i'm amy goodman. up to 7500 kurdish peshmerga forces backed by .u.s-led -- us-led warplanes have launched an offensive against the self-proclaimed islamic state in northern iraq. the offensive seeks to retake mount sinjar and surrounding areas from isil. last year, isil trapped tens of thousands of yazidi religious minorities on mount sinjar, prompting president obama to authorize airstrikes to prevent what he called a potential act of genocide. ultimately, hundreds of thousands of yazidis fled, and many were raped, murdered or , enslaved by isil. the offensive also seeks to sever a key isil supply route between syria and the isil-held iraqi city of mosul. in the afghan capital kabul, thousands of people marched through the streets wednesday carrying the coffins of seven ethnic hazara hostages beheaded by isil. the demonstrators called for the resignation of president ashraf ghani's government, accusing him of inadequately responding to violence against civilians in afghanistan. in the united states,

i'm amy goodman.e are broadcasting from paris, france, at the u.n. climate summit. more than half a million people took part in rallies around the world ahead of today's opening of the 21st united nations climate change summit here in paris. world leaders have arrived for two weeks of negotiations aimed at reaching an accord on global warming. in london, the musician and artist peter gabriel said -- and citizens around the world are calling out for a binding and just agreement. >> the politicians are becoming aware a lot of the people of the planet a really worried about this issue and really feel it is a serious threat. hopefully, they will respond. i think that is part of the aim of this march and these marches going on all over the world. amy: a major rally was canceled here after authorities banned public protests in the aftermath of the paris terror attacks but , tens of thousands of people formed a human chain stretching down the sidewalk for blocks. after the human chain action ended, thousands

i'm amy goodman. belgian authorities have arrested 16 people in a series of overnight raids as residents of the capital brussels remain locked in their homes. belgium has imposed the highest threat level for brussels as officials scour the city for salah abdeslam, a main suspect in the deadly attacks in paris. residents have been told to stay away from the windows as public transportation, schools and museums have all been shut down. the belgian federal prosecutor said abdeslam was not among those arrested in last night's raids. >> the federal prosecutions office in the brussels investigating specialized in terrorist cases ordered a total of 19 house searches in the brussels region. until now am a no firearms or explosives were found. among theslam is not persons arrested during the searches. amy: mali has begun three days of national mourning after 19 victims and two gunmen died in an assault on the radisson blu hotel friday in the capital bamako. six of the victims were malian while 13 were foreign

i'm amy goodman. russian authorities have confirmed a bomb brought down a passenger plane over the sinai peninsula in egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. the self-proclaimed islamic state had claimed responsibility for taking down the plane, calling it retaliation for russia's airstrikes in syria. russian officials say an examination of the wreckage confirms an improvised explosive device went off soon after the plane departed sharm el sheikh en route to st. petersburg. russian president vladimir putin vowed to intensify russian airstrikes in syria in response to the bombing. people inder of our sinai is one of the bloodiest by the number of victims of such crimes. we won't wipe off tears over our hearts and souls. it will stay with us forever. but that will not prevent us from finding and punishing the perpetrators. amy: france and the united states have also ramped up their airstrikes against isis in response to the attacks in paris that killed 129 people friday. in france and belgium

amy: u.s.ficials say they bombed the hospital in part because they thought it was under taliban control. doctors without borders general director christopher stokes rejected that claim saying there were no armed combatants on hospital grounds. from bothmbatants sides of the conflict were being treated inside. we were absolutely treating combatants who were government and opposition. choose our patients. if they're presented to us, we treat them. in treating wounded combatants is not a crime. being a doctor and a war zone is not punishable by airstrike. amy: for a more on the internal report from doctors without borders and its demand for an independent probe, we're joined by jason cone executive director , for doctors without borders. our condolences for the situation. can you tell us about this report and what you found? >> it is based on about 60 interviews with our staff who are in the hospital at the time of the attack. we wanted to convey as transparently as possible everything we knew abo

amy: has the u.s. drone program fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like isis? that's the conclusion of four former drone operators who are speaking out. they've issued a letter to president obama warning the u.s. drone program is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism. they accuse the administration of lying about the effectiveness of the drone program, saying it is good at killing people, just not the right ones. >> how do you feel if you can't it's iers as an excuse, obey the constitution regardless of lawful or unlawful orders. an lawful orders follow the constitution. and that is the hardest part. amy: the four u.s. drone operators are featured in a new film called "drone." they risk prosecution by an administration that has been unprecedented in its targeting of government whistleblowers. today, in a democracy now! exclusive, they join us in their first extended broadcast interview. but first, a hostage crisis is underway in mali. suspected islamist m

