03/06/23 03/06/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. the ship has reached the shore. amy: nearly 200 countries have agreed to a deal to protect biodiversity in the world's oceans. after a decade of negotiations. we will look at the historic

u.n. high seas treaty. then tennessee ban gender affirming health care for minors, becoming the latest take to target the trans community. we will speak with chase strangio of the aclu. >> in 2023, over 400 bills have been introduced across the country tgeting lgbtq people, targeting trends. it is st the beginning of march and four states have alread bannehealth care for trans adolescents. we are also saying this for efforts to criminalize trans people using the restroom. amy: plus threats. that is what fox executives called those questioning trump's claims. we will speak with the president of media matters. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. at the united nations, negotiators from more than 190 countries have agreed to the first-ever international treaty to protecthe high seas. the historic agreement caps nearly 20 years of efforts by conservation groups. it seeks to establish marine protected areas covering 30% of the world's seas by 2030 to protect ocean biodiversity. environmentalists hailed the treaty's passage as a major milestone, calling on nations to swiftly adopt and rati the treaty. the international union for the conservation of nature said in a statement said, "the treaty closes essential gaps in international law and offers a framework for governments to work together to protect global ocean health, climate resilience, and the socioeconomic wellbeing and food

security of billions of people." we'll have more on the high seas treaty after headlines. the international atomic energy agency and iran have agreed to increase cooperation and monitoring of nuclear activities following a visit by the iaea chief rafael grossi to tehran. >> we have agreed on a number of concrete actions like excesses that we are going to have to information and places. an improvement, a marked improvement at least in terms of my dialogue with the iranian government has been registered. amy: the agreement offered a glimmer of hope following recent reports iran successfully enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade level, and amid stalled talks on reviving the 2015 iran nuclear deal, which the u.s. withdrew from in 2018 under president trump.

in iran, worried parents protested in the streets of tehran and other cities saturday following a spate of apparent poisonings at dozens of girls' schools since november. last week, authorities said they would investigate the attacks which have affected hundreds of students, as well as teachers and staff. human rights watch warned authorities' "long history of disregard for the basic rights of iranian citizens, especially women and girls, leaves little reason to be hopeful." this is a teacher at one of the targeted schools describing the experience. >> the students all felt the same symptoms as me. they had coughs. some said their eyes burned and most of them were scared. amy: a new report by the u.n. special rapporteur on afghanistan once the taliban has normalized systemic violence and

human rights abuses against women and girls and says it may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity. the report condemns cases of arbitrary arrests of women protesters, as well as bans on women and girls from secondary education, most jobs in the country, and even the use of public parks. meanwhile, journalists and other dissidents are subjected to surveillance, harassment, violence, and detention. economic sanctions on the taliban and the loss of foreign aid have also exacerbated human arian concerns in afghanistan as an estimated million afghans, 19 or half the population, are experiencing hunger. in pakistan, former prime minister imran khan evaded arrest sunday as police showed up to his home in lahore while hundreds of his supporters protested outside. khan is accused of corruption and terrorism, charges he denies. he has been demanding a snap election since his ouster in a parliamentary vote early last

year. pakistan's mea regulato has banned the broadcasting of and news conferences by imran khan. in bangladesh, a massive fire at a refugee camp in cox's bazar has left at least 12,000 rohingya muslims without shelter. some 2000 housing structures as well as other structures were destroyed by the blaze. many refugees returned to the site monday to try to salvage some of their belongings from the burnt ruble. authorities say one person has been detained in connection with the fire, which is still under investigation. cox's bazar houses over one million rohingya muslims forced to flee violent persecution in burma since 2017. in nigeria, an explosion at a shell oil pipeline killed at least 12 people friday in the southern rivers state. the blast came during a theft of crude oil, a booming illicit

industry in nigeria. in related news, over 13,500 residents of the oil-rich niger delta joined a landmark british lawsuit against shell and its nigerian subsidiary earlier this year. the lawsuit is demanding compensation and cleanup for dozens of oil spills that have devastated land and waterways, destroying local livelihoods and ecosystems. to see democracy now!'s documentary, go to democracynow.org. the u.k. will start removing asylum seekers who arrive on small boats through the english channel, barring anyone who lands on british soil through non-official ports of entry. under the new rules, the removed individuals would also be barred from returning to the u.k. the conservative british government of prime minister rishi sunak has vowed to stop the boats as one of its main priorities.

