07/14/21 07/14/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the rollout of cuba's vaccine was delayed because of the u.s. even now, as covid cases in cuba rise to the highest level since the pandemic began, joe biden has done nothing to lift the sanctions. amy: in cuba, demonstrators have taken to the streets in rare antigovernment protests.

we will look at what is behind the demonstrations i going to havana to speak with cuban journalist daniemontero. and a major address, president bynes has preserving voting rights is an urgent national test of our time. but biden did not mention the filibuster to help ensure the passage of voting rights. we will speak with the two texas state democrats who lead the resistance to the so-called suppression session in texas by chartering two airplanes to washington, d.c. now the texas governor is threatening to arrest the entire group when they return to texas. and after months of decline, covid cases are rising again in the united states as vaccination rates slow way down as pfizer officials push for a third shot, a booster, the head of the world

organization slams the growing vaccine gap between rich and poor countries. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president joe biden delivered a major voting rights speech in philadelphia tuesday, excoriating the republican party for election subversion and urging congress to pass the for the people act. but biden stopped short of calling for an end to the filibuster, which many now see as the only way to circumvent republican extraction is him -- obstructionism to pass voting rights legislation at the federal level. we'll have more on voting rights later in the broadcast with two of the texas democratic state representatives who helped lead

this week's walkout to block the passage of texas republicans' so-called suppression session. as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the u.s., the biden administration has begun vaccinating people detained in immigration the customs the johnson & johnson covid-19 shot. around 20,000 people in ice custody have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, with nine confirmed covid deaths. the white house is hosting german chancellor angela merkel this week. ahead of her visit, a group of democratic lawmakers have requested a meeting with the leader and are calling on germany to drop its blockade of a wto waiver on intellectual property rights around the covid vaccine. protesters held actions across the country urging merkel to back the waiver.

tennessee's top vaccine official, dr. michelle fiscus, says she was fired after telling health providers teens do not require parental consent to receive a covid vaccine. the move, which is supported by tennessee state law and decades of medical practice, angered anti-science republican lawmakers who have also halted outreach efforts on the vaccine for teens and children. elsewhere, russia recorded 780 deaths tuesday, its highest daily death toll yet as the delta variant rapidly spreads. meanwhile, in iraq, the death ll from a massive blaze at a coronavirus hospital ward has risen to 92. cnn is reporting 10 more suspects are wanted in connection with last week's assassination of haitian president jovenel moïse. the u.s. state department said

earlier this week a third u.s. citizen has been arrested. the drug enforcement administration also confirmed tuesday one of the other two detained u.s. suspects had worked as an informant for the dea. meanwhile, over 130 rights groups are calling on the biden administration to welcome haitian asylum seekers into the united states and to halt any deportations to haiti amid the mounting unrest. this comes as homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas warned asylum seekers feeling danger haiti and cuba by sea, that they will not be admitted to the united states. mayorkas is himself a cuban immigrant who fled the island as a child with his family. immigrant justice advocates are urging the biden administration to have a more humane approach and to stop enforcing

anti-immigrant policies. we will have more on cuba after headlines. in south africa, police said the death toll from ongoing protests and unrest has risen to at least 72 people. over 1200 people have been arrested in south africa. the demonstrations erupted after former president jacob zuma, who was charged with contempt of court, began his 15-month jail sentence for refusing to testify in a corruption probe. demonstrators have expressed frustration with entrenched poverty and inequity, as south africa battles a devastating wave of covid-19. in the occupied west bank city of ramallah, thousands gathered for the burial of human rights activist suha jarrar, who was found dead at her home sunday at the age of 31. she reportedly died of a heart attack, though the cause has not yet been confirmed.

