developments around. the future are ever. coming up on our team going for the gold another day at the sochi winter games is around. who is bringing home a medal we'll give you the latest results from sochi. and u.s. senator graham susan these surveillance states the senator files a class action lawsuit against president obama and top security officials more in the fight for attacks on american civil liberties coming up. and a florida case over the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager draws to a close both sides elaborate closing arguments in the trial of the man accused of firing several shots into a car over at loud music an update on the trial later in the show.

it's wednesday february twelfth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall you're watching r.t. america the two hundred fourteen olympic games are in full swing in sochi it's day five competitions here's a round up of today's winners germany is currently leading the gold medal tally with six and has a grand total. of overall medals eight overall medals that is also bringing home multiple medals canada norway the netherlands along with the u.s. and russia are two correspondent paul scott is in sochi with the latest on the games. well the big winner on day five certainly from a home fans point of view was russia in the figure skating they continued their dominance of that event with

a gold and silver medal in the pads event now the gold medal went to the world and european champions tatiana dollars as. of now they had the lead at the halfway stage after they put in a world record performance in the short program on tuesday evening and they followed that up on wednesday with another remarkable and fullest display in the free program to secure the gold medal and they were clearly visibly overcome by the emotion of it all at the end of their performance which raised the roof inside the iceberg skating palace the more their team mates could send you still by the federal claim of came in second so it was almost a clean sweep for russia germany got the bronze but these medals that i added to the gold that russia have already won in the figure skating they secured gold in the team event over the course of the weekend and with this gold and silver is very much seems that in terms of figure skating russia very much the nation to catch. well elsewhere there was bitter disappointment for american athletes on day five

and one of the biggest stars of these games one of the biggest attractions for fans is twenty seven year old snowboarder shaun white but the two time defending champion lost his crown in the snowboard halfpipe he didn't even claim a medal coming in in fourth place he pulled out of the slope style to concentrate on this event so afterwards he said the moment wouldn't be career defining the gold medal in that went to a year or a cough also it was a pretty disappointing day for another american star in shani davis and he was going to try and make history in the one thousand meters speed skating event in the outlet arena how did he won the gold medal then he'd be the first time that anyone has won three consecutive gold medals in the same event at three consecutive olympic games however he was well off the pace in. the end coming in in eighth place so really disappointing day for many american athletes but the excitement is building ahead of the men's hockey competition of course there's going to be an

expectant home crowd russia playing on home ice and is going to be many many nations experts are saying there are many nations who could win the olympic gold medal this time around from sweden to russia to canada and of course the usa now the. men's hockey competition has actually started on wednesday with some preliminary matches but russia's first game comes against slovakia tomorrow on thursday and this is an interesting discussion of course because the n.h.l. is currently on a break to allow the players who play in the n.h.l. to come here to sochi and participate in the winter olympics but there's a tool that that might not happen and in four years time the n.h. a month no allow their players to go on a break so that's something that's up for discussion but in terms of the action russia and america their first match begins on thursday. thousand r.t.s. paul scott reporting from sochi. back here in the u.s.

a fight against the n.s.a. kentucky senator rand paul today filed a lawsuit against president obama and top security officials over the agency's surveillance program sen paul believes these firing program and fringes on citizens fourth amendment rights are to correspondent america david has more on behalf of myself freedom works and everyone in america that has a phone we are filing suit against the president of the united states in defense of the fourth amendment today senator rand paul finally did what he had been threatening to do for months senator paul officially filed a class action lawsuit against the obama administration the national security agency and a host of others regarding a u.s. surveillance program that collects information on millions of u.s. citizens at a press conference here today paula spoke about the magnitude of this case this we believe will be a historic lawsuit we think it may well be the largest class action lawsuit ever

