i'm juan gonzalez filling in for amy goodman. nato supply convoys have resumed in pakistan after the u.s. finally apologized for a deadly attack that occurred last year. pakistan had barred the nato trucks that carry supplies for the afghan war after u.s. forces killed 24 pakistani troops in november. on tuesday, the obama administration dropped its longstanding refusal to apologize, ending a more than seven-month standoff. the pakistani information minister said the apology had met pakistan's demands. >> america has accepted pakistan's principled stand on an apology and has agreed to work in unison with pakistan in the war against terrorism they have declared in the future pakistan's sovereignty will not be compromised. they also reaffirmed the respect pakistan's sovereignty. >> these were pakistan's demands, which have been accepted. >> the first nato trucks entered afghanistan from pakistan earlier today. in washington, state department spokesperson victoria nuland appeared to downplay the apology, saying both sides had expres

i'm amy goodman. at least 14 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in a mass shooting at a movie theater outside denver. a gunman wearing a gas mask and bulletproof vest set off what appeared to be a smoke bomb before opening fire at random. police say the suspect is in custody and that he's believed to have acted alone. the attack came at a screening of the new batman film in the denver suburb of aurora. 10 people reportedly died at the scene and four later succumbed to their injuries and the hospital. a number of the wounded are in critical condition. it was the worst mass shooting in the u.s. since the killings of 32 people at virginia tech five years ago. we'll have more on the store after the headlines. syrian rebels continue to make gains on the regime of bashar al-assad, seizing a number of border crossings with neighboring iraq and turkey. opposition fighters overrun government forces at two major crossings, including one controlling the vital trade route on the damascus to baghdad

i'm amy goodman. a suicide bomber has struck a meeting of top syrian officials in damascus, killing a number people, dealing a blow to the regime of president bashar al-assad read the defense minister, general daoud rajha, along with al-assad's brother- in-law. the head of the national security office has also been reportedly wounded and possibly dead. we will have more on syria after the headlines. the bombing follows days of clashes between government forces and rebels around damascus and comes as the nation security council is set to vote today and a new measure responding to the overall crisis. at talks with russia have faltered over whether to include a reference to chapter 7 of the u.n. charter, which could ultimately pave the way for military force. and it's the worsening fighting, john ging of the u.n.'s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs issued a new appeal for aid. >> we face a lot of obstacles in the efforts to meet the needs of the people. we face tremendous political obst

i'm amy goodman. intense clashes are reported across the syrian capital of damascus in one day after the bombing that killed three members of president bashar al- assad's inner circle, including his defense secretary and brother-in-law. damascus residents say some of the fighting is within sight of the presidential palace and government headquarters. more on syria after the headlines. at least five israeli citizens were killed in bulgaria on wednesday when a bomb detonated on their bus. it was the latest in a number of attacks targeting israeli tourists in foreign countries over the years. speaking in israel, the israeli defense minister pointed the finger at iran. >> several hours ago, there is a terrorist attack on an israeli tourist bus. several people were killed and dozens were wounded. this is clearly a terrorist attack initiated by probably hezbollah, hamas, jiabao, or any other group the last jihad, or any other group either from iran or other muslim groups. >> iran has denied involvement in t

i'm amy goodman. samangan of forces are continuing their bombardment of the city of aleppo ahead of a widely expected all-out assault to uproot rebel fighters. hundreds of troops are said to have massed on the city's outskirts as syrian gunships pound several neighborhoods. rebel forces have launched attacks on army checkpoints around the city. a number of people were reported dead in clashes on thursday, the exact amount is impossible to verify. in washington, state department spokesperson victoria nuland said the u.s. fears a new massacre in aleppo will occur. >> the concern is we will see a massacre in aleppo, and that is what the regime appears to be lining up for. aleppo, as you said, has been bombarded by syrian fighter jets. it is the latest desperate effort of the al-assad regime to hold on to control. there are credible reports of tanks prepared to attack the city. >> a new study is warning intense summer thunderstorms are posing a major threat to the ozone layer. scientists at harvard univer

i'm amy goodman. protests have erupted in spain over a massive new package of spending cuts and tax hikes to obtain the rest of the country's banks. in an address to parliament, the spanish prime minister unveiled an austerity package of nearly $80 billion involving a new sales tax and cuts to public spending. he said the measures were demanded by the european union as a condition for an emergency bailout of spain's banks agreed to on tuesday. egypt's top court has blocked egyptian president morsi's order for the country's parliament to reconvene. on tuesday, the supreme constitutional court affirmed a previous decision to declare the parliament unconstitutional, ruling that prompted egypt's military rulers to dissolve the parliament last month. the ruling came hours after egypt's parliamentary -- parliament defiantly convened a brief session and approved a measure to seek legal advisor on how to respond. after the latest decision was handed down, thousands of morsi supporters gathered outside parliam