suha jarrar's mother, palestinian lawmaker khalida jarrar, is currently in an israeli prison on what rights groups say are politically motivated grounds and was not permitted to attend her daughter's funeral. suha jarrar worked for palestinian rights organization al-haq, focusing on the environmental impacts of the israeli occupation. in other news from the region, a united nations human rights expert says israeli settlements in east jerusalem and the occupied west bank amount to a war crime. in canada, over 160 unmarked graves have been found at the former kuper island industrial school, which operated as a boarding school for indigenous children from 1890 to 1975 on penelakut tribe territory. this is the latest in a series of recent discoveries of

hundreds of other unmarked graves which have shed light on former government funded boarding schools run by the catholic church across canada. some 150,000 indigenous children were sent to the schools plagued -- many separated from their families. in texas, abortion rights advocates and providers filed a federal lawsuit tuesday seeking to block a new state law that would ban abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy or when a fetal heartbeat is detected. the law also makes anyone in texas eligible to sue patients, medical workers, or even a patient's family or friends who "a and abet" in an abortion. texas republican governor gr abbott signed the so-called "heartbeat bill" into law in y. it is expected to go into effect

in september. a new report finds fossil fuel companies used highly toxic, cancer-linked pfas chemicals while fracking for oil and gas between 2012 and 2020 after the epa under the obama administration approved their use. pfas, known as forever chemicals, have been tied to a host of dangerous environmtal and health effects, including high cholesterol, decreased fertility and immunity, low infant birth weights, and cancer. more than a dozen immigrants in the custody of immigration and customs enforcement, ice, have lodged a civil rights complaint calling for an investigation into abuse, life-threatening medical and covid-19 neglect, reports of sexual assaults, and the overall deplorable conditions at the bergen county jail in new jersey.

the complaint also calls for ice to terminate its contract with bergen county and release all immigrant prisoners. top senate democrats announced late tuesday they reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion budget plan. it addresses much of president bynum's social and human infrastructure agenda. the agreement includes an expansion of medicare and provisions dealing with the climate crisis. democrats would likely pass the bill without republican support using reconciliation, alongside a bipartisan $600 billion infrastructure plan. the proposal, which is supported by vermont senator bernie sanders who heads the senate budget committee, will likely include tax increases for corporations and wealthy individuals and will seek to extend tax credits for the working class and expand access to childcare and education. senate minority leader chuck

schumer said his party will be able to get all 50 democrats on board with the plan. earlier in the day, care workers and labor activists rallied in washington, d.c., to demand the infrastructure bill include fair pay and other benefits for home health workers, domestic workers, childcare workers, and unpaid family members who take care of their loved ones. >> we were part of the workers on the front line dinner pandemic -- during the pandemic. it is time to recognize our hard work. [indiscernible] pay a little bit more than it is now. amy: that was domestic worker nayeli montes. and in california, climate activists from sunrise movement

are organizing rallies and 24-hour sit-ins at senator dianne feinstein's offices, demanding she support a fully funded civilian climate corps, refuse to back any infrastructure deal that doesn't center the climate emergency, and that she meet with the young activists. this is the sunrise movement l.a. >> we are undergoing class warfare with people who put money over people. that is what we are going through right now. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, with 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: we begin today's show in cuba, where demonstrators have taken to the streets of havana and other cities in rare anti-government protests, denouncing the island's economic crisis during the covid-19 pandemic. cuba is facing its harshest phase of the pandemic with skyrocketing infections. people are scrambling to cope amid shortages of medicine, food and other resources due to catastrophic u.s. sanctions. meanwhile, on sunday, thousands of others led counter-protests in support of the cuban revolution and president miguel díaz-canel. this comes as the bbc reports one man has died during the protests in cuba, and amnesty international says more than 140 cubans have either been detained or their whereabouts are unknown. during an interview on live television tuesday morning, a cuban youtube star who was discussing the arrests said government security forces had come to detain her and take her

to a havana police station. in a minute, we'll go to havana to speak with cuban journalist daniel montero, who is a producer and journalist with the news organization belly of the beast. first, this is a video feature him narrating what is happening on the ground in cuba. >> thousands took to the streets and the biggest protest you have seen in decades. it focused on the political system and liberties. >> why have 70 people come to the street? >> the lack of everything. >> u.s. sanctions intensified during the trump administration, triggered cuba's economic crisis. the protesters took their anger out on the cuban government. the 60-year-old u.s. blockade against cuba was created to deny

money and supplies to cuba to bring about hunger, desperation, and overthrow of government. the trump administration expanded the economic war against cubans, strangling the island with more than 200 sanctions like an oil blockade.

