several prominent writers, including michael ondaatje, teju cole, and rachel kushner, pulled out of the gala in opposition to what they called charlie hebdo's targeting of muslims and other persecuted communities. those writers and some 200 pen members also signed a letter of protest. calling the massacre "sickening and tragic," the letter says -- "pen is not simply conveying support for freedom of expression but also valorizing selectively offensive material: material that intensifies the anti-islamic, anti-arab sentiments already prevalent in the western world." in response, biard, the charlie hebdo editor, said -- "we have always been anti-racist, and we fight against all discrimination." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show with a new report based on testimonies of israeli soldiers that concludes the massive civilian death toll from last summer's israeli assault on gaz

. >> let's take this to the legal teju.ndrew nata our own gmailr we do, does the company, according to our handbook, they can look at that if they want to the next part is of question. >> they don't have the right to reveal the informing that they -- >> that's the next part. >> the fda is in a different position than our employers here at fox. the fda is the government and there's something called the fourth amendment which regulates what the government can look at and acquire and do with private information. the supreme court has not ruled on this you have the government, as an employer, which is entitled to know reasonably what it's employee are doing, you have a government against whom a whistle has been blown, and the government cannot retaliate, and then you have the government as the government which is subject to the fourth amendment. so all these competing forces, the hatts the fda is wearing, have yet to be addressed by the supreme court. >> federal judges ruled the employer can look at -- this is way accepted -- e

plus on "art beat," jeff talks to author teju cole about his new novel, "open city."hat and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> suarez: and again to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here, in silence, are eight more. >> brown: that last photograph was first lieutenant daren hidalgo. when we reported his death last month, we mistakenly gave his branch of service as the united states marine corps. he served in the u.s. army. we regret the error. >> suarez: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, we'll look at the latest on the damaged japanese nuclear reactors and safety concerns here in the u.s. i'm ray suarez. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. >> i

later, award-winning nigerian-american writer teju cole posted on his facebook -- "trump is a dangerousclown. but it is important to understand that his idea of "banning all muslims," scandalous as it is is far less , scandalous than the past dozen years of american disregard for non-american muslim lives. no american president in the past years has openly championed 14 islamophobia, but none has refrained from doing to muslims overas what would be unthinkable to do here to americans of any religion." beijing has issued its first-ever red alert for pollution, as china's capital city is engulfed in thick smog rife with poisonous chemicals that can make residents sick from simply stepping outside. the government has urged schools to close, and has ordered a halt on all outdoor construction work. in some beijing neighborhoods, residents can see only about six -- 600 feet ahead of them. beijing resident li teng spoke out. i think it is really scary. i guess the pollution is serious enough. amy: this comes as the western coast of norway experiences the worst flooding since record-keeping beg