elsewhere in europe, the italian coast guard rescued over 200 migrants off the coast of lampedusa friday as the far-right government of giorgia meloni has also imposed draconian anti-refugee policies. meanwhile, one of the victims of last month's tragic shipwreck off the calabrian coast has been identified as shahida raza, who played on pakistan's national soccer and field hockey teams. raza, who was a member of the shi'ite muslim hazara minority, had fled towards europe in hopes for providing a better life for her disabled three-year-old son. in greece, fresh protests rocked the streets of athens sunday as anger mounts over last week's train crash that killed 57 people. greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis apologized for the disaster sunday, saying in a statement, "we cannot, will not, and must not hide behind human error." the station master at the larissa railway station has been

detained and awaits trial. among the 10,000 estimated protesters yesterday were many rail workers. >> we feel unspeakable grief over the incident. it is tragic. we are here so that nothing remains in darkness, for everything to be revealed to the bone, for those responsible to pay, those who have let the railway to its fate come all the governments all these years. amy: here in the united states, norfolk southern ceo alan shaw will testify before a senate panel thursday about last month's train derailment and contamination of east palestine, ohio. this comes as another norfolk southern train derailed near springfield, ohio, saturday, prompting officials to issue a temporary shelter-in-place order. officials said none of the ivanka eight -- none of the 28 train cars contained hazardous

materials, though other sections of the 212 car train did contain dangerous chemicals, including propane. president biden was in selma, alabama, sunday to mark the 58th anniversary of bloody sunday, when state troopers violently attacked black voting rights activists as they attempted to cross the edmund pettus bridge. biden sought to refocus attention on voting rights legislation, which has stalled in congress, as he is expected to soon announce his bid for reelection. pres. biden: the right to vote, to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. with it, anything is possible. without it, without that right, nothing is possible. this fundamental right remains under assault. amy: in maryland, former president trump was met with thunderous applause at this year's conservative political

action conference where he delivered the keynote speech saturday. trump, who was introduced as the next president of the united states, gave a nearly two-hour address in which he railed against the investigations he is under and lied about winning the 2020 election. es trump: in 2016, i declared i am your voice. today i at i am your warrior, i am your justice. and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, i am your retribution. amy: trump's likely competition in 2024, right-wing florida governor ron desantis, addressed supporters in california sunday, where he repeated his motto "florida is where woke goes to die." meanwhile, self-help author marianne williamson launched her bid for the democratic nomination this weekend. >> it is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear.

amy: williamson, who also ran in 2020, said some of her key campaign promises were free healthcare, free college, and free childcare. in atlanta, georgia, at least 35 people were arrested sunday evening as protesters marked the start of a week of action against cop city, a $90 million police training facility being built in a sacred forest. the defend the atlanta forest collective said those arrested were peaceful protesters who were attending a concert in the forest when they were surrounded by police. this comes less than two months after atlanta police shot and killed manuel paez terán, a 26-year-old environmental defender who also went by the name tortuguita. at least 13 people have died across the united states in recent days from a mix of extreme weather events, including tornadoes, torrential rains, and flooding across southern states and historic

snowfall on the west coast. california officials say the unusually wet winter has helped ease some of the state's decade-long drought, though scientists say it would take several consecutive winters like 2023's to fully alleviate the statewide drought. nearly two dozen lawmakers are calling on president biden to reject a massive oil and gas development in northern alaska known as the willow project. the project was initially approved by president trump in 2020 and would have allowed conocophillips to extract over 100,000 barrels of oil a day for the next 30 years. the project was halted by a federal judge in 2021 after environmental and indigenous groups sued. since then, the biden administration has been considering a scaled-down plan and a final decision is expected within days. in a letter sent to president biden friday, 22 members of the house and senate wrote -- "no version of the willow master development plan is consistent with your commitments to combat the climate crisis and promote environmental justice."

