07/11/23 07/11/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> it is an historic step that benefits the security of all nato allies at this critical time. it makes us all stronger and safer. amy: turkey has agreed to drop its opposition to sweden joining nato, which is holding a major summit in lithuania just 20

miles from the border of belarus. we will speak to the head of sweden's oldest peace organization which opposes nato membership and we will also look at ukraine's push to join nato with the nation's katrina vanden heuvel. then as another heatwave descends on texas, the migrants death toll increasing. >> when you take water away from people, what are you saying? you prefer for migrants to die? the heat has been very, very intense with the heat index getting up to 115, 120 on a daily basis. amy: we will also look at governor greg abbott's law that just went into effect eliminating water breaks for construction workers in texas. and we will talk to atv meteorologist in iowa who resigned his job after receiving a death threat over his reporting on the climate emergency. >> i am chris gloninger.

i went to iowa so i could talk a little about climate change with my audience but it did result in a death threat last summer. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. leaders of western military powers have gathered in vilnius, lithuania, for nato's annual summit, with russia's war in ukraine central to the discussions. on the eve of the summit, turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said he would drop his opposition to sweden's bid to join nato, clearing the way for its accession as the alliance's 32nd member. following the announcement, the biden administration said it would move ahead with the transfer of f-16 fighter jets to turkey pending congressional approval. earlier today, biden spoke briefly to reporters in an appearance alongside nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg. pres. biden: this historic

moment, finland and sweden to nato, is consequential. newer leadership really matters. amy: for low mayor zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with biden at the summit wednesday. ahead of the meeting, he accused nato members of ignoring ukraine's bid to join the alliance. he wrote -- "it's unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for ukraine's membership. it seems there is no readiness neither to invite ukraine to nato nor to make it a member of the alliance." we'll have more on the nato summit and russia's war in ukraine after headlines. russia launched missile and drone attacks on ukraine's capital kyviv overnight post of the airstrikes followed a russian attack on humanitarian a distribution center in southeastern ukraine that killed seven people. in russia, the kremlin said monday the embattled leader of the wagner mercenary group met in moscow with russian president vladimir putin last month days

, five after his forces launched a failed mutiny. kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov said wagner chief yevgeny prigozhin was part of a three-hour meeting on june 29 involving nearly three dozen wagner leaders. >> the commanders provided their account of what happened. th discussed the fact they are loyal supporters and soldiers of the head of state in the commander-in-chief. they said they were ready to carry on finding further motherland. amy: president biden has declared a state of emergency in vermont, where authorities have closed off downtown areas of the capital montpelier where two months' worth of rain fell in less than 48 hours. vermont's rivers are expected to crest today at more than 20 feet above normal, the state's worst flooding since 1927. in new york, governor kathy hochul said this week's storms dumped up to eight inches of rain, causing flash flooding in parts of the hudson valley and finger lakes regions. hochul called it a once-in-a-thousand-year weather

event caused by climate change. >> this is the new normal. we in government, working with our partners on the ground, half to work with our communities to build up resiliency, to be prepared for the worst because the worst continues to happen. amy: in arizona, excessive heat warnings remain in effect, with forecasters warning phoenix is poised to break its record of consecutive 110 degrees plus days. in florida, forecasters predict heat indexes in parts of the state are set to exceed 110 degrees fahrenheit, or 43 degrees celsius, by the end of the week. a marine heat wave has pushed ocean temperatures off florida's coast as high as 96 degrees, more than 5 degrees above normal. on monday, the world meteorological organization reported the first week of july was the hottest week ever recorded on earth. we will have more on the climate crisis after headlines.