filed on behalf of the bill of rights we've had three hundred eighty six thousand and twenty six people show an interest in having their records for checked for the last few months potential class action signatories have been volunteering to be a part of the lawsuit signing up through websites like the political action committee web site rand pac and through another website called defend the fourth dot com another group that has been trying to push support for the suit is a libertarian organization called freedom works now matt kidd be the president of freedom works is also a plaintiff in this lawsuit along with senator rand paul now it's important to note that this case will be focusing only on the n.s.a.'s surveillance of phone metadata not e-mail communications and the court will not be looking at whether section two hundred. of the patriot act is constitutional rather it will be focusing on whether

the n.s.a.'s controversial program falls in line with the fourth amendment we will ask the question in court whether a single warrant can apply to the records of every american phone user all of the without limits without individualisation ken cuccinelli virginia's former attorney general is serving as the lead counsel for the case he says this trial will be different from the federal case late last year in which a judge ruled that the n.s.a.'s mass collection of phone data is constitutional here's what he had to say most times this question has been addressed overwhelmingly it has been on what's called an ex parte basis that means there was no one to argue the other side there was no one there to defend the constitution vigorously cuccinelli went on to say that this would be one of the rare occasions when we have a debate in front of a judge who will then be able to make that ultimate decision both cuccinelli and

senator rand paul said they were very optimistic this case would go to the supreme court but that it could take several years before it reaches that level in washington david. meanwhile sates are doing their part to fight against n.s.a. surveillance in maryland the home of the n.s.a. a group of state congressmen introduced a bill that would literally pull the plug on government spying they would do this by cutting off water electricity and other utilities to the federal agency it's called the fourth amendment protection act and its supporters say the bills and up blocking the n.s.a. from tracking citizens in the states the bill prohibit sado offices and employees from engaging in certain activities relating to the collection of certain electronic data or metadata of a person and it doesn't stop in maryland that's legit legislation like this in the works in other states like washington you tell and missouri for more of the state's

fight i spoke earlier with shah had tar be executive director of the bill of rights defense committee in maryland in utah in particular it would have a special force because the bill essentially denies state resources to the n.s.a. and in the states where the n.s.a. has data centers like maryland like you saw that would include pulling the plug on public utilities like the water that uses to cool the servers amounting to two million gallons per day in the utah bluffdale utah data center as well as the electricity that they used to power the servers so even while congress decides what to do and the courts decide what to do when the president continues to step closer you know one hopes towards the positions he espouses as a campaign candidate back in two thousand and eight the states can take matters into their own hands and that's exactly what we're seeing in maryland you saw at a dozen other states around the corner and as you had mentioned maryland is a big hub for the n.s.a. they are based at the headquarters of the court need that's right so what is the

particular significance of this bill happening in maryland where the n.s.a. primarily operates i mean we've seen various states adopt similar legislation or think about in acting this kind of legislation it's got to have even more of a low. fact in maryland to describe it in metaphor if domestic surveillance is a dragon and the effort to fight it in cities is one scale at a time and congress is chopping off its head going after the n.s.a. data centers in maryland and utah is like taking a swipe at the juggler and we could quite easily i think to be extent those states see fit to step forward stop this sordid enterprise whether or not the washington institutions wake up and remember what the fourth about it means going for the juggler as you put it a bill like this now was vetoed it as i understand in california so it's hard to get laws like this pass is it more of a symbolic move or what do you think i don't think it's symbolic at all what it actually will cue up with to my knowledge there hasn't been a veto of this bill anywhere in the country there might have been

a similar bill in a different era but the particular challenge that bills like this will face are lawsuits alleging federal supremacies with respect to foreign policy they'll say that the n.s.a. is a foreign policy instruments that states don't have the authority to make their own foreign policy and that's certainly true but whether or not states have the authority to direct their own public utilities is a pretty settled question and there's no actual legitimate argument that would suggest that the federal government has the right to commandeer those state resources so it actually pits like most constitutional law to very compelling interest against each other the state's plenary authority over its resources against federal supremacies with respect to matters left by the constitution and federal and left out of that equation and what i think will resolve those issues ultimately is the forgotten relevance of the fourth amendment which quite simply makes this government enterprise illegal in the first instance and so the states taking action to advance constitutional principles will be interpreted very differently by a court than a state taking action to restrict. its these are very concerned fourth amendment