amy: for more we go to havana, cuba, to speak with daniel montero, cuban journalist with the independent news group belly of the beast. he narrated the report you just heard. welcome to democracy now! >> thank you for having me. and come start off by contending what is happening in the

streets. in the united states, the corporate media here says just anger at the cuban regime has blown up and that thousands are marching everywhere. then you miami, people marching as well. can you give us your perspective on what is happening? and were you detained? >> thank you for having me. first of all, what has happened this july 11 was historical. there is no denying that. not since 1994, thousands of people taken to the streets. back then it had to do with another major economic crisis we had on the fall of the soviet union. right now a big number of things have combined, like we are not only going through the hardest moment of the pandemic in cuba -- we have been doing very well but the last month things have not been well. at the same time, there is a big

line of people you to do just to acquire the basics. there is no medicine. all of these things have come together. at the same time, i would say everything people e saying in the media, now people have access to internet in cuba, i would say the picture of the painting to the audience is that of a country falling to pieces and that we need help from whatever we can get. so i inc. went all of these things came together -- so i think when all of these things together, this happen. across the country people would to the streets. the biggest ones happen here in havana. i was in downtown havana. i saw thousands of people. they were calling for the end of communists, calling for a

change. with the combination is interesting because when you hear the things they're saying it is all about the politics. when you talk to them -- we were doing interviews in the streets. when you talk to them, they were like, we just want more food, more medicine, the basics. it is quite an interesting combination. there were violent encounters in the streets. the area i was in, there was a lot of violence i would say and a lot of people got injured -- both from the protesters and from the police. there were arrests. i was arrested myself while we were filming. i was released later that night. that is kind of what happened during the day. what is worrying for us is the picture that has been painted so far is people are still in the streets by the thousands and the

country is in complete chaos and that is not what i am seeing. yes, sunday was worrying but it is more calm since. i would sayt is very tense. precisely because it is almost unprecedented. so we're all just worried, basically. but things are calming down. juan: daniel montero, could you talk about the generational divide in terms of the protests of who is participating and what happened after president díaz-canel called on supporters of the cuban government to come out into the streets? obviously in cuba, this people have covered cuba in the past know at times the government can call leads people out into the streets when it wants to support a particular public

manifestation. >> yes, yes. after the antigovernment people took to the streets, in the afternoon, president díaz-canel would on national television [indiscernible] also to do the streets and in some cases you would have in the same places antigovernment and pro-government people having it out. i did not witness it myself, but i have seen reports that some violen in some cases when this happened. in terms of generational divide, i think it is very much real. the younger generation, like mine, we are less worried about the ideology of our political

system and more about just having things work. of course, an older generation, my parents generation or my grandparents generation, it is different. they sort of built what we are seeing now, what is called the cuban revolution. so i think they have were committed to government. that is what we saw in the streets come antigovernment government people were younger. the pro-government people you could say belong to a bit older generation. juan: i want to ask you about the impact, the mention of the over 200 new sanctions that were imposed during the trump euro that the biden administration has so far not pulled back and also the covid situation. there has been a resurgence of

covid were a new surge in covid in cuba but it is still relatively small from what i can tell. for instance, about 1600 total deaths since the pandemic began in cuba, a nation of 11 million? new york city alone has had 33,000 deaths since the pandemic and new york city has less people than the cuban population. i am wondering, how big of an imct has been this surge of covid? also, could you detail more about the sanctions? what were the kind of sanctions that trump imposed that did not exist previously? >>ell, first of all, the trump administration, what they did in terms of sanctions on cuba, it came as a shock because we had just come out of the last couple of years of his presidency and we were all very hopeful this re-engagement policy -- because

he was having very good consequences on r economy, especially to comes to tourism. tourism is one of the first areas you can see the consequences of what the trump administration did. they basically rolled out policies obama -- or than 200 sanctions. they forbid flights to cities in havana. that had a toll on our tourism revenue. the other sanctions like they applied an oil blockade. at some point in cuba we had a major oil crisis because the u.s. stopped the oil coming into the country. and not just that, with the embargo, it is hard to do business with other countries, with companies. that makes it hard to access food, medicine, the basics. when you bring that into a pandemic in which the trump

administration did not slow down at all, they actually increased what they were doing, this causes even bigger harm because in the covid response in the country was harmed by the policies of the trump administration. and it is very important to understand this war the united states has been waging against cuba, just because donald trump is no longer president, it does not mean it is no longer in place. even though joe bryden is six months into his presidency, all of that sanctions are still in place. amy: i want to go to antony blinken speaking about cuba. >> over the weekend, tens of thousands of cubans took to the streets on the island to exercise the right to assemble peacefully and express their views. the protesters called for freedom and human rights. they criticized cuba's

