i'm amy goodman. houthi sources are claiming dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in saudi arabia's latest strikes on northern yemen. the saudi-led coalition says it carried out the attacks after houthi rebels fired across the border, killing three people. secretary of state john kerry is in saudi arabia today to discuss a "humanitarian pause" to the more than month-long air campaign. the u.n. has warned yemen faces the collapse of its basic civilian infrastructure because an internationally backed arms embargo has prevented the delivery of fuel and food. amnesty international is accusing the syrian regime of crimes against humanity in its barrel bomb attacks on the city of aleppo. a new report says barrel bombs killed some 3,000 civilians last year and more than 11,000 since amnesty's philip luther unveiled 2012. the findings. >> barrel bombs are essentially oil drums with tnt inside and when civilians hear the hissing sounds so characteristic of the bomb attacks, they essentially know they

i'm amy goodman. in baltimore, officials have lifted a 10:00 p.m. curfew and national guard troops have begun to withdraw as peaceful protests continue over the death of freddie gray. the curfew had been in place since an uprising last monday night, which left buildings and cars on fire. but protests took on a more cautious optimistic tone friday after baltimore's state attorney marilyn mosby announced a range of charges, including murder and manslaughter, against the six officers involved in gray's arrest and transport. freddie gray's family says his voicebox was crushed and his spine was 80% severed at his neck. police said they arrested gray for looking a lieutenant in the eye, then running away. mosby said police had illegally arrested gray without probable cause, then ignored his pleas for medical help. >> the findings of our comprehensive, thorough, and independent investigation coupled with the medical examiner's determination that mr.'s gray's death was a homicide, which we received today, has

i'm amy goodman. dozens of people were killed across yemen on wednesday in one of the worst days of fighting so far. the heaviest violence was seen in the southern port city of aden where those were killed kind of fleet and to the north 35 civilians were killed by an airstrike. speaking during a visit to saudi arabia, secretary of state john kerry said the situation in yemen is dire. >> we are deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation that is unfolding in yemen, shortages of feud and best food and fuel and medicine. the situation is getting more dire by the day. amy: kerry is expected to ask the saudi arabian government to agree to a humanitarian pause, saying he's already received an indication the houthis will sign on. in a joint statement, the international committee of the red cross and doctors without borders have criticized the saudi-led coalition's attacks on airports, saying they are "obstructing delivery of much the needed humanitarian assistance and movement of humanitarian personnel

i'm amy goodman.explosion has struck a shiite mosque in the saudi city of dammam, killed 21 people at another shiite mosque marking one of the worst attacks to hit saudi arabia in years. the united nations has passed a nonbinding resolution aimed at curbing the cultural mrundering of iraq. the resolution adopted unanimously by the 193-nation general assembly. it applies only to iraq not to syria, where isil controls the ancient city of palmyra. isil posted video showing the destruction of iraqi sites, incl the ancient assyrian city of nimruses when in reality we have not seen that at all. anchor: an amazing figure despite cutter's promises. nepaly migrants have died one every two days in 2014 in cutter. dave: that blood is on sepp blatter's hands as well. he said this will go on in 2022 over his dead body in his own words. even though it's over 125 degrees in the summer in qatar. even though they'll have the world cup in 2022 in the fall which will cut into, if not completely reorganize the european s

i'm amy goodman. a new report says the obama administration gave a false account of the hunting and killing of osama bin laden. bin laden was shot dead four years ago this month in a u.s. raid on his hideout in the city of abbottabad. the white house claimed at the time the u.s. operatives entered from afghanistan without pakistan's knowledge. but investigative reporter seymour hersh says top pakistani military leaders knew about the operation and provided key assistance. the u.s. also claimed it helped locate bin laden by tracking his personal messenger. but hersh reports a former pakistani intelligence officer identified his whereabouts in return for the bulk of a $25 million u.s. bounty. pakistani intelligence was reportedly aware of bin laden's location and held him prisoner at the abbottabad compound since 2006. hersh's article also questions the u.s. account of bin laden's shooting, saying there was never a firefight inside the compound and that bin laden himself wasn't armed. a retired american

i'm amy goodman. a suicide attack by the self-proclaimed is tam i can state has reportedly killed dozens near the iraqi city of fallujah. the bombing hit an iraqi army convoy involved in the ongoing offensive to retake the capital of an barprove isil. at the white house, the brett secretary stood by comments from defense secretary ash carter that israeli forces will lack the will to fight. >> that certainly has been a problem that we've seen in the past. that's what allowed isil to make such significant gains last summer, and so what the united states and our coalition has been focused on is making sure that we can enhance the capacity of the iraqi security forces in supporting the iraqi central government as they try to unite that country and build a multisectarian security force to face the threat that is posed by isil. amy: shiite militias have given the offensive to recapture ramadi a sectarian code name in honor of an ancient figure killed in a war that helped set off the shiite-sunni divide. on

i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: juan, can you talk about what you won the award for? juan: a series of columns i did last year on the queens public library, massive misappropriation of funds and mismanagement by the executives there. i think it led to the ouster of the entire -- all the executives of the queens public library as well as the board of trustees and prompted the state legislature to pass new laws requiring independent auditing and also public disclosure of the library's record. amy: is it one of the largest in the country? juan: the largest public library in the united states. amy: congratulations. juan: thank you. a prosecutor in madison, wisconsin has announced no criminal charges will be filed against the madison police officer who fatally shooting an unarmed african-american teenager earlier this year. tony robinson was shot dead in march after officer matt kenny forced his way into an apartment followin