concerns that these states are are trying to bring to the forefront here meanwhile a panel of privacy expert that reviewed the n.s.a. surveillance program testified before a senate committee here in washington. not too long ago it's a panel of members of the privacy and civil liberties oversight board they took questions from senators about their findings want to take a less listen to a member of this group rachel brad and. this program has been operating for years that's been the subject of numerous judicial opinions that will feel like out of it will ultimately be resolved in cases that are currently pending in the courts it just struck me as gratuitous an unnecessary to also say the program is illegal because it has a very demoralizing and negative effect on the intelligence community you know you want your intelligence agencies to aggressively protect the national security within the bounds of the law you don't want them to be timid and be scared of the rug being pulled out from under them. and this is an argument that we heard from

senators today saying that this board while they should provide some oversight might have gone too far and it's not really there are really not to discuss or find our rule on the legality of it what do you think every think those senators and there's a brand should probably read the nine eleven commission report the recommended the creation of this board to do exactly that i think they're making this argument because they're uncomfortable with what the board has decided and what the board has decided is the same thing that the founders of our country decided two hundred fifty years ago which was that mass surveillance is not american it's that simple actually it's not a particularly complicated question and the p.c.l. will be was well within its ambit of its institutional authority and reaching a conclusion about the legality of these programs and correctly deciding that they can't possibly comply with the fourth of the interesting mr retired great to have you a lot of that wish i had the entire the executive director of the bill of rights defense committee. outrage over the n.s.a.

surveillance program not just happening in the us it's happening throughout europe the european parliament called for increased protection of citizens private data members are also calling for more protection for whistleblowers and journalists are to use poly boyko has more so this is a pretty thorough document it's looking into the scale of mass surveillance in europe in fact this is the first as a parliamentary inquiry into the n.s.a. scandal but has been a major bone of contention and that's to what extent edward snowden should figure in it there's been wrangling over whether the whistleblower should testify to the committee that is responsible for the report considering he leaked this information in the first place it would make sense but conservatives in the european parliament are against it while edward snowden's lawyers say that he's willing to testify via video link then there's the issue of watching m.e.p. he's rejected a proposed amendment that would call on e.u.

governments to assure snowden of his safety if he were to come to europe there was also reportedly a line calling on the u.s. not to prosecute edward snowden which also didn't make the cut instead the report will call for international protection for whistleblowers but it won't mention snowden by name asshole well the german green politician who was gunning for the snowden amendments to stay has said that it's ridiculous that he's been left in the lurch considering that edward snowden is the reason that the world knows about global surveillance in the first place that was ordered to use poly boyko. new developments in the so-called loud music case in florida the jury heard closing arguments today in the trial against michael dunn the man you see there accused of shooting seventeen year old jordan davis to death inside an s.u.v. dunn is accused of murdering the teen over at loud music the suspect has testified

that it was all in self-defense his lawyer told the jury today that deadly force is justifiable if dunn believed he was acting to protect himself and the laws in the state of florida. is if you who reasonably believe that. you have to find michael dunn not guilty of every cow in the indictment every lesser included you don't even start your discussion if they met their burden of beyond reasonable doubt but the prosecution argues that there was no reason for done to think he was in danger when defendant shot and killed jordan davis there was no gun in that the rainbow there was no sign that there was no bag there was no like hi. there was no gun artie's nicolas o'donovan joined us earlier with more on this controversial murder trial and what happened

inside the courtroom. well it was day nine day of closing arguments in the markel dunn trial we heard prosecutors say that the dunn the shooting was just simply a target practice prosecutor erin wolfson was in charge of deliver in the state's closing argument and she said that when michael dunn pull up to the s.u.v. with jordan davis and his friends were as you said listen to music his blood literally started to boil obviously the state is trying to depict a picture of michael dunn where he was some way triggered by some sort of irrational hate towards a certain kind of person all that there was some sort of premeditation in his actions on the other hand dunn's lawyers depiction the forty seven year old as a love in caring father that was literally scared to death and acted in self defense therefore very different stories that we heard today in jacksonville let's

