[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the houses are collapsing and water is standing here. it has been ining for a week to 10 days. my house has collapsed, a total loss. i could not save anything from it. amy: a climate catasophe. pakistan has declared a national emergency after historic floods kill more than 1,000 people and leave 30 million displaced.

we will go to pakistan for the latest and look at how the climate emergency is wreaking havoc across the globe. from china to jackson, mississippi. then the justice department has released a partially redacted version of the fbi affidavit used to get a search warrant for former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate. part of the search sought classified documents that could the put lives of u.s. spies at risk. we will speak to a former fbi special agent. and we will go to california where farmworkers have just completed a 335-mile march for labor rights. >> i have been working in the fields for six years. it is difficult for us to difficult -- exercise our rights. the governor should know that we are essential for the work in the fields. amy: the farmworkers are calling on california governor gavin newsome to sign a bill to allow

farmworkers to vote to unionize by mail. newsom has threatened to veto the legislation, but farmworkers haven't given up yet. we will speak to the president of the united farm workers. all that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. pakistan has declared a national emergency as massive floods continue to devastate the country. at least 119 people died over the weekend bringing the death to over 1,000 since june. more than 33 million people have been displaced. pakistan's top climate official described the flooding as a “serious climate catastrophe." floods have swept away homes, roads and bridges across pakistan where some regions have received 600% more rain than usual. this is pakistan's prime minister shahbaz sharif.

>> when the plane was landing just now, i looked on with great concentration. it looks like the river had spread across the whole region. the flood of 2010as a huge flood in our history, but i fear this flood has caused greater havoc. there is extreme devastation all around. more than 900 people have died. amy: we will go to pakistan later in the broadcast. in mississippi, governor tate reeves haseclared state of ergency, after torrentl rains brought massive flooding and caused the pearl riv to overflow its banks in missiippi's capitacity, jackson,ayor choe antar lumumba on sunday urd residents in flood zones to pack enough supplies to last for days and to evacuate. >> capable of getting out now, get out now. get out as soon as possible. amy: today, the pearl river is expected to crest at nearly 36 fe, 10 feehigher tn what's

noally considered a flood stage. the justice department has released a redacted version of the affidavit the fbi used to get a search warrant for former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate. the affidavit revealed authorities were concerned trump still had possession of top-secret documents that could have compromised u.s. intelligence sources and methods. it also revealed the national archives had recovered 184 classified documents at mar-a-lago in january. 25 of those documents were marked "top secret" and some included information intercepted under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. the affidavit went on to state “there is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found.” in related news, a federal judge in florida, who was appointed by trump, has indicated she will agree to his request to authorize a special master to review the documents seized by the fbi. in ukraine, russian and ukrainian forces continue to trade heavy fire around the

russian-occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising fears of a major radiation disaster. over the weekend, ukraine accused russia of using positions near the plant's six nuclear reactors to stage artillery attacks on nearby ukrainian towns. meanwhile, russia's defense ministry says it shot down a ukrainian drone near the zaporizhzhia plant's nuclear waste enclosure. russia also accused ukraine of shelling the site several times. you crted officials deny -- which ukrainian officials deny. officials have started handing out iodine tablets to some 400,000 people living within 35 miles of the plant to help protect them from a potential radioactive release. this comes as the un's international atomic energy agency says a team of experts is on its way to zaporizhzhia and will arrive later this week to evaluate the safety and security of europe's largest nuclear power station. at the united nations, a month-long meeting to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty

has ended in failure after russia objected to a joint statement from 151 nations because it included a paragraph about its occupation of the zaporizhzia nuclear power plant in ukraine. in libya, at least 32 people died and 159 people were wounded saturday as rival militias fought in tripoli. it was t heaviest fighting en in lia's capital in two years. the dead includ at lea 17 civilians. libya has been in a ste of crisis for over a decade after nato helped rebels topple the government of muammar gaddafi in 2011. since february, libya has had two prime ministers competing for power. saturday's fighting was between militias with ties to each of the men. the environmental protection agency has moved to reclassify two commonly used chemicals as "hazardous substances," after a growing body of scientific research linked them to cancer and other health problems. on friday, the epa said its move