we will speak with a meteorologist who quit his job after facing death threats in iowa for talking about climate change. in the occupied west bank, israeli troops shot and killed a palestinian man monday, alleging he threw a handmade explosive device at soldiers and fired on them at a checkpoint outside an illegal israeli settlement west of ramallah. eyewitnesses disputed the account by israel's military, saying 33-year-old bilal ibrahim qadah was shot from behind as he drove his car. witnesses also said israeli soldiers blocked paramedics from reaching qadah, leaving him to bleed to death. nearly 200 palestinians have been killed by israeli fire this year, including 33 children. in israel, thousands of people have blocked highways in protest after the far-right coalition led by prime minister benjamin netanyahu renewed its push to dramatically limit the power of the judiciary. early this morning, 64 members of israel's 120-member knesset voted in favor of legislation that would put strict limits on

the oversight powers of israel's supreme court. the bill must still receive two more votes before it can be written into law. at least 10 sit-in protesters were arrested for nonviolently blocking entry to the knesset ahead of the vote. this is protester deborah galili of tel aviv. >> what this government is doing is not ok. democracy is under attack. the rights of israeli citizens is under attack and we are here to protect that. stop the judicial to. amy: israeli and u.s. military forces have begun joint exercises in israel and over the mediterranean amid rising tensions with iran. the war games include live-fire drills and the midair refueling of nuclear-capable fighter jets. in tunisia, rights groups are urging the government to stop the mass deportation of sub-saharan migrants and refugees and to provide humanitarian aid to hundreds of asylum-seekers who were forcibly rounded up and abandoned by tunisian authorities at the libyan border.

footage published by al jazeera shows hundreds of refugees trapped in the heavily militarized remote region of ben guerdane at the tunisian-libyan border. many were forced to drink seawater after days without food or fresh water, and those wounded received no medical care. human rights watch has collected the testimonies of dozens who've said they were sexually assaulted or raped, at times facing abuse from authorities on both sides of the border. tunisia's president kais saied has denied the reports, claiming the refugees are being treated humanely. reproductive rights advocates are gathering in des moines, iowa, today as the republican-controlled state legislature is convening a special session to ban nearly all abortions after just six weeks of pregnancy. this comes after iowa's republican governor kim reynolds called on state lawmakers to return to the capitol exclusively to pass the new measure. current iowa law allows abortions for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. in nebraska, a woman has pleaded

guilty to providing her 17-year-old daughter with abortion pills last year and then helping her dispose of the fetus. jessica burgess admitted to providing the abortion when her daughter celeste was 29 weeks pregnant. abortions for up to 20 weeks. -- last year, nebraska law still allowed abortions for up to 20 weeks. in may, republican nebraska governor jim pillen signed a bill banning the procedure after 12 weeks. burgess is scheduled for sentencing in september. in related news, the marines corps is operating without a senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in more than 160 years after republican senator tommy tuberville of alabama again refused to hold a vote on a nominee over his opposition to the pentagon policy to cover the travel costs of employees forced to cross state lines to obtain an abortion. tuberville has for months held up the promotion and confirmation of hundreds of high-ranking generals and admirals, including members of the joint chiefs of staff.

in washington, d.c., protesters are demanding the u.s. government drop its espionage charges against wikileaks founder julian assange and for his immediate release from a british prison as he faces extradition from the u.k. to the u.s. ben cohen, co-founder of the ice cream company ben & jerry's, and jodie evans, co-founder of the anti-war group codepink, were arrested in the peaceful action last thursday. ben cohen spoke to the crowd as he set fire to a copy of the bill of rights, saying, "freedom of the press has gone up in smoke." >> if the u.s. is allowed to continue this prosecution, the precedent it sets is that the u.s. can arrest any journalist of any nationality in any country around the world if they print something the u.s. does not like. 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, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan.

juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: a major nato summit has begun in lithuania in vilnius, which is located just 20 miles from the border of belarus. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with president biden at the summit on wednesday as ukraine continues to push to join nato. ahead of the meeting, turkish president recep tayyip erdogan has dropped his opposition to sweden joining the military alliance. if approved, sweden would join finland as nato's newest members. nato membership would mark the end of over 200 years of military neutrality for sweden. sweden and finland applied for nato in may 2022, just months after russia invaded ukraine. nato secretary general jens stoltenberg spoke on monday. >> everyone has agreed -- for sweden -- soon as possible.