talk about the evidence that we've heard throughout this case as it comes to a close knit the last because as we had mentioned dunn maintains that he opened fire because he felt that his life was threatened does the avid and back that out. well actually that is the essential question here and in self-defense cases the line is extremely thin how can we know if he really saw something that looked like a gun and feared for his life we would never know that although we have to say that the medical evidence presented in court suggest that jordan davis died in the car in a defensive position the truth is that when done himself testified he told the court that he thought that he saw a gun in the vehicle where jordan and his friends were all the asleep we now know the police never found a gun in all near the vehicle although it is true that that vehicle left off lead the seed right after the shooting and basically dunn's version is that you know he

asked the teens to turn down their rap music and it all escalated from there literally michael dunn said the jury in this. exchange with jordan it was always jordan davis who kept escalating the situation to the point where he had no you know choice and this is very important no choice but to defend himself and it was basically a life or death situation and convict ed what sentence is done a thing. well if the racially diverse jury formed by ten women in six men finally find michael dunn guilty of first degree murder will he obviously faces up to life in prison dunn also faces three counts of attempted first degree murder related to the other three teenagers that were with jordan davis but survived the shooting one of them was severely injured so as i say he's facing life in prison right again this is the same state where the very

controversial trayvon martin trial took place and we saw a strong reaction from the community there really come together in protest nicholas what reaction are you seeing on the ground there to the death of jordan davis. well there very two similar cases we are starting to see protests outside the courthouse in jacksonville i remember well the coverage of the reactions after that trayvon martin very ticked and i can tell you there was an outrage when george zimmerman was acquitted the truth is that it's inevitable to link both cases both in florida both involve a seven year old african-american kids apparently unarmed being shot by middle aged men the feeling is well that there is a problem down here in florida the question now is is it a social problem is it a racial one is a legal problem stand your ground law has been linked to almost twenty six deaths

of minors since it passed down here in the state of florida many opposed the law we also heard attorney general eric holder say after the trayvon martin case that the stand your ground law is basically a dangerous expansion of the concept of self-defense others like seeing a stevie wonder said he will not perform in the state of florida until the stand your ground law comes to an end and certainly it's hard not to draw those parallels between these two cases nicholas appreciate you staying on top of this that was artie's nicholas o'donovan there you and the u.s. are mulling what could become the world's largest free trade agreement they're discussing the transatlantic trade and investment partnership treaty as artie's marine corps and i reports deal could lead to governments falling into corporate pockets. tonight i'm announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership with the european

union because trade that is fair and free across the atlantic supports millions of good paying american jobs. grand promises minus any explanation it's been one year since the us president announced the establishment of a transatlantic free trade agreement known as taft they have been negotiated in total secrecy away from the congress and the people. the bit about six hundred corporate executives corporate lobbyists. negotiating the deal with the united states trade representative. with the other countries sweeping u.s. surveillance has cast a cloud over negotiations as germany threatened to pull out outraged over washington snooping on its european partners but if the free trade treaty actually goes through it promises both sides of the atlantic massive gains of up to one hundred fifty nine billion dollars as more exports are expected to create more jobs

but the profits could come at a cost to citizens critics say the treaty would get rid of policies put in place to protect the people danger here is that this will amount to deregulation that basically will be a race to the bottom and health and safety standards will be diminished in an attempt to create some kind of huge market with the same standards for example genetically modified foods are not labeled in the u.s. while in europe it's mandatory but in the name of free transatlantic trade any regulations against jim rose is an impediment to trade and therefore. simply no longer coal they're simply removed by the trade agreements so then europe is ordinarily open. to g.m. . regardless of what the european b was under the treaty cars and pharmaceutical drugs could reportedly i'd up being tested only once by the exporting country