and the trailblazing civil rights activist judy heumann died saturday at the age of 75. she was widely known as "the mother" of the u.s. disability rights movement for breaking down barriers faced by disabled people and leading campaigns for historic legislation, including the americans with disabilities act. in 1970, heumann became the first teacher in new york to use a wheelchair. in 1977, she led a 26-day sit-in protest at a federal building in san francisco that led to enforcement of the rehabilitation act's prohibition on discrimination against disabled people. president biden honored heumann in a statement, writing -- "after her school principal said she couldn't enter kindergarten because she was using a wheelchair, judy dedicated the rest of her life to fighting for the inherent dignity of people with disabilities." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.

i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at how nearly 200 countries have agreed to protect biodiversity in the world's oceans. the hioric united nations high seasreaty is a legally-binding pact that could help reverse marine biodiversity loss by addressing pollution, acidification, and overfishing. it was agreed to at a u.n. conference saturday. >> good evening-ish, ladies and gentlemen. the ship has reached the shore. [applause] amy: the historic agreement caps nearly two decades of effos by conservation groups and seeks to establish marine protected areas covering 30% of the world's seas by 2030 to protect ocean biodiversity. environmentalists hailed the treaty's passage as a major milestone.

greenpeace's ocean campaigner laura meller called for the treaty to be ratified as quickly as possible to "deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs." the international union for the conservation of nature said its adoption "closes essential gaps in international law and offers a framework for governments to work together to protect global ocean health, climate resilience, and the socioeconomic wellbeing and food security of billions of people." for more, we are joined by minna epps, a marine biologist and director of the ocean team at the international union for the conservation of nature. she participated in the u.n. negotiations on the high seas treaty. she is joining us now from geneva, switzerland. welcome to democracy now! talk about the significance of

this long-negotiated treaty, what it does accomplish and what it doesn't. >> good morning to you all. i am pleased to be here. it is a historical milestone and certainly good news for all our ocean defenders out there. i think it has been long overdue, as you said. this treaty has been negotiated for the past five years. as you said, been in discussion for a very long time. i think our climate, our world has changed quite a lot in a terms of the importance of the ocean. i think t momentum was right. if we would not have agreed now, it would have been part failure to protect our ocean, which e so vital to us. we are increasingly

understandg the importance of the ocean in terms of climate chan adaptation but also to protect biodiversit and you alluded to the milestone commitment that was made by all states, adoptedn december which sets out to ptect0% not just ofand and cotal areas, but of thocean. in ordero aceve that, we cannot ignore two thirds of the ocean, which ishe high as, e area beyond jurisdiction. you mentioned able to establish marine protected area. today, there has not been any kind of mechanism to establish or legal framewo for this the high seas, but this treaty sets out to do much more than that. it is to conserve a sustainable use of marine biology --

biological diversity beyond national jurisction. it has been a package deal. it has been a long road. i have to still complement all the negotiators, especially the last 40 hour maratn they wen through in order to reach an agreement, which is being challenged at the moment. and the fact they reached an agreement think is a welcome and it was incredible. in terms of what this treaty can do, basically, it is a legal -- legally -- internationally legally binding treaty under the nations which was established about 40 years ago. this is kind of looking to actively conserve and assure sustainable use. not just about establishing marine-affected areas, but also to make sure the ocean as a

whole and human activity is managed so we know what we need to do to protect and restore ocean health. we need to remove the threat and build resilience. one of the best ways to do that is to invest in establishing a network of marine protected areas that can serve as multiple benefit. but it is also about being able to conduct environmental impact to ensure and yet -- any human activity does not harm negatively the marine environment. but also the other part of the package relates to access and benefi sharing marine genetic resources as well as the capacity for marine technology -- transfer marine technology. there is a lot of crosscutting issues that need to be resolved, whether in terms of financial

mechanism, etc. we are hopeful. we will see what the final details are. t whatever it is, it is welcome and we will have to work witht. amy: i want to turn to comments from one of the russian delegates at the conference to criticize the negotiating process. >> it is impossible to properly review what we have just received. large parts of the text are very much new to our delegation and represent parts of deals in which our delegation did not have a chance to participate. we are not prepared to limit our further engagement to technical amendments and reserve our position broadly in this regard. amy: and this is a member of the nicaraguan allegation. >> indeed, yes.