i'm amy goodman. the united nations says more than 200,000 refugees an migrants crossed in new york last month, the highest monthly total on record. more people made the dangerous crossing in october than in all of last year. over the course of the single day last month, more than 10,000 people arrived in greece. un officials said the record flow is expected to continue next year amid upheaval in syria, afghanistan, iraq and elsewhere. president obama has made his first public comments on his decision to deploy u.s. special operations forces to syria. speaking on nbc's nightly news , he defends his decision. >> we have run special ops already, and really, this is just an extension of what we're continuing to do. we are not putting u.s. troops on the front lines fighting firefights with isil. but i have been consistent throughout that we are not going to be fighting like we did in battalions and occupations. that doesn't solve the problem. amy: the israeli military has shut down every of station in the

amy: a.c.on, the information you have gathered, is this going to cause the reopening of these terrorists o. his stories were all but forgotten. we murders? >> you know, i have no idea. i certainly think there are new leads should anyone want to follow them, there is no information. amy: we will have part two of this conversation online at democracynow.org. i want to thank a.c. thompson and rick rowley for this remarkable documentary that aired on frontline, "terror in little saigon." that does it for our broadcast. 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!] >> every time i cook lentils, i'm transported to italy. and today, you know what? i'm taking you with me. and along the way, we'll have some cheese gnocchis and some other goodies. so, get ready and come with me. [theme music playing]

i'm amy goodman. tuesday was no election day the united states as voters decided ballot initiatives and elected city and state leaders. in one of the most closely watched races, to party favorite matt bevin won the governor's race in kentucky, becoming just the second republican to hold the post in more than 40 years. in houston, texas, voters repealed a city council measure barring dissemination over factors including sexual orientation and gender identity. in ohio, voters rejected a measure that would have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. many legalization advocates ended up opposing the effort because it called for getting wealthy investors who funded the campaign the exclusive rights to growing commercial marijuana in ohio. in san francisco, voters rejected a measure to limit short-term rentals which would have restricted the website airbnb. more local and state elections after the headlines. war-torn yemen has been battered by a tropical cyclone, marking the first time in rec

i'm amy goodman. in a major policy shift, the white house has announced a team of special operations forces they say numbering less than 50 will be sent in to syria. this marks the first sustained u.s. troop presence in syria since president obama launched a bombing campaign against islamic state in september 2014. announcing the move friday, white house press secretary josh earnest tonight it marks a shift in strategy. >> the president did make a decision by offering a small number of u.s. special operations military personnel to offer them some advice and assistance on the ground as they take the fight to isil. is an intensification of a strategy that the president announced more than year ago. amy: meanwhile in a wreck, the united nations has violence killed more than 700 iraqis in october, an increase over the previous month. of the 714 killed, 559 were -- all but 150 54 civilians. more after headlines. a british newspaper is reporting officials under former british prime minister tony blair were

amy: your father is from? >> denmark. amy: you speak danish, swedish?once you learn a couple as a kid -- we can talk about politics and talk about facts. sometimes, as i said, this book "twilight of empire," has not only essays and reports from that moment in 2003, but there also poems by different people. i have a pullman here. in here. a pull them i'll to the liberty of reading it. sometimes you can say things with a poem in a different way. this was written in 2003 right at the point of the invasion or just before it in february 2003. it takes place in iraq or what used to be babylon, that part of the world that is traversed by you'reers tigris and afraid he's called back to babylon. . why briefly return to play unbroken places to mock the ground, to collect entered shards, coins, fossils were the familiar empty canisters and casings that went from poisoned roots in the blackened dust believebad ghost and we we too will fade as her acrid smoke and strange flakes of skin and strains of here will into largely undocumented extinction, lie down, lie down

i'm amy goodman. in france today, at least seven people have been detained and two have been killed after a series of gun battles and a police raid on an apartment in a northern suburb of paris. authorities said the operation targeted a belgian man accused of masterminding the paris attacks that killed 129 people friday. abdelhamid abaaoud was initially said to be in syria. early this morning, french police stormed an apartment in st. denis, where a woman reportedly killed herself by detonating a suicide vest. a second suspect was killed, reportedly from gunfire and a grenade. at the time of this broadcast, authorities say it's unclear whether abaaoud was in the apartment. french interior minister discussed the operation. since 4:00 this morning, french special forces police have carried out an operation to neutralize terrorists. seven people were arrested. two people have died, including a woman by explosives. amy: five police officers were wounded and a police dog was killed in the hours-long operat

i'm amy goodman. oil giant exxon mobil is under criminal investigation over claims it lied to the public and investors about the risks of climate change. new york attorney general eric schneiderman has issued a subpoena to exxon demanding the company turn over financial records, e-mails, and other documents. this comes after recent exposÉs by insideclimate news and the "los angeles times" revealed that for decades, exxon concealed its own findings that fossil fuels cause global warming, alter the climate and melt the arctic ice. exxon scientists knew about climate change as early as 1977. but beginning in the 1980's, the company openly embraced climate denial and spent millions of dollars funding outside groups that sought to undermine climate science. bill mckibbon of 350.org praised the new york probe, tweeting -- "just a remarkable day. world's most powerful fossil fuel company may actually be held to account for helping wreck our planet." legal experts say other oil companies who've promoted clima