instead of the current standard of dual testing be it fracking banking or flying taft critics argue will leave governments with no choice but to change policies that better suit the business needs of private corporate power and what their hope is is to have to find the lowest common denominator between the u.s. and and the standards that then make it more easy for there to be quote unquote trade big call our regulations and our standards that birds. health and safety trade irritants they're called as opposed to barriers and and we believe that those many of those standards are there for very good reason public support for safety standards and regulation may be the very reason american and european citizens have been kept in the dark about what may turn out to be the world's largest free trade agreement. r.t. new york. fare

a vegetarian fast food joints don't have much to offer you an online petition is calling on mcdonald's to change that so it's a president looks out why this petition is growing so quickly. on the web site change dot org there is now a petition that calls for mcdonald's to add a vegetarian option to the menu according to kathy freston the wellness expert and the get out there behind the petition adding a vegetarian option to the mcdonald's menu care end quote benefit millions of americans looking to buy heart disease and obesity and according to change dot org

wraps it's one of their fastest growing help related petition. because the liberties are telling us about it alicia silverstone russell simmons kevin eubanks and pam anderson are all of the people who have asked us to sign it the island ungenerous show posted a link to it p. there is tweeting about it of course yes go fight heart disease at mcdonald's people may die alone as the cure for obesity that plus the aleutian just listen to all of these celebrities and mcdonald's and your life will be healthy. has anyone told these geniuses that you can eat list at mcdonald's already you can easily order a salad without the chicken or just order the regular salad but has no meat in it you can order apples places and yogurt parfaits than fish sandwiches if you're one of those kinds of vegetarians and over my god why are we even talking about this because you know how to eat healthy at mcdonald's don't eat at mcdonald's you know

how to fight heart disease and obesity at mcdonald's don't eat at mcdonald's because no. what mcdonald's puts on this menu it's going to be crappy when they add salads they use iceberg lettuce which has hardly any nutrients in it when they add apples places they peel the nutritious skins right off and add preservatives so if they're going to add a stupid veggie burgers on the menu you can rest assured it's not going to be healthy it's going to be all like g.m.o. porn filler those people are encouraging mcdonald's to fake being healthy when in reality i think donald is a real blight on the planet the only way mcdonald's is going to improve our health is for us to stop eating there altogether so we can shut them down. tonight let's talk about that by following me on twitter at the resident.

music is sometimes used to soothe the soul but there is a prayer instances that it's used for torture abby martin interviewed one artist who found out their music was used to torture inmates at guantanamo bay abby this group skinny puppy tell us about your interview with them so the lead vocalist ogre . i found out that he's actually a huge fan of the show shark and you know if i covered the fact that they had sent a literal invoice of the u.s. government up they found out that their music was use of torture inmates and i had him on the show it was an amazing interview he just talked about what they felt like and what they did in response to finding that out let's hear from him. we're going to do an album where we actually researched all the frequencies for torture do a narrative of the songs and then have aspects with

a booklet that would say ok now put the hood over the water to start music you know and then we're going to insert not subliminals and different dialects pashtoon whatever saying things like you know although this music sounds horrible and terrible and scary please understand that in our country it's used to fight the very same story. amazing their i mean he's talking about how they wanted to put all these subliminal messages in the in the album and what i found out through this is it wasn't just that that sparked them to be political they had been political for decades they're actually one of the pioneers of the genre called industrial music and they have this huge cult following and they really just insert political imagery and political symbolism and every single one of their albums to call attention to a variety of issues i went to their show last night they gave us a shout out on the show you know like that in march and i got a break in the set everyone check it out ok there's an amazing television interview about this subject it's incredible everyone check it out tomorrow it will air at six pm on right definitely looking forward to it thanks out

a thank you those that were breaking the set host abby martin. that's going to do a for now i'm live all have a great night. wealthy british style. tight. market why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max keiser for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report.