authoritarian regime for failing to meet people's most basic needs, including food and medicine. in many instances, peaceful protesters were met with repression and violence. the bideharris administration stance by the cuban people and people around the world who demand for human rights and to expect governments to listen to and serve them rather than try to silence them. peaceful protesters are not criminals and we join partners across the hemisphere and around the world in merging the cuban regime -- urging the cuban regime. amy: that is secretary of state tony blinken. daniel montero, if you can respond? and do you know what happened with the person who died in the protests, those reports of that? >> yes. first of all, with what the

secretary of state just said, i think you know. polite but i think -- i know weigh come uncomfortable for us as cubans to listen to any american plantation wishing as the best while at the same time applying policies that is exactly the opposite. sure, the idea of a government listening to its people and everything working out for the rest. that is ideal. but at the same time, is hypocritical to t mention the biggest problem to our economy. we're talking about a moment in which we are living in crisis. people are taking to the streets because we are in a crisis. that crisis is largely due to the united states sanctions. so to come out and just support people, no. the biggest support the biden administration could offer the

people is to lift the sanctions, especially during the period of the pandemic. now, when it comes to the protester that died, a lot of details have not been released. i would say i'm not surprised it happened because i was on the streets and i saw in several cases things got out of hand. i would not justify the behavior of the police at all and in the cases -- i also saw protesters who did the same. it was a very hard thing for me to watch. you must understand, we are not used to seeing this in cuba. this is historical. this has never happened during my lifetime. i am only 25. i was shocked with the death, cubans fighting cubans. sadly, i'm not surprised it happened. i am sad it did but a lot of details have not been released. juan: could you comment about

the reaction of cuban-americans in the united states, especially in south florida, at times they seem to bigger otest in florida than in cuba in terms of actual people in the streets. >> well, look. cuban-americans in florida in many cases can be blinded by some of the coverage that they have. i would say this. look, i can accept any comment and i think the idea of all of the cubans, cubans here and abroad, coming together and discussing issues of the country, i think that is an amazing idea and something we should all go for. but what has shocked me the most is to have cuban-americans in florida asking for military

intervention. this is like -- this is some of the most colonial behavior i have ever seen in my life. if you have any understanding of what a military intervention is, how can you call for another country's army to invade your country? that to me is simply outrageous. i don't know how else to describe it. it is my country. amy: daniel montero, thank you for being with us, cuban journalist with the independent news organization belly of the beast. joining us from havana, cuba. when we come back, we go to washington, d.c., to speak with texas state representatives. why are they in dci not austin? well, they led the movement of the texas state democrats to leave what they call the suppression session to fight for

federal voting rights legislation and to stop a voting rights bill from passing and the texas legislature. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. in a major speech tuesday at the national constitution center in philadelphia, president biden slammed efforts by republicans and donald trump to overturn the results of the 2020 general election and said preserving voting rights an urgent national test of our time. pres. biden: just weeks ago, the supreme court, weakened the voting rights act and upheld what called "significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities." the court's decision, as harmful as it is, does not limit

congress' ability to repair the damage done. that's the important point. it puts the burden back on congress to restore the voting rights act to its intended strength. as soon as congress passes the for the people act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act, i will sign it and let the whole world see it. that will be an important moment. amy: but biden did not mention the filibuster. to help ensure the passage of voting rights in the united states. new york congressmember mondaire jones tweeted in response -- "passing the for the people act is indeed a national imperative, but the only way to do so is to repeal the filibuster. anyone who says otherwise is missing the point." meanwhile, texas democrats who fled to washington, d.c., to block sweeping new election laws in texas held a closed meeting with vice president kamala harris and chuck schumer and

called on congress to quickly pass legislation protecting voter rights. in texas, republican governor greg abbott threatened them with arrest the minute they return and said he would keep them "in chamber." this is the governor speaking tuesday on fox. >> the law is, in the constitution, and that is the house -- the state house of representatives who are here in the capitol in austin right now, they do have the ability to issue a call to have their fellow members are not showing up to be arrested but only so long as the arrest is made in the state of texas. that is why they have fled the state. once they step back in the state of texas, they will be arrested and brought to the capital and we will be conducting business. amy: we will be talking with two of the texas state representatives who have fled to d.c. we begin with jasmine crockett, the democrat representing district 100 in dallas, texas.