i'm amy goodman.france has entered a third day of mourning after a string of suicide bombings and shootings killed 129 people friday and it was the deadliest attack on french soil since world war ii. hundreds more were wounded. 99, critically. in a series of coordinate attacks friday evening, gunmen and bombers targeted restaurants , the national soccer stadium, and the product line concert hall where at least 89 people were killed. authorities have blamed the attacks on the supper claimed islamic state in retaliation france launched its heaviest airstrikes yet against the syrian city of raqqa which has long served as isisl's defacto capital. electricity has been knocked out. national security adviser ben rhodes said the united states would join france in intensifying airstrikes. >> what we maker to the french is we will be shoulder to shoulder with them in this response. our military campaign already. clearly, they want to energize efforts. there's a two star general who has there to help the coronat

amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! i was standing and suddenly saw an explosion, then i could not feel an glass was falling on me. but what exploded, i don't know. afterwards, another explosion happened. amy: the islamic state has claimed responsibility for a double suicide attack in lebanon that killed 43 people. we will speak with rami khouri and with journalist nick turse on your special operations from syria to africa. his new book, "tomorrow's battlefield: u.s. proxy wars and secret ops in africa." then, in a week that began with a victorious revolt by african-american students at the university of missouri and brought solidarity protests on campuses around the country, a similar protest has erupted at ithaca college in upstate new york. >> all over the nation, both on and off college campuses, we have seen young and old fighting against injustice. we stand here in solidarity stop our hearts are heavy with the pain of mizzou and yale in every person on college canvases simply because of the color of their skin, th

i'm amy goodman. university of missouri president tim wolfe has resigned after mass protests over his handling of racism on campus. for weeks, african-american students staged demonstrations over what they called a lax response to racial slurs and vandalism. graduate student jonathan butler went on hunger strike last week. in a key moment saturday, african-american football players joined the protest, vowing to boycott games and other team activities until the president resigned. faculty members staged a walkout, and the missouri students association, representing 27,000 undergraduates, called for wolfe's resignation. he announced his departure at a news conference. >> i ask everybody, the students, the faculty, the staff, to my friends -- everybody, use the resignation to heal and to start talking again, to make the changes necessary and let's focus on changing what we can change today and in the future. amy: the university of missouri columbia campus chancellor bowen loftin also stepped down. protes

amy: my gosh. the lengths that one man went to in order to fly by one of the most iconic gifts we've ever received from france. sean: quarter past 6:00 on this sunday morning. with your forecast. josh: many places are in the 20's. so if you're headed outdoors early today you'll need to bundle up. a bit nippy out there. the temperatures will get milder through the day and a bit of a better day. out there at the moment. a lot of 20's and 30's. it's not a whole lot different from place to place around the state. one of the cooler spots, nashua at 27. keene at 25 and of course, we can't forget atop mount degrees. here is the wind not like they were yesterday. that's the good news. they will be breezy at times and you may see the occasional gusts and we'll see the gusts in the higher terrain this morning and after sunrise, we'll see these so, yeah, it will be breezy today, but, again, nothing like what we saw yesterday. here is a few of those clouds that have rolled through the region overnight, but wak

i'm amy goodman. turkish military officials say they have shot down a russian military aircraft after warning its pilots they were violating turkish airspace. russia denies the plane violated turkish airspace. syrian rebels say at least one of the pilots is dead after boat ejected before the crash. the belgian capital brussels remains shut down as soldiers and tanks patrol the streets. belgian authorities continue to search for salah abdeslam, a suspect in the paris attacks that killed 130 people on november 13. while subways and schools are set to reopen wednesday, brussels is expected to remain on the highest level of alert through the week. belgian prime minister charles michel said the threat continues, although he did not say exactly what the threat was. >> what we were facing yesterday, the potential targets are the same as yesterday, too. i remind you, these are highly frequented places such as shopping areas, shopping streets, shopping centers, and public transports. amy: in neighboring france

-amy: hi, i'm amy. lemonis: amy. how are you? lady: i'm so glad you're wearing jeans. -lemonis: you didn't think i would come to a jean bar with jeans? lady: belly up. lemonis: so, what's "belly up" mean? lady: our slogan is, "you belly up to the bar, and we'll cover your ass." when someone walks in, we always say, "belly up to the bar, and we'll help you." so you basically tell the jean tenders, these lovely folks, how you like your jeans to fit. amy: so you tell me straight cut, bootcut, relaxed, darker or lighter, and then what size you think you are, and i can help guide you to, like, the best-fitting jean. lady: the basic premise of the store is that you can't, you know, touch the jeans without us. lemonis: do they actually say to the people, "you can't touch the jeans without us"? -lady: yeah. -amy: mm-hmm. lady: they can't walk behind the bar. lemonis: okay. amy: hi, ladies. welcome in. lemonis: have you guys shopped here before? woman: i pop in every once in a while. you know, i just live down the street. lemonis: have you done this whole, like, "belly up to th