to reclassify "pfas" under the federal superfund law could accelerate cleanup efforts at hundreds of toxic sites across the u.s. pfas are often called “forever chemicals,” because they can take centuries to break down in the environment. they are used in everything from food packaging, cookware and cosmetics, fabrics, firefighting foam, and more. in humans, pfas have been tied to a host of dangerous health effects, including liver damage, decreased fertility, increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease, low infant birth weight, and cancer. federal reserve jerome powell has warned efforts to control inflation will bring "pain" to many households. powell spoke in jackson hole, wyoming on friday. >> reducing inflation will require a sustained period of below trend growth. moreover, there will likely be softening of labor market conditions.

while higher interest rates, slower growth, and soccer labor market conditions over and done inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. he's are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. but a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain. amy: numerous progressives including senator elizabeth waen and forr labor secretary robert reich have rned powell's moves to curtail inflation will lead the united states into a recession. reich said "the pain is already being felt across the land. most americans aren't getting inflation-adjusted wage increases, which means they're becoming poorer." in new mexico, a 23-year-old asylum seeker from brazil has died by suicide while in the custody of immigration and customs enforcement. kesley vial had been detained at the torrance dissenting -- detention center for over three

months as he awaited his deportation to brazil. the american civil liberties union said vial's death was the "result of abhorrent conditions and treatment" by ice and torrance staff. last year, torrance, which is managed by the private prison corporation corecivic, failed its annual government inspection due to chronic understaffing and unsanitary and unsafe conditions. in ethiopia, at least seven people were killed friday, including several children, when government forces attacked a kindergarten in ethiopia's northern tigray region. the attack in tigray's regional capital, mekelle, came as a five-month truce between ethiopia's military and separatist rebels unraveled, threatening to worsen a humanitarian crisis that's already among the worst in the world. the u.n. says the fighting has left about half of tigray's six million residents on the brink of famine. mexico's truth commission investigating the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from ayotzinapa reported friday six of them were kept alive in a warehouse for days before they were turned over to a local army commander who ordered their

execution. last week, the truth commission called the disappearances a "state crime.” on friday, hundreds took to the streets of mexico city demanding justice for the 43, and mexico's other disappeared people. this is the father of missing student hilda hernandez. >> we want justice. a lot of evidence points to the fact that the former attorney general obstructed the investigation. whether by omission or by participation, he has to pay. as a mother, i tell you that we still feel pain. this man has never touched his heart. amy: in argentina, thousands of people took to the streets of buenos aires saturday to defend vice president cristina fernandez de kirchner against allegations of corruption. she is accused of defrauding the state in a scheme to divert public funds during her term as president from 2007 to 2015. the weekend protest came just days after prosecutors called for a 12-year prison sentence and a ban on public office for kirchner.

police fired tear gas at protesters, and at least four people were arrested. and in california, governor gavin newsom has threatened to veto a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to cast their ballots in union elections remotely, via mail. in a statement friday, newsom said he's willing to negotiate changes to the legislation. the measure is backed by the united farm workers, which has vowed to continue fighting to expand voting accessibility in farmworkers' unionization efforts. the veto threat came on the same day that the san francisco chronicle reported that a wine company that he cofounded with gordon getty had purchased a new vineyard in napa county for $14.5 million. farmworkers have often denounced chronic lack of protections and unsafe working conditions at california's vineyards. we will have more on this with the president of the united farmworkers later in the broadcast.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. pakistan has declared a natnal emergency as massive floods devastate the country. at least 119 people died over the weekend bringing the death toll to over 1000 since june. more than 33 million people have been displaced. pakistan's top climate official described the situation as a seris catastrophe. floods have swept away homes and bridges where some regis have received 600% more rain than usual. survivors say they have lost everything in the floods. >> the deputy commissioner is doing nothing. the houses are collapsing and water is standing here. it has been raining for a week to 10 da. you can see my house has collapsed, a total loss. i could not save anything from