work closely with assembly to ensure ratification. completing sweden's accession to nato is an historic step that benefit the security of all nato allies at this critical time. it makes us all stronger and safer. amy: for the past year, turkey has opposed nato membership for sweden. turkey had accused sweden of giving refuge to kurdish militants, including members of the pkk. in recent months, sweden took a number of steps to address turkey's concerns, including amending its constitution and strengthening its anti-terrorism laws. turkey is also now pushing to be let into the european union. as part of an apparent deal, the biden administration also agreed to move forward with transferring f-16 warplanes to turkey. president biden's national security advisor jake sullivan spoke earlier today. >> president biden has been

clear for months that he supported the transfer of f-16's to turkey, that this is in our national interest, in the interest of nato that they get that capability. he has placed no caveats or conditions on that. he intends to move forward with that transfer in consultation with congress. amy: we go now to stockholm, sweden, where we are joined by kerstin bergeå. she is president of the swedish peace and arbitration society, which is 140 years old and one of the oldest peace groups in the world. thank you so much for joining us. if you could talk about this major turnaround on the part of turkey that now allows for sweden to become part of nato since they were opposing it and how you feel about sweden becoming a part of nato. >> yes, thank you for letting me join the show today.

i feel deeply that this is unfortunate and this is an historic mistake of swedish priorities because it will neither make sweden more safe, neither the world, but it can lead to greater tensions and more polarization and already heavily militarized world. so we are really sad. it is also hard to understand that this day has come. our politicians have pushed so it is like the first priority of our country to join nato. as someone coming from the peace movement, we don't see that is how we create peace with deterrence and more weapons and basing the security policies also on nuclear weapons.

that is something completely new for sweden. we have been free from nuclear in our country and we have had a special position in the world with the 200 years of peace at least on our territory. but no one is talking about that this is sad and hasty and that we have not had any debate in sweden. many emotions at the same time today. juan: could you share with us why you think this is happening given the fact even during world war ii when europe was being overrun by nazi germany and the united states and britain and france were fighting the germans that sweden maintain neutrality then? what is the public sentiment on this issue? >> actually, i think we have

some historical shame that we did not support the right side, that we let the nazis -- that we were neutral. we also let nazi trains pass through norway. there is also a kind of shame to this neutrality. i think the politicians of some of the population. we have to be on the right side now in this horrifying invasion of russia began last year. juan: and also, in terms of the decision by finland as well, clearly, to join nato, what do you think this means in terms of the increased polarization and

divisions within europe? >> um, i don't know. i mean, if -- russia is also a european country, i mean part of it is. this is where we have the polarization right now. and there is -- it is just really tough seeing all the world putting so much money into weapons and also the swedish weapons industry is making huge profits right now with the demands for arms are huge as you know for the cluster bombs that we have been working on, or organization to make sweden sign that they should be banned. now we are entering an alliance

where the states have not signed . there are 70 questions that we have not had any time to discuss. there is no interest of a deeply analyzing what consequences this will have for sweden in terms of what you're asking about, polarization, what will happen to our conscripts. will now defend the alliance or the swedish territory? amy: let me ask you before we go, the issue of changing the swedish constitution and laws around the issue of kurds in sweden, so many of whom the turkish president considers terrorist but has not been considered until now terrorists by the swedish government. what percent of the population of sweden is kurdish? about 100,000 kurds live t here.

can you talk about what this means and why sweden did this at the behest of the turkish president? >> i think turkey has held sweden as hostage. just one of the demands that sweden has to give up to stand up for the international law that has been really crucial in our politics before. we were pushed, i mean, not week, but our politicians were letting turkey push us and we also open up for arms trade to turkey, which we had the ban on 1.5 years ago. there has been such a dramatic shift in sweden. it is a lot to digest, actually. amy: we want to thank you for being with us, kerstin bergeå, president of the swedish peace and arbitration society, speaking to us from stockholm. we turn now the ukrainian

president volodymyr zelenskyy who is expected to attend the nato summit where he is scheduled to meet with president biden wednesday ahead of the meeting, zelenskyy accused nato members of ignoring ukraine's bid to join nato, writing -- nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg addressed the issue earlier today. >> on the membership issue, i also expect allies will send a clear and positive message on the path forward toward membership for ukraine. i have proposed a package of three elements with them, more practical support with a multi-program to ensure full interoperability between

ukrainian forces and nato forces. this will move ukraine closer to nato. amy: we're joined now by katrina vanden heuvel, publisher of "the nation" magazine and a columnist for "the washington post." her recent piece for "the guardian," co-authored with james carden, is headlined "now is not the time for ukraine to join nato." if you can comment on all of these fast breaking developments, from the way been cleared for sweden to join the military alliance nato to ukraine demanding to be let in now and the response of the nato alliance? >> thank you. i just want to speak briefly about someone who should be remembered, the swedish prime minister. i'm sure your listeners and viewers remember he was a true internationalist who is against imperialism of all kinds. he was someone who understood the true security did not come from the barrel of a gun or a bomb.