amy: sorry, we are to play the member -- we are going to play a member of the nicaraguan delegation also criticizing the negotiations. >> furthermore, we want to express our concern we got did not guarantee the transparency and equity in this process. making it difficult for small delegations to participate. amy: minna epps, if you could respond? >> in termsf not having enough time, of course, time was not on our side but i think a lot of -- i think the president handled it quite well. she was very conscious of being inclusive to various parts, and

i believe some of these issues that were brought up by the russian delegation or introduced new proposals, the president did remind that a lot of this text -- it essentially stayed the same in the lasrounds o negotiations. it was not new text per se, it was a very late hour to introduce new proposals -- which a few countriesid rather toward the end. these specific countries that have been quite quiet in previous rounds and as we were getting closer to al a deal, if you like basically spoke up more vocally and tried to introduce new language, which was basically too late in the day. there was some time staing activities or basically taking the floor and the president really wanted to move this forward. but i think everybody worked on the same premises in terms of having to review the text quite

rapidly. at that stage, there had been -- there were some changes but they ha been very familiar with the text, so i think time was short for all the delegates but they managed to come through. i would say in terms of the nicaraguan comments on basically -- i think there were several, particularly the small islands, benefit that is, they have smaller delegations and i think dividing it up to small groups it is a stretch you have a smaller delegation. but i think they were really trying to work constructively having bilateral, etc., so it could be accommodated -- amy: i want to go to some of the key points like the agreement to share marine genetic resources. what does that mean? >> basically it means both now

looking at the future there might be potential -- new discoveries. it is sically how do you get access to these and also sharing the benefits, given that the high seas is the common heritage of humankind. there was a lot of discussion in terms of percentage of royalties , benefit-sharing. it came down to equity, principles of equity. i think that was a major sticking point in negotiations toward the end, which in terms of the global north and the global south divide in terms of equality and fair and equitable access and benefit sharing. amy: and requiring environmental checks on deep-sea mining? >> in terms of the seabed floor,

it is managed by different authorities called the international seabed authority, which has a mandate to protect but also explore the deep-sea and there are now several -- more than 30 explorations that have been approved. it basically covers an area the size of mongolia, and that can have significant environmental damage. it is -- it was particular language in the treaty that would dictate which -- to make sure you could not -- the international seabed authority cannot issue exportation licenses if it would hamper marine diversity in the high seas. it is also how these two instruments will actually play out together. i think what we really want to hear is a strong high seas

treaty that can actually treat and manage the whole governance of the ocean as a legal framework has been quite fermented. the details -- amy: since we have so little time, i what for you to talk about why the oceans ours important when it comes to dealing with the climate. covering or than 70% of the earth's surface, absorbing 90% of the world's excess heat, and also addressed the amount of plastic in the world's oceans. >> the ocean is on a major threat. i think we talk about plastic in the ocean, it etc., and a lot of things that happened at the high seas, basically, outside -- what you wer describing is coming yes, the ocean has been providing these services absorbing co2 emissions.

we don't want the ocean to continue to provide -- we need to cut emissions rapidly in order -- we have tempered so much the chemistry of the ocean that i don't think general public or policymakers really realize the severe threat. the u.n. secretary-general of the united nations declared an ocean emergency last year. it is crucial to protecting the ocean, our best ally to fight climate change and build that resilience. currently under negotiation, just started in uruguay, to have a global plastic treaty -- global treaty on plastic which actually is been negotted and hopefully can conclude faster than the high seas treaty, which will also have a very positive impact on our ocean to restore ocean health. amy: what is the implementation of this treaty?

how long did it actually take to negotiate? >> for the high seas treaty, it started in 2018. before that, there were preparatory -- i think it was decided in 2015 to go forward and have official rounds of negotiations. they set out four rounds, two weeks each, as the estimated time to conclude. the fourth round was resumed after the global pandemic. it was a pause of most 2.5 years. the political climate had changed. we have to have in person meetings when it comes to international diplomacy. i think a lot of governments have changed for the worst and for the better, but it took time. it wasn't possible to just come back once and conclude.