it. amy: pakistan's foreign minister has called on international help to help pakistan recover from the floods. >> they e absolutely devastating. i have not sn any destruction or devastation of this scale. i find it very difficult to put into words. monsoon, flooding does not see to encapsula the ongoi devastation and disaster we are still witnessing. the fact that pakistan contributes negligible to the overall carbon footprint, we are devastatedy these times and again and again. we have to adapt within our limited resources, whatever way that we can come into live in this new environment. amy: the floods, as the climate emergency continues to wreak havoc across the globe. europe is confronting its worst

drought in 500 years. china is sing a heat wave that is drying up rivers and lakes. inhe u.s., the mayor of jackson, mississippi urged residents to evacuatthe city as embraces for more flooding. we are joined by two guests. asad rehman, executive director of war on want and lead spokesperson for the climate justice coalition. and joining us from islamabad, pakistan, shah meer baloch covers pakistan for the guardian. his new piece is entitled "people are getting sick: destitution in flood hit pakistan." can you describe what is happening in your country? we are not hearing you. if you could start again. i hear you now.

shah: actually things are getting worse with each passing day. the prime minister of pakistan has already mentioned it. the four corners of pakistan are underwater. there is already a call for international help. we are all underwater. pakistan is suffering so much. people in far-flung areas, they are trying their best to help and reach out, but they have lost many parts of pakistan. road, rail, bridges have been wiped out from the floods.

the only way to reach out to those displaced people, effective people is through the army, which has been called on. pakistan has been going through an economic crisis the last couple months. this makes it harder for pakistan to go for relief and rescue operations. apart from what we are seeing right now for the last couple of weeks, pakistan is already going through a crisis. individuals were ousted from power, and since then, they have been taking on a mentality, conspiring against them. it has been very hard. amy: can you talk about the

connection between flooding and climate change? shah: we have seen in pakistan, it was very bad in the region. mo than two or three degrees celsius were recorded, more than normal. that has been going on with some intervals. it is the climate crisis. we have seen in a town 100 kilometers away from the capitol, seeing snowfall, monsoons which are all a part of the climate crisis. there is already a debate in

pakistan, carbon emissions, dealing with this climate crisis. amy: i want to turn to the voices of survivors and floods in pakistan. >> we are very worried. elders are saying they have not seen such rain or floods in the past 35 years. this is the first time we have seen such heavy rain. now we are scared that, god for bid, this heavy rain will continue in the future. the weather pattern is changing and we are nervous about this. we are really worried. >> rain destroyed my house. my livestock was all lost. my fields were devastated. only our lives were saved. nothing else is left. thank god he saved the lives of my children. now we are at the mercy of alah.

>> my property, my house, everything was flooded. we took shelter on the roof of a government school for three days, three nights. . about 300 people sat on the roof. when it dried out a little, we walked for two days. amy: voices of survivors. shah meer baloch , al jazeera says pakistan is ranked eighth among countries vulnerable to the climate crisis despite contributing less than 1% of global carbon emissions, according to the climate change risk index. the significance of this and what you feel needs to be done, the global response, right now? i think we have lost shah meer baloch who was speaking to us from islamabad. i will put this question to our

other guests, asad rehman, executive director of war on want and lead spokesperson for the climate justice coalition . it's about who contribute most to the climate catastrophe and who feels the effects the most. not just in pakistan but around the world, and what global responsibility actually means, asad. asad: good afternoon or good morning. as we heard, the scale of the devastation has affected pakistan is incredible. we often look at these catastrophes in isolation. if we cast our minds back in my weekend talk about floods in pakistan in 2011, 2012, 2014. the earth is out of balance. no matter what we do, that is irreversible.