there's a lot of horsetrading. i think the f-16s to turkey played a huge role in smoothing the way for erdogan to go ahead and acknowledge sweden's role in nato, to accept membership. i do think that zelenskyy, as resilient as he been, effective in leading his country, knows full well i would think the articles, the very principles of nato, contravene the possibility of ukraine joining at this point. they would include ethnic disputes, territorial disputes. i think those need to be resolved before ukraine is even considered for exception. in terms of stoltenberg, he has extended his tenure by year. he is probably -- i mean come he

talks in weapons. that is his language. the militarization of a military institution is something we are witnessing and it is really all of these meetings with some exceptions about weapons. weapons. one seeks even at a military alliance, which nato is, in some anyways it should have disappeared after the warsaw pact, but it proceeds. president biden has not been clear in some anyways and has shifted goalposts in of which weapons may go to ukraine, was very clear in his interview on sunday that ukraine was not going to receive membership at this nato summit. juan: i wanted to ask you, president biden said in an interview with fareed zakaria that the u.s. would provide security assistance to ukraine comparable to what israel

receives. how do you interpret that and what that mean in practice? >> they are in closed doors right now in vilnius trying to hammer out what that means, what president biden said. i think there is pressure to find a way to include ukraine but not fully include ukraine. what i think -- there was a conference at the beginning of june in london about the reconstruction of ukraine. one would hope at this gathering there would be some attention paid for what meaning a trillion dollars for the world community. what was ponied up in london was something like $15 million. there are reports now that zelenskyy has set up an office in kyiv for economic development which lacked crop has played a major role in. -- lack rock has played a major role in. i feel as we have witnessed

militarization and the war proceeding, the future of ukraine is being negotiated and other places. i do think one wishes nato would focus on a more inclusive but it is not its role but there was more inclusive security architecture that was on possibility, the possibility in this moment because, you know, we were talking or you were talking earlier about the nuclear dangers. these are serious. the environmental dangers. we talked recently about the dam in ukraine. this is ravaged territory, not just the thousands of those remained, wounded and killed. how one begins to find a diplomatic exit is an interesting and beginning i think to be discussed in back channels, which is also -- juan: specifically about those

back channels, given the fact that right now in this summit, the elephant in the room was likely not to be addressed, sanctions have not worked, that all the military aid given to ukraine have not been able to push the russians back. and the offensive, the much touted offensive that was supposed to be in the spring then came in the summer has gone nowhere. nato ministers are unlikely to frankly discuss the lack of progress i have their lights in this war. what about these back channel discussions? >> no scrutiny, no self accountability, juan. the back channels are interesting. i know you have my colleague on peter kornblum talking about the history of back channels. it turns out in april, the former head of the council of foreign relations richard haas, former biden official charles koch in, another soviet russia

knowledges that made had a series of meetings, the white house knew about it, did not sanction it, has been debriefed about it, and it is really the idea moving from the battlefield to diplomacy and the negotiating table. i think that is hopeful. it is one track, citizen diplomacy. part of the problem, the reason one of the moves toward cluster bombs is that ukraine has been going through artillery shells -- i believe to million -- and there are not in the pipeline. the same issue has arisen president biden now possibly renewing these army long muscle attack -- the missiles, which jake sullivan a year ago said if the united states used it would lead to world war iii. when jens stoltenberg spoke

certainly of interoperability, what that means in normal peace speak is more weapons. more weapons the arms manufacturers will make out like bandits. because nato countries will have to use insync and often that means buying u.s. weapons. the militarization of our mindsets, of our approach to security, dangers, and horrors is a failure. it has been a failure in the new challenges, the climate issues and all that, the nuclear issues. these are not going to be by horrific blinding force of attrition. we are in a kind of world war i situation, 21st century missiles, ignoring some of the key challenges.