we really need to deliver on that multilateralism stop i think that is the reason why it took so long to agree. and it is a challenge to have 193 countries agree. but on the other hand -- nobody is going to come out of -- everybody is happy that a conclusion has been reached but not that everyone will be happy 100%. it really has been a compromise. amy: we thank you so much for being with us. i know you must be absolutely exhausted having been at the u.n. all week, major 40 hours of negotiation's and the final push, and then flying back to geneva, switzerland. minna epps is a marine biologist and director of the ocean team at the international union for the conservation of nature.

next up, we talk about tennessee and its banning of gender affirming health care for young people, becoming the latest state to target the trans community. we will talk to aclu lawyer chase strangio. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we look now at the growing conservative attacks on transgender people and the lgbtq+ community. at this weekend's conservative political action conference, or cpac, a number of speakers drew alarm with their transphobic comments, including former trump advisor sebastian gorka, who warned democrats who support trans rights are "mutilating boys and girls."

right-wing republican congressmember marjorie taylor greene vowed to re-introduce a bill called the protect children's innocence act that would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. another speaker was daily wire host apple knowles. >> if transgenderism is false, it is, then it is false for everybody, too. if it is false, then we should not indulge it. especially since that indulgence requires taking away the rights and customs of so and people. if it is false, then for the good of society and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. the whole preposterous ideology at every level amy:'s comments were widely

condemned. variety's adam vary wrote, "pay attention. this is genocidal." this comes as least 150 bills have been filed by republican lawmakers across the united states that target transgender people and criminalize doctors who provide transition-related health care for trans youth. just law week, several pieces of anti-trans legislation were signed into law. tennessee on thursday became the latest state to enact a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. alabama, arkansas, arizona, mississippi, south dakota, and utah have also enacted bans on the life-saving treatments. the new mississippi bill blocks public funding for clinics and institutions that offer this type of care. this comes as nebraska state senator machaela cavanaugh has vowed to bring the state legislature to a halt with a filibuster if lawmakers tried to

-- trying to pass anti-trans bills. >> legislating hate against children is our priority, then i am going to make it painful, painful for everyone. because if you want to inflict pain upon our children, i am going to inflict pain upon this body. there is not a bill on this agenda, on any agenda coming forward, that will be spared. every bill will go to cloture. amy: meanwhile, tennessee's republican governor bill lee has faced backlash after a high school photo of him dressed in drag went viral after he said he would sign a bill criminalizing drag performances performed in public or in front of children. nationwide, at least 14 bills have been introduced targeting drag shows. in montana, the house endorsed a

bill barring anyone under age 18 from attending drag shows, even after emotional testimony from one of the legislature's first openly transgender members, representative zooey zephyr. >> the bill purports to be about drag. let me start by saying what drag is. it is art. it is beautiful. drag is important to my community. my community and the rest of the b thank you community. there were, it's about people that had gone 30 years ago to drag shows saw an adultocused experiences. where children coming to them now? i will tell you what happens, we lived. we lived people trying to disallow our marriage. we adopted children. we grew up. and now we are taking some of our children and sharing an art form that is valuable to our community in a way that is age-appropriate to them.

that is why if you would have come to the drag show on saturday, what you would've seen his people in beautiful gowns celebrating our art, our history, the fact we are alive today. amy: for more on all of this, we are joined in new york by chase strangio, deputy director for trans justice with the aclu lgbtq & hiv project. welcome back to democracy now! talk about what happened in tennessee and talk about what is happening across this country after that very powerful testimony. >> thanks, amy. i have been coming on this show for the last seven years to talk about this very issue. i think taking a step back, what we have to ackwledge is how quickly this has escalated. in 20 in the wake of marriage equality, with father -- we saw the first aggressive canterbury backlash against trans people and that rhetoric escalated to attacks on trans participation

in sports, trans youth in schools, using the restroom, participating on sports teams and how quickly we got from that rhetoric, which was understood to be false, to this current climate in which we are criminalizing trans adults going to the bathroom, evidence-based adequate care that is supported by every major medical association, where we are criminalizing gender expression in drug performance, and now hear the rhetoric behind all of this which at its core has always been about pushing trans people out of public life and eradicating trans as receipt so clearly. if we look over the course of seven years where we are absolutely in crisis. amy: talk specifically about tennessee and governor bill lee. >> a few things have happened. tennessee has often been a seida pushing and try -- anti-trans legislation.