what we can do is stop it from getting worse. these heat waves and floods that we see playing out all over the world are now 30 to 100 times more likely because of the climate crisis of happening sooner each year, more extreme, and lasting longer. how do people recover from these never-ending crises? when we look at pakistan, where it is estimated 70% of the population doesn't have access to proper nutrition, once again, the poorest, those that are doing the least are seeing their lives destroyed. pakistan, like many countries in the global south, are responsible for negligible amount of emissions. but they are stuck in a toxic interplay between a climate catastrophe they are not responsible for, increasing hunger, a rigged economic system that has left the poor hanging

on by a thread, many states overwhelmed. the situation will get much worse. four pakistan, a country that has a large amount of glaciers, as these begin to melt, these glacial lakes will overflow. it is already estimated that two thirds of the glaciers will be lost. today we see floods. when these glaciers are gone, the real question is where is the freshwater going to come from to provide not just the people of pakistan, but hundreds of millions of people across the continent. when we talk about the reality of this crisis, and the mornings have been given to us. reaching the.5 degree guardrail, these extreme weather events will spiral out of control, and we have been told we need to half global admissions. so, rich country new to be

cutting their emissions by 2030 as much as possible, so the rest of the world has some space. but currently we are heading toward a warming of 2.7 degrees at best, and we see rich countries ramping up a new wave of fossil fuels from the u.s. to the u.k., australia, the eu. it is a bonanza for fossil fuel companies who have made over $2 trillion in the last decades and are now betting that they can make more. this is what the u.n. repertory said. this is the reality of the climate. the rich believe the poor to burn. amy: talking about the poorest areas in pakistan, the most impoverished of the provinces has been hit the hardest. i want to highlight what u.s. secretary of state antony blinken tweeted earlier this month. "we stand by pakistan in hard

times and offer our support to flood victims. in addition to $100,000 in immediate relief, the u.s. announced $1 million to build resilience against natural disasters, and we continue to work together to mitigate future impacts of the climate crisis.” your response? asad: it is beyond the laughable, it is criminal. the poor in the world are hanging by a thread. there was a promise made in 2009, led by the united states, to pour $100 billion into climate science. that has not been met. rich countries are simply turning their back on the majority of the world. for the u.s. to announce a million dollars, for the u.k. to announce $1.5 million -- the reality is we are seeing a climate crisis which is ovwhelming the ability of states and the global south to respond.

it is not just one crisis. it is a crisis of acute hunger, structural inequality, poverty, and injustice. this is all leading to a question where the question is for the majority of people, is life going to be possible? unfortunately, as we have seen, what we will likely see in november, rich countries will say we will not be liable for the very damages that our economies are causing, and will turn their backs on the poor. amy: the climate initiative showing the report that africa is getting just 12% of the finances it needs to manage the impacts of climate change, which we know it did not cause. african countries need a quarter of a trillion dollars annually to move to renewable energy and address the effects of climate

change, but funding in 2020 was just $29.5 billion. your response? asad: it is a drop in the ocean. increasingly, even the money that is given is tied to loans. we know that many countries in the global south are now overwhelmed by debt. just going back to pakistan, it is estimated it is about to pay out $6.5 billion in debt repayment over the next three years. debt is running in the scale of hundreds of billions. we saw what happened in sri lanka with debt repayments and the government simply telling people to eat less food. this is a moment of permanent and multiple crisis, all fueling each other, fueling these injustices. what we really need right now is the richest countries in the world to actually live up to their responsibility.