in terms of president biden lecturing ukraine, the resilience of the ukrainians has been incredible. but for president biden to say it is premature, they're not prepared to deal with corruption, problems -- we would do well to get our own house in order before going abroad. and that is not isolationism, but a reality check that we would do well to do that. amy: before we go, i wanted to have you make clear the distinction that biden is making clear between pathway to nato and actual invitation to join. it seems biden clearly understands the u.s. is the lead one right now in resisting ukraine becoming a member of nato during the war with russia. because he understands that means all of these 32, and if ukraine joins 33, countries have any obligation to fight russia.

but all of the benchmarks have changed over time, have fallen away, including what -- biden approving cluster bombs. talk about what that means. if they say they won't let ukraine join until after the war , doesn't that push putin to continue the war? >> well, i do think president biden is deeply concerned about looking -- it looks like the united states is at war with russia. on sundays it does. it is a proxy war. you also have not only the principles i mentioned earlier, which really do not permit ukraine to join under nato's principles but have something called article five which is an attack on one nato country is everyone mobilizes. i think president biden is aware of that. so it is a binding but -- there probably hammering out, as juan

alluded to, akin to security guarantees offered to israel. i don't know what that means. i don't know if they know what that means but there hammering out something for a face-saving presentation at the end of the summit or tomorrow when zelenskyy meets with biden. it is going to be a long way i think for ukraine -- i maybe wrong. it may be fast-track. if i could say another thing that has emerged is you do have some small signs that in congress, had 19 representatives led by barbara lee and ilhan omar and sarah jacobs issuing a resolution not protesting the war as much as the cluster bombs, but it is a sign in the life of the body politic of some awareness of how grinding and possibly insecurity producing this war -- i think that is an

important signal. the administration may not pay attention to it but i think it needs to as we enter the election season. amy: katrina vanden heuvel, thank you for being with us, publisher of "the nation" magazine and columnist for "the washington post." we will link to your piece in book guardian," "now is not the time for ukraine to join nato." next up, as the heat don't in texas arrives, migrants at the border face deadly conditions, and republican governor of texas avenue it has just signed a law that went into effect eliminated water breaks for construction workers in texas. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "faal" by iranian rapper tommaj salehi. on monday, a court sentenced him to six years and three months in prison for joining antigovernment protest last year. he had been facing a possible death sentence. he was prosecuted over lyrics

and why to collated songs and music videos that criticized iran's government following the death of 22-year-old mahsa amini and police custody after she was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to the massive heat dome that is descending on the southern united states this week that could be one of the worst in the region's history, breaking records for intensity and longevity and impacting some 50 million people in florida, texas, new mexico, arizona, southern california, and nevada. heat domes are a key part of heat waves and have become hotter and longer due to climate change. heat is now the leading cause of weather-related death in the united states. in a minute we'll look at the heat's impact on workers and prisoners in texas, which just banned mandatory water breaks, but we begin along the southwest border where more than 100 migrants have already died from heat this year. last week alone, the border patrol officials reported 13

deaths and 226 rescues for dehydration and other heat-related causes. democracy now! spoke to humane borders board member and volunteer laurie cantillo about the group's work to maintain water stations for migrants crossing the sonoran desert and organ pipe cactus national monument along the arizona and mexico border. >> many of these people are crossing without any idea how inhospitable the conditions are. there is no shade. oftentimes they're traveling with no water, no food, no hats. there are small children with them. i observed my last water run a woman who was carrying a three to four-month-old infant on her back. these are really harsh conditions and i am very concerned about the toll it is going to take on human health. amy: this comes as thousands of migrants arlen wishing in camps that often have no running water as they struggle to book

appointments to enter the united states through a new government smartphone app. texas has started to install what calls a floating barrier on the rio grande that has raised concerns about drowning risks for people crossing the river. from where we go to south texas where the heat index could reach 150 -- 115 degrees. we are joined in falfurrias by eddie canales, director of the south texas human rights center. welcome back to democracy now! explain what this heat wave and u.s. policy in texas policy means for migrants when it comes to access to water and life itself. >> thank you for having me on explaining the extreme heat that has been around already here for close to a month in terms of heat index reaching 115 to 120 degrees. the center provides water in