i'm amy goodman. a senate report has found lax controls and an adequate oversight allowed mexican drug cartels and firms linked to terrorism to use the banking giant hsbc to funnel money into the united states. of the report found loose protections at hsbc's u.s. unit provided a "gateway for terrorists to gain access to u.s. dollars and u.s. financial system." among other allegations, the bank reportedly supplied $1 billion to a firm whose founder has ties to al qaeda. hsbc is also accused of shipping billions in cash from mexico to the united states, despite warnings the money was coming from drug cartels. the report friends rampant violations at hsbc as part of a larger problem of illegal money entering the united states for international financial firms. in addition to hsbc, legislators called it a top u.s. bank regulators for failing to popular monitor the bang. -- to properly monitor the bank. it said lax government oversight has helped fuel financial wrongdoing. the report on hsbc comes amid wid

i'm amy goodman. forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad are being accused of a new massacre, with more than 150 civilians reportedly killed in the province of hama. the killings reportedly occurred in the village name to tremseh, with some reports saying up to two other 20 people died. it would be the worst attack inside syria since pro- government forces were accused of killing more than 100 civilians in houla in may. the reported new massacre has boosted calls for the united nations security council to pass a binding measure in syria threatening new sanctions and potential military action under chapter seven of the u.n. charter. speaking during a visit to cambodia, secretary state clinton called on russia to join international pressure on syria. >> the regime is struggling to hold onto large parts of the country, so we to look to the security council and all of its members, including russia, to join us in a serious resolution that gives special envoy kofi annan what he needs. >> more than

i'm amy goodman. at least 25 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in a car bombing in the iraqi city of diwaania. crowdedack targeted a crowd o market. with sectarian attacks on the rise, at least 237 people were killed in iraq last month, making june 1 of the bloodiest since u.s. forces withdrew late last year. syrian president bashar al-assad has expressed regret for the downing of a turkish air jet that stoked tensions with neighboring turkey last month. speaking to a turkish newspaper, al-assad said he will not allow the incident to escalate into combat between the two countries. in other syria news, dozens of members of syria's opposition met in cairo on monday to formulate a new transition from al-assad's rule. syrian rebels boycotted the gathering, calling it a potential front for foreign intervention. syrian forces meanwhile continue to bombard the damascus suburb of douma with heavy shelling. at the united nations, navi pillay said the arming of both sides of the syrian conflict i

i'm amy goodman. shooting suspect james holmes has been charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder for the killings of 12 people at a movie theater in aurora, colorado earlier this month iran had also left 58 people wounded, several critically, for which james holmes faces 116 counts of attempted murder. on monday, he made the second court appearance since the massacre, with shooting survivors and relatives of the slain victims in attendance. prosecutors have yet to announce whether they'll seek the but a penalty. a pretrial hearing has been set for late september. syrian government troops and rebel forces are engaged in intense fighting as the battle for aleppo continues for a fourth day. both sides have authored -- offered conflicting recounts with the syrian military claiming to have retaken several rebel-held areas. overnight shelling in many neighborhoods. government forces are again being accused of targeting international monitors after a convoy carrying the head of the observer mission was

i'm amy goodman. the nine nations failed to meet a deadline on friday for the first-ever global agreement regulating the arms trade. hopes had been raised for a last-minute deal, but the negotiations collapsed without the required consensus. arms control advocates heavily criticized the obama administration, which demanded a number of exemptions and ultimately said it needed more time to review the proposals. white house officials had cited the need to protect second met rights in the u.s., despite u.n. assurances the treaty text would not interfere. in a statement, amnesty international usa said the u.s. had shown stunning cowardice adding -- the u.s. is now under new pressure to revive the talks to reach a deal before the u.n. general assembly this fall. and the macdonald of oxfam said enough progress has been made to fuel hopes for an eventual agreement. >> it goes without saying the increased use of heavy weapons, reportedly even jet fighters, has already caused many civilian casualties and with m

i'm amy goodman. syrian troops continue to bombard areas of the city of aleppo in the sixth day of clashes with rebel forces. the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad has faced accusations of indiscriminate attacks as it seeks to reclaim rebel strongholds. syrian activists say nationwide violence killed 108 people wednesday, more than half of them civilians. the head of the u.n. peacekeeping said international monitors are struggling to carry out their mission before it expires next month. >> as you know, about half the observers, for the time being, have been sent back to their country, so the commission operates on a reduced basis. it is reduced in numbers, and does what it can, but of course, taking into account the security situation, which in many places, is extremely delicate. >> a government forecast says the worst u.s. drought and about a half century will drive up the cost of food next year. and in a production, the department of agriculture says food prices will climb 3% to 4%, with th