there is no shortage of money. we have seen that just looking at the amount of wealth extracted from the global south. the richest billionaires saw their wealth increased by over a trillion dollars in the last year alone. what we need now is like a global new deal, marshall plan, to provide the finances that are needed to the global south, not ly to deal with the climate impact, not only to deal with their ability to adapt with this crisis -- and that is limited in itself -- but also for rich countries to cut their emissions. you cannot keep expanding fossil fuels and watch the rest of the world burn. it is not just pakistan, not just china. we see in the horn of africa this very moment, the fifth consecutive year of drought. ethiopia, kenya, somalia. estimated up to 15 million

people suffering from acute hunger. we either have to stop this and actually begin to address it, or look to a world where the majority of people, life is simply going to be impossible. amy: i wanted to ask you about geo-engineering, the issue of china deploying cloud-seating airplanes over drought stricken areas of the country as hundreds of millions of people endure china's longest heatwave on record. china's ministry of water resources ordered planes to drop silver iodide into the clouds over hubei province, where prolonged heat has damaged crops and led parts of the yangtze river to run dry. asad: what we are seeing is increasingly desperate, mad,

simply dangerous experiments with geo-engineering. we can carry on polluting but somehow we will find a technological solution to these impacts. we don't know what happens if we try to intervene in a very delicate ecosystem that exists. humanity's history, over the last hundred thousands of years, have been when we have a stable environment. that environment is no longer stable. when it is no longer stabl the most important thing is to stop fueling the crisis, rather than thinking some technological answer will be able to address this. it is not just china. we are seeing increasingly more money being ured intideas of techno fixes. mad ideas such as putting neighbors into the atmosphere.

mad ideas about pouring more iron filings into the ocean. it is beyond fearful. sometimes i am literally astounded that these ideas have gotten so much traction. they are getting traction because people refuse to deal with the core of the problem. we have a broken energy system dominated byossil fuel companies. we have a broken food system dominated by industrial agribusiness. if we stop deforestation, we can create a world that is cleaner, fairer, and allows people to live with dignity. amy: i want to ask you about a part of the ira, the climate bill signed in the u.s., inflation reduction act, about

carbon capture and storage funded by the bill. asad: the idea that we can somehow carry on polluting but then we can capture that carbon from fossil fuels and the industrial processes and bury it into the ground. the experiment that have happened have showed that there is nothing close to what is needed. the only example that may work requires land three times the size of the indian continent. it is like your house being on fire and then having a conversation, in the future, what color should we paint the doors? no, the first thing is to put out the fire. we know what needs to be done. we can end our addiction to fossil fuels.

we can invest in clean, renewable energy and tackle energy poverty. unfortunately, the influence of the fossil fuel industry, had simply wants to continue with business as usual, and banking on dangerous and frankly catastrophic policy initiatives that will not deliver the emissions needed within the timescales we need. we need to cut admissions now, this decade. not in the future. not trying to suck carbon out of the atmosphere in 15 years time. we need to act now while we still can. amy: i want to ask you, here in mississippi, and the capital city of jackson, the mayor urged residents in flood zones to pack supplies for days and evacuate if they can. >> i have already received calls from individuals questioning whether they should get out now. if you are capable of getting

out now, get out now. get out as soon as possible. amy: thank you for being with us. asad rehman, final words? asad: the poor are hanging by a thread. the richest countries have turned their back. it is up to us, ordinary people, to build a movement in the global north. called corporations to account. many people are facing a cost-of-living crisis. many already fear an existing crisis of structural inequality. all of this can be resolved. what we lack is the political will of our government and political leaders. we have to change that. amy: asad rehman, lead spokesperson for the climate justice coalition, and i also want to thank shah meer baloch, who joined us from islamabad,

pakistan. coming up, we will speak to a former fbi agent. the justice department releasing a partially redacted version of the affidavit the fbi used to get a search warrant for former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate. what does it say? stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the justice department has released a redacted version of the affidavit the fbi used to get a search warrant for former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate. the affidavit revealed authorities were concerned trump still had possession of top-secret documents that could have compromised u.s. intelligences sources and methods. it also revealed the national