state representative crockett, you went from dallas to dulles. can you describe how you did it with these two charter planes? and re-satisfied with president biden's speech? >> first of all, thank you for having me. thank you for talking about something that really goes beyond just texas and goes to the greater narrative of what is going on in this count. first of all, i flew southwest. for all the critics that have questions about how we got here and the money that was spent, i will be clear, i spent my own money and i flew southwest. i was not with the rest of the group. there is nothing dramatic about the reason i arrived before them. i simply had an engagement. nothing dramatic. but my colleagues were on chartered flights, not private

jets -- to be clear, there is a huge difference. these flights were chartered and paid for by the house democratic caucus committee. there was no taxpayer money used. essentially, when we walked out the first time, we knew they were going to bring something back. did not know what that would look like. for us, we knew we had to have a real plan in place. the last time we only had to run out two hours and :00. this time we would potentially have to run out an entire 30 days. there were number of people working on a backup plan. i could not be more proud of my colleagues for the work they have done to make sure we could orchestrate something as large as this because for those that don't know, we have to get a minimum of 51 people out of the state. and that is no small feat whatsoever.

juan: representative crockett, is it your intention and those of the rest of your colleagues to stay out for the entire session, stay out of the state or do you plan to go back soon? >> no, we are staying out. that was one of the agreements we made. we were going to do this, how many people were willing to stay out the entire time? we are killing this bill, or the bill. we have two, and we are killing both of them. they are going to die. the only way they don't die is if we get some movement on the federal level to the extent we are saying, ok, fine, we have federal legislation d we will go back because all they're going to do is ram these bills through without any participation whatsoever from my colleagues. we will know we have federal oversight. so it for some reason we can get something passed in d.c. tomorrow, we would probably go back the following day. juan: what do you say to folks,

especially on the republican side in texas, who say these are not voter suppression efforts d in fact i think one of the republican colleagues said in another interview last night, the reductions in early voting that are criticized by president biden, ben is saying he comes from a state, delaware, that does not have early voting? >> yeah, you know, it is so funny. if you look at any press conference that was given by the house republicans and the new look at a press conference given by the house democrats, there is a stark difference. a very noticeable stark difference. one side looks very privileged. we have a number -- you talk about private jets? we have a number of members on the house republican side that would not have had to charter a plane. they actually have their own planes. one of those members flew his private jet out of the state of

texas during the winter storm. one of my freshman colleagues. let's talk about that first. they want to tell us what is not oppressive to black and brown people yet i don't see many black and brown people in their caucus. they are speaking from a point of privilege. but when we listen to the testimony in texas, we had almost 500 texans testified and over 400 gave theirtories of eir experiences and they specifically said they were against this bill. ere were only 80 sothing persons in the state of texas that testified and said they were for this bill. we talk about expanding upon the hours, what republicans got mad about was in harris county, there was no -- let me be clear. the law as it sits right now does not specify how many hours you can vote. what it does is it gives minimum amount of hours counties must be available for voting. harris county knows there was no

maximum. so they took advantage of that and they are the most populist county in the state of texas and one of the most populist in this country. they made voting accessible during the pandemic. that meant first responders had an opportunity when they would get off a 24 hour shift, they would not have to stand in a long line -- which oftentimes larger urban centers have because they have more people. instead they were able to vote at their convenience. they were able to vote in drive-through voting. the fact it would to take away drive-through voting when the statistics showed the majority of the people that took advantage of drive-through voting were black and brown tells us the intent of this bill. i don't care how you slice it, the intent has nothing to do with integrity. our secretary of state appointed by the governor of the state of texas specifically said there was no election fraud. the attorney general that wants to get up in arms who had the opportunity to prosecute