i've been testifying against bills and supporting the incredible community there. what happened over this last week was sb1 and sb3 were signed into law. sb1 categorically bans treatment, shutting down some of the most robust and important sites of gender affirming care in the south. also have sb3 which is the intended prohibition on drag performances. it is a relavely narrow law and if it is properly enforced, wrote question about there is anything we could trust, that it is intended to ban drug performance. the governor signed both bills. yes, that she has come under fire for his hypocrisy. these bills are not about banning drag performance, expressions of gender

nonconformity, as long as those expressions are seen as serving the status quote. these bills are about policing that which is seen as deviant and disruptive of the status quo. policing trans, policing community's coming together to support and celebrate their histories and legacies. they could not be understood as separate from the many attempt to ban curriculum, connections to historically accurate movements of resistance. this is a part of a national effort to cut off communities from their history, whether those histories are of drag or other resistance. we have to understand the ban on drug performance as central and connected to the ban on what we seeing in the curriculum, what we have categorized as so-called critical race theory's. these two movements, which is just a banning of accurate history, came from the same sources. these are dynamic processes coming from the right designed to control and regulate our

bodies and our understanding of our lineages. amy: the fact bill lee himself was shown in drag? >> i think -- look at rudy giuliani. look at president trump. drag is something that is wide reaching in its experience in the world. some is done in a way that is based on a mockery and some is done in a way that is based in celebration. there's no such thing as an easy and subtle way to police gender nonconformity except in a way that targets communities that are already under assault. i think it is very clear in every instance, what we're seeing in state legislatures, we can identify the hypocrisy. we have who consider themselves pro-life that are introducing bills that would punish abortion with the death penalty. we have individuals claiming they're concerned about protecting children when the leading cause of death among children is death by firearms. they're focusing their energy on cutting off health care, removing children from loving homes, drug performance, and

doing nothing to prevent the actual harms coming to our children at a time when, by the way, there is substantial evidence our young people are facing significant mental health crisis across the country. that isis is not born of the fact -- that crisis is not borne by the fact they're connecting to the history or have more diverse experiences. we know that is not the reality. the realitys young people have more anxiety, have witnessed gone violence for the entirety of their lives, and we have real problems when it comes to what our young people need. we are legislating in areas that are designed to eradicate populations, to harm young people, and the hypocrisy is staggering. amy: i want to talk about the laws banning gender affirming health care. tennessee on thursday also last week the kentucky house voted to ban access to gender-affirming medical care for youth. let's turn to democratic state senator karen berg of louisville, kentucky, who lost

her transgender son henry berg-brousseau to suicide in december at the age of 24. she condemned kentucky's anti-trans bill and shared her son's last actions before he died. >> the last thing he did at work before he went home and killed himself was to send out a press release warning us of what was coming. warning the world of this. amy: state senator karen berg. chase strangio, take it from there. talk about these particular bills. >> there's something so insidious about what is going on with these tax on gender affirming care. it is manifesting in ways that are so harmful for our community's. i want to acknowledge i knew henry when he was a youth advocate in tennessee.

i saw him testify before his legislature at a time when they were pushing anti-trans bathroom bills. there's a population of young people that have spent the entirety or significant portion of their lives begging their governments not to target them, and the cost of that is significant. right now what we're seeing in state after state is something three years ago i thought would have been unimaginable. we're having health care that is recommended by doctors in consultation with parents for young people who are suffering and struggling. and this care works. what we're seeing now is the legislature improving -- intruding on doctors and parents and young people to take away the only evidence-based treatment that trans people have when they're suffering and there are no other option's. in state after state, we are seeing these bills moved and they're being fueled in part by public discourse that has