archives had recovered 184 classified documents at mar-a-lago in january. 25 of those documents were marked "top secret" and some included information intercepted under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. the affidavit went on to state “there is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found.” in related news, a federal judge in florida, who was appointed by trump, has indicated she will agree to his request to authorize a special master to review the documents seized by the fbi. for more, we go to mike german. he is a former fbi special agent who now serves as fellow at the brennan center for justice at new york university law school. his recent co-authored report for the brennan center is titled, “focusing the fbi.” his book is titled "disrupt, discredit, and divide: how the new fbi damages democracy.” welcome back to democracy now! first, lay out what you thought

were the most significant revelations in heavily redacted fidavit which was released on friday? mike: thanks for having me, and that is the key point, that this affidavit is heavily redacted. there is more that we don't know then what we do know. but it was very wise to demand that there be some release. what the document shows is that the fbi, in this case, has followed a very cautious, restraint, and mythological -- methodological approach. the fbi has guidelines that instructtheir agents on how to use their authority, at the least intrusive level. what you see in the affidavit is a step-by-step process where first the national archives negotiated with the former president, attorneys, attempting to get these documents back.

once they received some documents and they recognize there were some classified documents among them, again asked the president's representatives to provide more documents. finally, they went to a grand jury subpoen made clear that the cuments at mar-a-lago were not being protected in a way that a lot required. all of this took place over the course of more than a year before the search began. even the way the search was conducted was very restrained. you do not need to look far. a week earlier, in a similar national security investigation in florida, we saw an armed raid black liberation troops, with the fbi claims was interference

with the election, but you saw individuals being handcuffed. that kind of aggressive approach is what we have seen since 9/11, this very militaristic approach to these law enforcement matters. seeing this case involves former president trump, the justice department and fbi followed their guideline took very restrained steps, increasingly getting closer to what they needed to do. the primary mission is to protect the documents that remained. amy: i want to encourage people to go to democracynow.org to see our interview, who describe exactly what happened. chairman of the africa people's socialist party.

mike german, the issue of revealing -- the new york times for banner. trump puts u.s. spies at risk. what did that reveal? mike: we don't know exactly what was in it, but some of the document had markings that some of the material was coming from human sources. that is always the most closely held information. some have markings indicating it was the originator control documents, which means the agency which produces documents wanted to make sure that agency had control over how the information was disseminated. this is some of the most sensitive materials that the government has.

let's be clear, over classification has been a problem in the government, so it is not that the markings are the end of the story. the primary goal is recovering the documents and protecting them. then you can do a damage assessment to see how you can try to protect those assets. to the extent there are prosecutions for mishandling classified information, or as you suggest in the introduction, obstruction in the attempt to recover it. amy: let's talk about that obstruction, the significance of it. people have been jailed for taking classified information, and people have just been warned if it is believed they didn't understand what they were doing. but if they are asked to return it -- and explain what was returned, what was not -- and it may well be that trump's lawyer

lied in june when he said that everything has been returned. mike: what is difficult in this kind of investigation is the government is trying to protect the information. to have a trial where that information is in question of course risks exposing it. often the government will look for other methods, violations they can charge. one of them was that we see most often is false statements. all they needed for something to make a false statement during this year-long investigation, or also mentioned in the affidavit, laws about the retention of federal documents. these are the types of statutes that often get charged even though they are secondary to the primary concern, espionage, because they are easy to make a case in court without further exposing the methods. amy: can you talk about your piece, “focusing the fbi" in

which you said the real problem is not that the fbi authorities are too narrow but that they are overbroad, untethered to evidence of wrongdoing. mike: unfortunately, the type of restraint, the cautious approach that we see in this, in this case regarding the documents at mar-a-lago, is not how the fbi typically operates. they tend to be very aggressive. because the investigations are so broad, they don't need actual evidence of criminality before they can start these investigations. what we have seen, your coverage has demonstrated, they are often using thes authorities not against groups that are engaged in violent criminal activity related to terrorism but groups that they disagree with.