i'm amy goodman. president obama has renewed his spat with republicans of the bush-^ tax cuts, calling on congress to approve a one-year extension only for those making under $250,000 a year. obama said the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans should expire. >> we believe it is time to let the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans, folks like myself, to expire. i am calling on congress to extend the tax cuts for the 98% of americans who make less than $250,000 for another year. let's not hold the vast majority of americans and our entire economy hostage while we debate the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy. we can have that debate. [applause] we can have that debate, but let's not hold up working on the thing we already agree on. >> republicans plan to vote in the coming weeks, a move the white house says would draw a veto. the u.s. has broken a yet theher heat wavrecord, with first six months of 2012 now officially the hottest first six months of a recorded in a calendar year. in the last tw

i'm amy goodman. thousands gathered in aurora, colorado sunday for a public vigil for the shooting victims at a local movie theater. the toll stands at 12 dead, 58 wounded, nine of them critically. after meeting with grieving families, president obama said he brought a message of support on behalf of the country. >> i confessed to them that words are always inadequate in these situations, but now my main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and let them know that we are thinking about them at this moment, and will continue to think about them each and every day. and the awareness that, not only all of america, but much of the world, is thinking about them might be some source of comfort. >> after two days, officials were able to enter the home of the suspect. holmes online purchases included a few thousand rounds of handgun ammunition, 3000 rounds for an assault rifle, and shells for a 12-gauge shotgun. when police cut into his apartment, they found 30 hand grenades and several

i'm amy goodman. the syrian capital of damascus is seeing some its heaviest fighting to date since the uprising against syrian president bashar al-assad erupted over a year ago. heavy weaponry including tanks and mortar fire has reportedly been used in areas to the city's south. the intensified clasasasasasasasasasasasas committee of the red cross to join the united nations in describing the conflict in syria as a civil war. the red cross had previously kept its assessment to a handful of flashpoint areas, but now says the violence is nationwide. the observer mission meanwhile has confirmed heavy weaponry was used last week in the village of tremseh, where pro-assad forces were accused of massacring more than 100 civilians. a unitu.n. spokesperson announced the observers' findings earlier today. >> our observers confirmed the use of direct and indirect weapons including artillery and mortar shells and small arms. counts of 27 eyewitnesses' we interviewed, the consistent accounts indicated the attacks

i'm amy goodman.ublican presidential candidate mitt romney faced an icy reception wednesday as he addressed the annual convention of the naacp. romney drew boos from the crowd when he vowed to repeal president obama's healthcare law and billed himself as the better candidate for the african- american community. >> if our goal is jobs, we ought to stop spending over one trillion dollars more than we take in every year. [applause] and so to do that, i will eliminate every non-essential expensive program i can find, including obamacare and i will work to reform and save -- [boos] i submit this, if you want a president who will make things better in the african-american community, you're looking at him. [applause] you take a look. >> romney later drew controversy when he discussed his naacp appearance at a fund-raising event last night in montana. romney reportedly told a crowd "if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy -- more free stuff. but don't forget, nothing is

i'm amy goodman. syrian troops continue to bombard the city of aleppo in a bid to reclaim areas held by rebel forces. there have been reports of syrian helicopters backed by fighter jets firing from above, forcing hundreds of residents to flee. and allepo resident said syrian forces had fired indiscriminately, killing civilians. >> two brothers and their uncles were killed, another is between life and death. tend shells on a daily basis and this village has not had any sign of armed groups. we are targeted only because we call for freedom. >> speaking in washington, secretary state clinton said of killing of syrian president bashar al-assad is inevitable and he still has time to begin a political transition. >> we do believe that it is not regime for the al-assad to commence with planning for a transition, to find a way that ends the violence by beginning the kind of serious discussions that have not occurred to date. >> new data shows the surface of greenland's ice sheet melted over the course of fou

i'm amy goodman. a record-setting heat wave in the eastern u.s. is starting to ease after two weeks of scorching temperatures. the heat wave has been blamed for causing at least 74 deaths from the midwest to the east coast, including 18 people around chicago and 13 people in maryland. all-time highs hit major cities including philadelphia, washington, said louis, indianapolis, and louisville, with more than 4500 heat records broken overall. dry conditions and a lack of rain are also devastating corn crops across the plains, which faces its worst drought in 25 years. although eastern states will see a respite, western states are facing a potential heat wave that could bring record highs later this week. to see our coverage of the latest u.s. heat wave and global warming, go to democracynow.org. president obama is expected to resume a long-running dispute with republicans to the of the bush era tax cuts that favor the wealthy and plunge the nation as a further deficit. in a rose garden address, obama wi