terms for the last nine years, 10 years we have provided water stations. it is a guessing game in terms of where we can provide the water stations for migrants that are coming through. this year in brooks county, there has been 22 confirmed deaths in terms of recoveries of human remains and bodies. we are dealing with climate change and this is an example in terms of extreme heat we are facing here in south texas. people are having to deal with that aspect of it and we have access and some of the ranches in brooks county that have been gracious in allowing some of the ranches to provide some of the water. at the other day we encountered a situation in one of the surrounding counties where we had placed some water stations along a route, one of the

counties surrounding next to works county, and 12 of those water stations were missing, were gone. we had just, within the last couple of weeks, we had checked those water stations. there were -- they were fine. they have been there close to nine years. checked with the texas department of transportation. they had nothing to do with the removal of those water stations, so we are investigating the fact rangers had previously taken water stations that we have had present and we are continuing our investigation regarding who -- why would you want to remove water stations that are lifesaving for people? i think it represents the sentiment that is prevailing

here in texas by the governor in terms of the really, really doubling up on a lot of enforcement and spending a lot of the state funds to try to deter people from coming. that is not the case. there is no deterrence. migration is not going to be stopped anytime soon. we need to deal with that situation in a more compassionate and more economic sense. people are coming here to work. people are coming here to go to the big cities and do some of the work that is not being done by anybody else. what process do we have beyond enforcement-only approach, placing a buoy -- and that extends to some of the ranchers in the area in terms of why the water stations would be removed. you know? construction workers can't take

a break in this heat? it is a reality we have. we need to -- the extreme heat is having an effect. migrant deaths continue to happen until we have a policy that makes sense in terms of receiving workers that are coming through, essential workers that are coming through to provide and contribute to this economy. also i the same time, deal with the lack of human rights from their home country. juan: coming could talk about this initiative of greg abbott putting a floating barrier to prevent people from coming through? >> we just had -- over the last past year, there has been a lot of and the eagle pass area, there's been a lot of drownings. i don't know how -- still

enforcement only approach and none of the efforts that governor abbott has undertaken have been effective to any degree. the buoy is 1000 feet long. i don't see how that is going to deter people. they're just going to move to a different area, more dangerous area in terms of trying to get through. the process has slowed down considerably in terms of 50% less apprehensions at the border. still, people are coming through undetected or uninspected in that regard. yesterday, we received 12 calls at the center here. 12 of those calls, only one had used the cbp form and the other 11 people, families were reporting that those people are missing.

those people have disappeared. so the issue is still the broken system. the only approach is or spent-only approach. and that sentiment goes -- enforcement-only approach. and that sentiment goes to some of the ranchers. you're still following up in terms of what happened. some were still present on that trail that we had and -- but at least 12 of those water stations were missing. i don't see the enforcement birds by -- efforts by the state, by the governor having any effects on deterring anyone. amy: we will continue to look at the governor's policies. eddie canales is the director of the south texas human rights center. we are going to stay in texas to look at the impact of the massive heat don't come extreme heat on texas workers and prisoners. news reports show at least

review have died after working in triple digit heat. a post office worker in dallas, utility line man and he's texas, and east texas, construction worker in future. this comes as greg abbott just signed into law, a law that went into effect july 1, that overrides local ordinances that were prior mandatory water breaks for workers. meanwhile during record heat in june, news reports showed 32 people died in texas prisons, most of which like air conditioning. they included prisoners in their 30's who died from heart attacks or cardiac arrest and the uncle prisons as temperatures soared into the triple digits. for more we go to dallas where we are joined by special investigative correspondent steven monacelli, whose recent piece is headlined "texans die from heat after governor bans mandatory water breaks." let's start there. talk about the law that now bans

water breaks? >> so the ban on water breaks as part of a larger bill hb2127. otherwise known as the death star, for its capacity to effectively zap any local legislation that is preempted by the bill. the bill. local legislation in eight different areas, including labor . and specifically, the bill did mention worker breaks as being subject to this preemption. to be clear, the bill does not actually go into effect until september 1, but we have already seen a shocking number of deaths amid the record heat wave, the three that you mentioned, there is at least 11 in a county in