allowed there to be a legitimate debate over whether there are too many transgender people, over whether we have too much access to health care. i urge people to take a step back and use information you already know about how health care works and in country. it is not easy to access. it is incredibly difficult. it is particularly difficult when it is stigmatized health care that a population that faces so much stigma and discrimination needs. we're in a position now -- i just got out of it you would trial in arkansas over a very similar piece of legislation we are now seeing in tennessee and south dakota and utah and mississippi and elsewhere. we had a two week trial. when tested, will when the evidence goes before the court, there is no basis for the categorical ban. we should be concerned for everyone, if every time a group of lawmakers believes it is a conspiracy for a group of people to thrive that they start taking away our health care with

nothing more than ideological opposition and unverified accounts of things that are simply not happening. we have seen it with abortion and we're seeing it now with trans affirming health care. this is a crisis for our community. families are fleeing their state but they don't know where to go. i also want to say -- go ahead. amy: go ahead. >> we have heard a lot about children. this is about protecting children. first and foremost, these bills harm children. second, as we heard from cpac and see legislation targeting adults, this is not about targeting only children. this is about categorically attacking the trans community of all ages. amy: i want to ask about the role of the media. over 200 "new york times" contributors have published an open letter criticizing "the times'" recent coverage of stories involving transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people, in particular, concerning medical

issues. the letter says republican lawmakers have cited "the times'" coverage to justify bans on gender-affirming care for youth. in response, the top editor of "the new york times" has defended the paper's coverage of trans issues, warning journalists that such public criticism will "not be tolerated." glaad has accused "than your times" of local and responsible bias of trans people going back more than a year." can you summarize this debate? >> it is not going back more than a year. this is going back more than seven years by my count and we have the last statement i think 15,000 front-page words over just the question of whether trans people are getting too much health care. there is an effort to attend by the consortia of health care rather than understand the very powerful forces that are at play trying to attack and destabilize the material conditions of trans

life. they're asking the wrong questions. they're asking questions that are infused with bias, informed by global set of imperatives to attack not only trans people but bodily autonomy and gender nonconformity were generally. i think the coverage is abhorrent. and i think the fact that they won't -- absolutely we need robust discussion but there is a lot to look at any other corage that shows their entry point is one of bias, not one of fleshing out what is truly going on to the trans community right now around the world. amy: chase strangio, thank you for being with us, deputy director for trans justice with the aclu lgbtq & hiv project. next up, brand threat. that is what fox executives called fox reporters and anchors questioning trump's full selection claims. we was due to the president media matters about this, the dominion lawsuit, and much more. stay with us.

♪♪ [music break] amy: "immaterial" by sophie. this is democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's looking at fox news and its handling of the 2020 election. in recent weeks, there have been a number of bombshell revelations about the inner workings of the network that have come to light as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by dominion voting systems against fox. rupert murdoch, the owner of fox news, has admitted under oath that many hosts on his network endorsed donald trump's false claims about the 2020 election and that trump's lawyers like rudy giuliani had used fox to spread what he called "really crazy stuff." murdoch also admitted it was wrong for fox to keep interviewing pro-trump conspiracy theorist mike lindell, the ceo of mypillow. but murdoch suggested it was done for financial, not political reasons. murdoch said, "it is not red or blue, it is green." in court filings, dominion also revealed that murdoch had given trump's son-in-law jared kushner confidential informationbout biden's campaign ads, along with

debate strategy -- in possible violation of election laws. meanwhile, "the new york times" has revealed details of a major firestorm within fox after the network projected on election night in 2020 that joe biden had beaten donald trump in the state of arizona. while fox made the accurate call, many executives regretted making the call because it hurt fox's ratings among trump supporters. at one meeting held november 15, 2020, suzanne scott, the chief executive of fox news media, told others -- "listen, it's one of the sad realities -- if we hadn't called arizona, those three or four days following election day, our ratings would have been higher." we are joined now by angelo carusone, president of the watchdog group media matters, which recently sent a federal elections commission complaint against fox news based on evidence from the dominion lawsuit. welcome to democracy now! stop off talkingbout -- start

of what your filing is about. >> investigate in the claims that came out of the dominion filings and to take the appropriate action. it is completely within the letter of the law says that the campaigns act is pretty explicit. it says you can't give anything of value to a political candidate that is not tracked, not long. in certain circumstances, is found this kinds of private information that could be used for political purposes is a thing of value. it seems to me black-and-white and so we want to make sure what happened i fox doesn't skate accountabilityecause nody went through to nudge the sec to take the action it needs to take, which is investigate and to basically apply the law. amy: talk about what we know so far. people are leading busy and stressed lives. it is hard to keep following up on this, 1.6 $20 lawsuit. talk about the highlight of

