledge that will be gone with covid. because we live in confined places here in l.a., the risk of elders getting infected and dying is a lot higher than in any other places. in the language. the language, traditions. when a traditional healer was in the hospital, i called and tried -- he does not speak spanish. he does not speak english. how do i communicate with him? it was impossible. lucky, he is home engine better. but these things are heartbreaking press here at

cielo. amy: we want to thank you, odilia romero, for joining us, zapotec interpreter and has been an indigenous leader with the binational front of indigenous organizations and has helped raise over $1 million. as published a book documenting their stories of living and dying during the pandemic. that does it for our broadcast. you can watch the house impeachment proceedings, the first time in history the president will be impeached twice come on our website democracynow.org. we will be streaming the full debate and vote starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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♪ thank you for joining us. from our studio in tokyo this is nhk "newsline." we begin in the united states where lawmakers have voted to impeach president donald trump for a historic second time. ten republican lawmakers broke ranks to vote to impeach the president whom house speaker nancy pelosi called a clear and present danger to the country. >> today in a