election fraud, his office said, we have had 44 cases. not just in 2020, but over the years. 44 cases. you can pair that with the fact we have 30 million people in the state of texas and we have 700 die in the winter storm. you tell me, do we need to talk about the integrity of our electrical grid or do we need to talk about the integrity of our election system? amy: we're are going to bring as well texas tech representative jasmine crockett, another of the organizers of the state reps going from texas to d.c. i state representative trey martinez fischer of san antonio. you were in one of those two chartered flights and the bus that left goalless -- dulles. can respond to governor abbott singh when you return he will arrest you, have you all arrested in cabin, keep you in

the capital until you vote? they can't go after you in washington, d.c. but the republican representatives don't seem to understand that. they voted though you have broken arm so does not really hold water -- broken the corinth so it does not hold water, they can hold you wherever you are. can you respond? >> i don't appreciate the language. i don't like beintold i'm going to be corralled like i'm a piece of property, especially for minority lmakers that is especially sensitive i would ask the governor to maybe get out a the source and use another word. we're not going to be bullied or intimidated by anyone, including the governor or our colleagues. we have a job to do. i represent 180,000 hard-working men, women, mostly blue-collar workers from san antonio texas, latinos and i am their voice.

when people wa to take away their voice at the ballot box, i'm going to stand up and pushed back. i am going to say no and use every tool in my pocket to defend them. the tool i have today is in the texas constitution. for anrepublican, including the governor, if they are so distraught about what i am my colleagues did to exercise our right under the texas constitution, their fight is with the constitution. they can change it if they want to. as lg as we have that rule in our constitution, we will use it if necessary. when it comes to voting rights and our democracy, it is necessary. juan: representative, could you talk about the u.s. senator's there in washington, democrats that are still reluctant to eliminate or oppose to eliminating the filibuster so some of the voting rights act for the congress could pass --

are you intending to try to meet with senator manchin and senator kyrsten sinema >> yes. i think at the moment nal preparationseing made for me was senator mchin, i'm not updated on sinema but there are multiple ruests. we areot just here for a few days. many of us are here for as long as i takes, even until the august recess, to be here and stand up for democracy. we will get our moment is lawmakers. crockett and i are pretty astute. we don't want to be found. we know how to linger the hallways of u.s. capitol and we n have those moments to have that engagement. i also tell you, listen, this is a marathon. i'm not looking for an overnight success. but we have seen this pendulum swing. let's look at the big picture. we have the voice of the

president of the united states making a very powerful speech on voting rights. the most powerful wan in the worldecided without even making -- without even having it on her schedule, put a meeting with us at the last minute and ld us we are fighting the right fight. that we need to continue to ght and how our actions today are reflective of the actions of frederick douglass, the suffragettes, and all thoseho voted fo the voting rights act in 1965 and we need to overcome the struggle. we are in it for the long haul. senator manchin has moved a long way. leader schumer has had them adjust -- the domestic agenda willappen before the augus recess or there may not be a ress. buddy rice is part of the domestic agenda. i have to be hopeful we are moving in the right direction. amy: i am reading from the guardian, top democrats in the house are spearheading a new effort to convince theenate to

carve out a historic exception to the filibuster that would allow them to push through their marquee voting rights and election reform legislation over unanimous republican opposition. this is led by congressmember clyburn and the house leadership. when you approve a justice, you don't need a super majority. you just need more than 50 votes. they're asking for the same thing when it cometo votin rights. can you talk about where that stands and what difference that would make, state represeative treyartinez scher? >> i hope i have the honor to shake representative clyburn's hand before i go back home to texas. the only word i have for that is awesome. it is the momentum i am talking about. we seem to forgeas a nation en president obama had the opportunity to nominate merrick garland to the united states supreme court, mitch mcconnell would not let that happen.

when donald tru became president and there was a seat that we had in the aftermath of losing justice ginsburg, east on the sate dismantle rules so they could get an appointment to the u.s. supreme court. this is what we're talking about. we're talking about the exception to the filibuster and when republicans use it, we speak out and say when we get in power, expect the same thing. well, here we e. we are at that moment was not we're not trying to do this full stop for everything, and your exception for voting rights. reesentative clyburn is right. there shoulde no rule or tradition that takes the page out of the constitution, the united states constitution and throws it ithe trash. we should not disregard our ited states constitution present tradition many would say a tradition that maybe did not think abouthe inclusivity of african-americans, latinos, nations at the time these traditions were instituted.