remarkable email trail that is been released, what sean hannity and tucker carlsen, laura ingraham new at the time about the lies that were being told by trump and his supporters and the kind of pressure they brought on any reporter who dared to question because it was damaging the fox brand. >> to put it simply, they knew. they all knew. from rupert murdoch on down to the show producers, they knew what they were saying was not true. that it was a lie most of they did it anyway. to take a step back what it means in practice, fox went from calling some election results to accepting the election to the mid-november and

to accept or that, they did more than 600 segments last two period alone, specifically attacking the election results, promoting the conspiracy theories. in their coverage they helped build a scaffolding for the big lie which became the fuel of the january 6 insurrection. behind the scenes, they really did know. they were attacking the promoters. you alluded to some of that in your intro. rudy giuliani, sidney powell -- they called her alluded take on the same bed they had her on their show, texting each other and admonishing the ridiculousness of this but they did it anyway. they had it on the air anyway. worse, rupert murdoch and fox executives were penalizing other fox personalities that were tryingo either sort of softened the claims that fox ne was pushing about dominion and the broader election as well

as punishing -- some of tm were explicitly punished. they said coverage was too hard, too aggressive, need to chge that, to leave. before the show had aired, those emails and messages were being sent from top executives show producers telling on-air tent to get it together. so they knew. that is how i would put it simply, they knew and they did it anyway. i feel like the trail of evidence is so overwhelming that fox is in real legal trouble. amy: talk about what you mean by it is a legal corporate campaign contribution. >> you're not supposed to give anything of value. that is why we have toave these disclosures. when you give up political donation, it's tracked. if you try to get around that disclosure law, that donation law by giving something that is the equivalent of money, that you would need to spend money on, or could be considered something of value for political

campaign, you're either not supposed to do it for it is supposed to be disclos. it is an illegal campaign contribution. not only it is clear in this one instance that fox news bre the law but the part i think that struck me about all othese mplaints together and he's filings was that it seems so normal. nothing about what they were saying to ch other was considered extraordinary. when rupert murdoch takes an ad and runsway with it to give it to a political campaign, nobody inside fox seem to think that was weird. there's no communication saying, hey, should we be doing this? there were instructions to change coverage to help republicans rupert murdoch is sending messages like that, nobody said ,wow, should we be doing this? >> i don't imagine this is the only instance. in fact, it goes like what we are seeing here is a keyhole view to how fox news trea every single other issue and

story. more like a partisan operation then that a news nwork. i think there are probably a lot more complaints i could be filed as these things start to unfold. amy: can you talk about the republican house speaker kevin mccarthy giving exclusive access to all of the january 6 footage from the closed circuit tv footage all over the capitol and beyond to tucker carlsen of fox? >> two things, how we got there and what it means. how we got there, it is reflection of the fact right wing media with fox as its crown jewel and the republican party are fused together. they are not two distinct acting in parallel. it is one big conglomeration. this is a major concession mccarthy had, during his -- one of the things far right are som of the far right republicans were echoing calls on the right

wing media were demanding and h conceded. the reason it even happened is the media pushed a few of their big republican leaders to then make this an issue during the speakership. it was sort of a creatur-- amy: 30 seconds. >> it is an official rewrite of what happene january 6 and they're using tucker carlsen as the chief storyteller of that new version of what took place. i think we all know what it is going to become it is going to be lies and conspiraci that it was false like pushed by democrats in the news media. amy: and the fact this is a people's footage? this is the footage of the capitol being handed to private corporation? >> it feels more transactional than transparent. amy: angelo carusone, thank you for being with us president of , media matters which recently sent a federal elections commission complaint against fox news based on evidence from the

dominion $1.6 billion lawsuit. 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!]

hello, and welcome to nhk newsline. ukrainian soldiers have held on day after day, trying to prevent a battleground from falling into enemy hands. they have seen russian units push ever closer to their positions in the eastern city of bakhmut.