texas where a lot of people did not have air conditioning, and two individuals, a stepfather and his stepson come at a national park. the heat is oppressive and deadly. texas has a history of more workers dying on the job due to heat related illness that pretty much any other state. as this bill, as we approach the date for its coming into effect, a lot of local communities are concerned the brakes that have been won through passage of legislation in austin and dallas , two more liberal cities in the state, those will be rolled back in a lawsuit that has been filed does not put a stay on the bill. juan: could you talk about who are the workers, largely affected by this legislation? especially in the cities you

mentioned? >> yes. you mentioned and amy mentioned construction workers being a group of folks that would no longer get these mandatory water breaks. the mandatory water break legislation that was passed in cities like austin and dallas and being considered in cities like san antonio prior to the passage of the death star bill effectively forced employers who have workers outside to give them water breaks. these water breaks were mandatory. it was not a discretionary thing that had to be put in place. the first of these was passed in 2010 in austin and dallas in 2015. over the period of time since, we have seen a dramatic reduction in workplace-related heat illness and death. he illness dropped by 78% since 2011. workplace-related deaths due to

heat dropped by half. workers such as construction workers, yard workers, post office workers, utility line workers -- anyone who has to spend a significant portion of their time outside to get their job done will be impacted by this. amy: before we go, we want to ask about prisoners. what is happening when the heat source in these prisons that are largely not air-conditioned? >> well, they effectively turn into ovens. these concrete structures where there is no air conditioning in many of them across the state, they are cooking prisoners alive. there have been many days in which it is 90 degrees at 3:00 a.m. there is very little reprieve for the people who have to sit in these prison cells and face this heat. the reality is, the vast majority of them have not been given death sentences.

the treatment they're facing is, frankly, inhumane. amy: and the numbers? news reports showed 32 people died in texas prisons? >> yes. 32. texas prisons are notoriously -- they don't like to give up the records. they are notoriously stingy with the records they give up. so the exact cause of death for all of these prisoners is as yet unknown. it is still being investigated. but i think i likely contributing cause would be hypothermia. amy: steven monacelli, thank you for being with us, special investigative correspondent at the texas observer. we will link to your piece "texans die from heat after governor bans mandatory water breaks." next up, we will speak with the tv meteorologist who resigned his job after receiving a death threat over his reporting on the climate emergency in iowa. back

in 30 seconds. ♪♪ [music break] amy: "you're gonna need somebody on your bond" performed by buffalo nichols. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we end today with tv meteorologist in iowa who resigned his job after receiving a series of death threats and harassing messages over his coverage of the climate crisis. this is how chris gloninger, chief meteorologist for cci tv, signed off friday after his final broadcast. >> i'm walking away from a

career come 18 years in television, that i dreamed of since second grade. i am a little emotional. i can't thank kcci enough. i'm not giving up, i'm just reinventing myself, finding ways i can make a bigger difference with climate change, more important than ever as the earth recorded three of its warmest days this week. amy: that was chris gloninger friday. this is a clip from one of his recent broadcast work kcci-tv in which he connected the dots between the canadian wildfires and the climate crisis. >> as the planet warms, a lot of these fires are gaining steam and the explosive growth because of the warming planet and we are paying the price in the form of poor air quality across the state. if we look back at the month of may, locally, it was the third warmest on record, the warmest ocean water temperatures we have seen on record. at this point, already an 89% chance 2023 will be not just the

top 10, but the top five warmest on record. big signals, concerning trends. amy: for more, we're joined now from falmouth, massachusetts, by chris gloninger. he has resigned his job as kcci-tv chief meteorologist in iowa and started a new position as a climate scientist at the woods hole group. take us back to the beginning. you started the country's first weekly series on climate in boston. why did you go to iowa, which is so important in determining the president of the united states, but to be the chief meteorologist? what happened when you started your reports? >> as cheesy as it sounds, we wanted to make a difference. we truly made the move because i thought i could fill a void, void where no one was talking about climate change. station management saw that need as well and i commend them for

bringing me on board to do that. it was a big leap of faith going from boston where he tended to be preaching to the choir into the lions den. when you heard me connecting the dots, it wasn't in outrageous. iowa is powered 65% by wind. that is true renewable energy independence. farmers get a good amount of money for land wheezes -- land pieces. you would take being at the mercy of mother nature, a lot more people would care about the climate crisis. juan: could you talk about the reaction that you got and the emails and the threats, people showing up at your house? >> juan, it caught me off guard. my wife was running errands. i had come back from a haircut. i read this email. it said, we want to give you a