often environmentalists, civil rights organizations, black liberation organizations, any type of organization seeking social change tends to get targeted because they have the broadest authority to do that. when people wonder how is it that the fbi missed an attack planned in plain sight on january 6, it is because they spend so much time targeting these other groups where it is not based on evidence but bias. narrowing their authorities so they have to focus the way that they did in the mar-a-lago search, where they aually demonstrate evidence of crime in order to justify the next step in an investigation, i think, will make them far more effective, reduce the amount of abuse of authority. amy: reportedly fbi agent's are receiving threats from pro-trump

supporters. how seous are the threats, what kind of response is warranted? mike: the threats are serious, and they havbeen persistent. one thing that bothers me as a former agent over the course of the trump administration was how he was able to cultivate a far right militant movement at the same time as cultivating law enforcement bodies, bringing them together anyway that there seems to be some amity. people forget that the oklahoma city attack was directly against law enforcement. for law enforcement not to recognize these individuals are a threat to them personally and their colleagues is a mistake. hopefully, this will address some of that activity, to make sure they are focusing on these groups. amy: mike german, thank you for being with us. fellow at the brennan center for justice at new york university law school. he is a former fbi special

agent. “focusing the fbi." his book is "disrupt, discredit, and divide: how the new fbi damages democracy." coming up, farm workers in california calling on gavin newsom to sign a bill to allow farmworkers to go to human eyes -- unionized by mail. newsom is threatening to veto the bill unless amended. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. california governor gavin newsom has threatened to veto a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to cast their

ballots in union elections by mail. newsom made the announcement friday as hundreds of farmworkers concluded a 335-mile, 24-day march to sacramento to pressure newsom to support the bill. participants in the march included audelia garcia of the group lideres campesinas and the farmworker virginia maldonado. >> have been working in the field for six years. i marked because without the small passing it is difficult for a student exercise our rights. the governor should know that we are essential for the work in the fields. >> good afternoon. my name is aduelia garcia and i represent lideres campesinas in california. we defend the rights of farmworkers. we want farmworkers and agricultural workers to have the

same rights. amy: the march was organized in part by the united farmworkers. the labor union is planning to begin a 24-hour vigil today in sacramento to pressure the governor to sign the legislation. newsom has not ruled out signing a revised version of the bill but his office said, “we cannot support an untested mail-in election process that lacks critical provisions to protect the integrity of the election." the governor announced the veto on friday, the same day that the wine company he co-founded with the billionaire gordon getty announced that it had just purchased a $14.5 million vineyard in napa county. we are joined now by two guests. teresa romero is the president of united farm workers. irene de barraicua is the director of operations and communications for lideres campesinas which works with female farmworkers. we welcome you both. irene, if you could talk about why so many hundreds of people led by farmworkers marched for

hundreds of miles to the california capital. what is this bill that you are demanding the passed? irene: good morning,my. thank you for having me. after the past two years of the pandemic, where farmworkers were deemed essential, many of the issues that farmworkers have faced for many years have been brought to light on a global level. many of the farmworkers understand that their voice means so much, they need to lift their voices. what this march represents is this ongoing fight to obtain the rights that they never had. they are some of the most at risk worke. they risk injury more than any other labor sector. they are exposed to

pesticides, sexual assault, wage theft, all kinds of abuses that one caot imagine. what this march meant was getting to that point where they have access to these rights, the rights to freely organize, like nurses, teachers, other sectors of our labor. this is a $50 billion industry that the agricultural workers contribute to in california alone. what it represents is basically opening that door to be able to organize more freely, exercise their rights. amy: we are also joined by teresa romero president of the united farmworkers. you arrived in sacramento with hundreds of farmworkers. at the same time you get the message from the governor that he will not sign the legislature -- he will sign it, but he veto