we have to ovcome these traditions as well as relics of e jim crow pass, relative the old south. we need to put these tngs to bet, especially when it comes to voting rights and there is a number of ways it can be done. i think the house and representative clyburn is on the right track. juan: i want to go back to representative jasmine crockett. president biden a dispassionate speech -- i'm sorry, she is gone. i will ask representative martinez, president biden gave this passionate speech in philadelphia yesterday. what more do you think he could do to achieve passage of voting rights legislation. >> first of all, let me say it is an honor to stand with president biden and vice president harris on this issue.

they have not been quiet. this is not a secret. they want voting rights reform. they want that for the people act, the john lewis act. the white house has spoken. the senate is deadlocked. -- 50/50 split. we need the final night in the fourth quarter. we need every minimum woman to step up and we are all doing our part. we as texas lawmakers ce to the nation's capital because we knew the eyes of the nation were looking at us in texas and we wanted to come to washington in hopes of rallying the nation. we are now in the process of rallying the nation and the administration and we what the senate to hear us. not only do we want the senate to hear us, wwant them to act. we are all speaking and using one voice, one collective passionate voice. the ball is in the hands of the u.s. senate and we need to get this done, preferably before the

august 6 recess. amy: thank you for being with us, texas tech representative trey martinez fischer of san antonio, who together with democratic state representative jasmine crockett and a few others led the fling democrats who left from anywhere from houston in san antonio and dallas to dulles to washington, d.c. come to stop state representatives for approving another voter suppression bill. we will continue to follow the developments. after months of decline, covid cases are rising again in the united states. we will speak with a leading epidemiologist about why this is happening, about the vaccine gap in the world as well. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. after months of decline in covid-19 cases in the united states due in part to widely available vaccines, the number of new cases per day is on the rise. this comes as pfizer officials met with u.s. regulators and vaccine experts monday seeking emergency use authorization for a third shot come a booster. most public health experts say a third shot of pfizer's mrna vaccine is not necessary for most adults. in geneva, switzerland, the head of the world health organization slammed the growing vaccine gap between rich and poor countries. this is dr. tedros adhanom

ghebreyesus. >> some countries and regions e actuallyrdering millions of booster doses before otr countries have had suffice to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable. we are making conscious choices right now not to protect those most in need. amy: meanwhile, the u.s. food and drug administration has added a new warning to johnson & johnson's single-dose covid-19 vaccine. the fda reports about 100 cases of the rare autoimmune disorder guillain-baé among 12.8 million j&j vaccine recipients in the u.s. the cases were mostly in men aged 50 and older, with one death reported. the fda said in a statement the benefits of the vaccine still clearly outweigh the risks. for more, we're joined in palo alto, california, by dr. abraar karan. he is a fellow at stanford university in the division of infectious diseases and geographic medicine.

doctor, welcome back to democracy now! why don't we start off with you explaining this latest development with johnson & johnson and then move on to what pfizer is asking for, that third dose, the booster. >> in terms of the johnson & johnson vaccine, as we noted earlier when there was a signal for the blood clots and yet women, there is an association but we can't sacausation of guillain-barré syndrome, neurologic syndrome in which the immune system attacks the nerves and can give you paralysis, can take weeks or even years in some people to fully rolve. it is a serious condition. we usually see this after different respiratory viral infections, concede after covid. most ces are after -- 40% are thought to because from this in

the united states. there are about 3000 to 6000 cases per year. what you know is there maybe a slightly higher incidence in men above age 50 who have taken the j&j vaccine. what that means is essentially the cdc's committee will have to review this and see if in fact areas and updated link to the two and if so they may give recommendations for specific groups such as meaning in the age group, perhaps if they can get mrna vaccine, they made recommend that. even with covid, can see and you often do see many neurologic issues. the risk is always weighing against the benefit, the risk of getting covid, getting other symptoms versus the benefit of the ccine. in the u.s., we have access to multiple vaccines including mrna were they have not seen this signal. we have options whereas in other parts of the world, and partially, as dr. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus mentioned, here

is not the option. e next point, the pfizer vaccine and the need for a booster shot. essentially what they're saying

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♪ nice to have you request us on "nhk newsline" from new york. the president of iran is getting ready to pass on his duties to his successor. he says he hopes the next administration will be able to strike a nuclear deal with the