welcome you will always remember. kind of like what the blank tried to do to justice kavanaugh. police said, this is more than just an imelda says i'm going to come and kill you, was deliberate. it had essentially a plan on how this person would carry it out. he was arrested for harassment in the third degree, $150 fine in iowa. what is most concerning and this is, yes, the threat was made, but in my position as chief meteorologist in a major city market in the u.s., it is a high profile job. not a single remark from republican leadership in that state condemning what was said. this was something that was widely reported on when it happened last year and again during my resignation. amy: last july, you shared a series of disturbing emails that you got regarding your coverage. one message said -- "science like fauci you dumb son

of a [bleep], go east and drown from the ice cap melting dumb [bleep]!!!" that message referring to president biden's former chief medical adviser anthony fauci. another message said -- "what's your home address, we conservative iowans would like to give you an iowan welcome you will never forget. " if you can talk about the response of your network? you were thanking them at the end of your final broadcast. but why you felt you had to leave? and how much support did you get? >> tremendous support. what is funny, if you notice the first email, you can find humor. he acknowledges the ice caps are warming. anyway. yes, when i received a series of obsessive emails, is started the ball rolling with conversations between wife and i, what is next for us. i would to therapy every single week for a year following this

event. it took a lot of soul-searching and reflecting on what do we do next. ultimately, it was to retool and reinvent myself and my career. i have always been engaged in what i do. i was finding myself in a loss for words. it just was not me. i station supported it. again, i commend them for making the effort to talk about climate change in an area where it has not been talked about before. but meteorologists need to be doing this more not less. i encourage my colleagues to keep going and find a place to make the connection. juan: your colleagues, the meter eligible community is a small one. -- the meteorological community is a small one. have you heard similar instances from colleagues and other stations and cities? >> there are a ton of negative

emails. there isn't the number of death threats, there have not been a lot of death threats made against my colleagues. we all receive the same number of emails that push back against coverage. 11% according to george mason university that are dismissive. but you are far more likely to write in when you don't approve of something that is happening. i get that. they are the loud minority. but a lot of what they're giving us in return, photoshopped graphs, poorly done at that, and they are quoting self-proclaimed experts that they are an expert in climate change. in reality, that no background in the subject matter but yet they are getting hundreds of retweets because it follows that ideology. it would be like asking airline

pilots and talking about your cholesterol because your cardiologist said you have high cholesterol but you're trusting the judgment of a pilot. the logic blows my mind that i can have an eight year college background between my undergraduate degree and masters degree but this person, this self-proclaimed person holds more weight because it follows their beliefs and ideology and not the science data. amy: chris, are not the only one. in 2006, dr. heidi cullen of the weather channel urged other tv forecasters to address climate change in their reporting. she was met with criticism, some of it sexist. she later went on to write on her weather channel blog -- "if a meteorologist can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change, then maybe the ams, american meteorological society, should not give them a seal of approval. if a meteorologist has an ams seal of approval, which is used to confer legitimacy to tv meteorologists, then meteorologists have a responsibility to truly educate themselves on the science of global warming." we just have a minute left,

chris. what is your recommendation, both for iowa -- which often can help determine the president of the united states, the republican presidential candidates are traipsing through right now -- to meteorologists, what they need to say? >> republican congressman from the carolinas rain on climate, lost but works with colleagues to help republicans understand the impact to climate change. that is important. to my meteorology colleagues, if you're talking about an earthquake, if you're talking about a volcanic eruption or meteor shower, you can talk about climate change. our core curriculum patches more with climate than it does with astronomy, geology, and geography. if you're ok talking about those three, then you have every reason to be connecting the dots between climate change. as heidi mentioned, make sure you're up on the latest research. it is part of your job. amy: chris gloninger, thank you

for being with us, was the chief meteorologist for the cbs affiliate into one, iowa kcci-tv. ,he resigned on friday after receiving a series of death threats and harassing messages after he cover the climate crisis, now a senior climate scientist at the woods hole repr

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