it last year -- unless it is amended. around the same time "the san francisco chronicle" releases a piece about his company buying another vineyard in na. the significance of this, teresa? teresa: unfortunately, it was a big confusion. then he began to say thahe was nogoing to sign it. we have been in communication with his oice since we started the march. like you said, we have marched 335 miles. on friday, thousands of people joineds at theapitol. we wt to maksure that farmworkers have the ability to unionize in a sa way. rit now, if farmworkers are

organized, they are fired and deported. ere is an attorney that is known for calling for immigration for farmworkers. farmworkers have been working through the pandemic, through high temperatures, through pesticides, fires. it is time we treat them as essential workers, which they really are. amy: talk about the heat wav you're marching alone through the central valley in california, this many-day march, the dedication that it took. on the one hand, there is probably the embarrassment about his coming out about another vineyard purchase, at the same time, saying he wants to amended this. are you in negotiations? what do you say to a governor who succeeded in defeating a recall, many people voted to keep him voted by mail, and i

think overwhelmingly democrat using the mail and regular elections, what is your response to limiting it when it comes to the united farmworkers voting to unionize by mail? and why is mail so important to you? teresa: it is a double standard, at seems twork for him, he seems to believe doesn't work for farmworkers. might nail the only way that -- right now, he on the way that farmworkers cafight for unionization is at the worksite. they claim that there is "security" there and it is very intimidating. many are in documented so they decide not to show up. we want to include participation. we want to give them the option of voting for union representation. they can do it from their own home, deliver the ballot

directly, which is what they want, or mail it. now they are safe from retaliation, you the way they vote. we had farmworkers join us in this 24-day march, who work for union companies, but they do this because they know what the farmworkers go through. think about it. in many cases, you have several family members working on the same farm. if one of them starts organizing, asking for their rights, not only is that person fired, but the entire family members are fired. they risk a lot, just saying they want union representation. amy: irene de barraicua, can you talk about the conditions on the ground even further that farmworkers face, particularly women? irene: yes.

what --lideres campesinas is composed of farmworkers, victim advocates. we see tremendous fear from women facing assault, harassment. they are scared to report. we mentioned, many times the retaliation is the biggest fear, deportation. many of the women stay quiet, they don't say anything. they might be getting harassed by supervisors, coworkers. many times even the men that witness it come to us to report these things but they are also fearful themselves of getting in trouble, getting fired, losing their job. we see a lot of wage theft claims. many of these people don't know how to go through these processes. they don't have language access,

technology at times, to be able to make reports. many times cal osha has brought to the attention, there are a lot of advocates that maybe speak about complaints, but the official complaints are not in their system. that is a very big problem. there is a low reporting of what is happening in the fields. we see a lot of exposure to pesticides. pesticides are being sprayed when people are working out there. there should be an alert system. people should not be working for several hours when pesticides are being sprayed. also related to the heat, the fires. there are evacuation zones where farmworkers are actually being brought in to finish the harvest, especially in places where newsom has a winery in

sonoma county, napa. many of these issues are not being addressed the way they should. amy: teresa romero, 30 seconds. are you negotiating behind the scenes with the governor? all legislation has to be ohis desk by september 1. any hope that it can hapn by this term? teresa: everythg is possibl 90% of at the governor wanted we included in the bill. it is being voted on today in the senate and will go to the assembly. there is still a possibility. it will pass the senate and the assembly, and it will be 100% insight. amy: teresa romero, thank you for being with us, president of united farmworkers. irene de barraicua of lideres campesinas.

in breaking news, nasa has grounded its planned launch of its new moon rocket, space launch system scheduled to lift off from kennedy space center this morning. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your coñcñcñcñc

welcome to nhk "newsline". i am catherine kobayashi in new york. officials with the international atomic agency have worried for weeks that fighting around europe's largest nuclear plant could spark a catastrophe. they saw power to the zaporizhzhia complex cutoff, raising fears of a meltdown. no