i'm amy goodman. the self-described islamic state has seized control of the ancient city of palmyra in central syria. palmyra is home to some of the world's most renowned historic structures and is classified as a world heritage site. there are fears it could see the same fate as other cities where isil has destroyed ancient cultural sites and artifacts. with palmyra's capture, isil now reportedly controls more than half of syrian territory. the seizing of palmyra in syria comes as the u.s. has launched air strikes and expedited weapons shipments for the campaign to dislodge isil from the iraqi city of ramadi. isil seized ramadi on sunday leaving hundreds dead and forcing thousands to flee. iranian-backed shiite militias are staging a counteroffensive to retake the city. we'll have more on isil's gains in iraq and syria later in the broadcast. malaysia and indonesia have offered temporary refuge to up to 7000 migrants stranded in boats off their coast. the malaysian foreign minister announced the move

i'm amy goodman. self-proclaimed islamic state has reportedly taken -- seized the last syrian government-controlled border crossing between syria and iraq. the syrian observatory for human rights says syrian troops have withdrawn from al-tanf. isil's latest advance follows its capture of the iraqi city of ramadi and the ancient syrian city of palmyra. unesco director-general irina bokova called for a ceasefire to preserve some of the world's most renowned historic. -- historic structures. >> i appeal to all parties involved in the conflict for an immediate cease-fire in and around palmyra. we have the responsibility to protect and preserve it. i can't imagine the world will never see palmyra anymore. it is closely linked to the people living around it, the city of tim arruda, [indiscernible] we want to protect the civilians equally as we protect the heritage. amy: the united nations meanwhile said it's received reports of syrian government forces preventing residents from leaving palmyra, where isil f

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from an amtrak train derailment in philadelphia has risen to a pen with all passengers now accounted for after another body was discovered in the mangled wreckage. the news comes as the new york times reports the train was already equipped with technology officials say would have prevented the crash, but the system was not yet active, due to budget shortfalls and other hurdles. congress mandated the installation of positive train control technology in 2008, but failed to grant access to the wireless frequencies needed for it to work. that meant amtrak was bogged down in negotiations with private corporations to gain use of the necessary airwaves. on wednesday, just hours after the crash, house republicans rebuffed attempts to fund the speed-control technology, and voted to cut a fifth of amtrak's budget. on president obama called for thursday, investment in infrastructure. >> and to we know for certain what caused this tragedy, i want to reiterate what i have are ready

i'm amy goodman. safety officials say an amtrak train that derailed in philadelphia tuesday night was traveling at twice the authorized speed. the engineer applied the emergency brakes when the train hit 106 miles per hour just moments before the train went off its tracks. the locomotive and seven passenger cars derailed, with sef the train so mangled people had to be rescued with , the aid of hydraulic tools. seven people are now dead more than 200 are injured. after visiting the crash site, philadelphia mayor michael nutter said the toll could have been worse. >> deceit in the daytime is almost indestructible. -- to see it in the daytime is almost indescribable. it is incredible that so many people walked away from that scene last night. i saw people on the street behind us walking off of that train. and i don't know how that happened, but for the grace of god. amy: the engineer driving the amtrak train has been identified as 32-year-old brandon bostian from new york. according to his attorney, bost

i'm amy goodman. the u.n.ays some 25,000 people have fled the iraqi city of ramadi since its capture by the self-proclaimed islamic state on sunday. thousands of iraqi forces and iranian-aligned shiite fighters are massing around ramadi in preparation for an offensive to retake it from isil. the u.s. has also launched airstrikes and is reportedly considering speeding arms deliveries to iraqi militias in anbar province. the u.n. says it needs more time to bring aid to areas of yemen following the end of a five-day truce. a u.n. spokesperson said only half of the proposed supplies were delivered before saudi strikes resumed sunday. >> the humanitarian cause was not large enough to reach those in need of food and there is an appeal for a series of breaks in the conflict to deliver this aid. amy: the u.n. says yemen has only been able to import one-tenth of the fuel it needs each month. more than 1,800 people have died in yemen's conflict so far. israel has canceled an order to bar west bank palestinians from ridi

i'm amy goodman. saudi-led airstrikes have killed at least 80 people in yemen, marking the deadliest day of the two-month bombing campaign to date. the strikes battered the yemeni capital sanaa and the bakeel al-meer area near the saudi border, where residents said at least 40 people were killed, most of them civilians. arab planes and ships blasted yemen's largest military port in the city of hodeida, marking the worst attack on yemen's navy since saudi arabia launched its offensive on iranian-aligned houthis rebels in march. saudi-led planes targeted a car thought to be carrying houthi leaders in central sanaa, but an eyewitness said the strike destroyed homes and injured residents. >> this is shrapnel they hit working men, not targets, not military bases. we must distinguish between the two. we must maintain our good senses. this was an attack on everything. this is an attack on the whole nation. what fall to visit of the children and women inside the homes? amy: concerns are mounting over the fate

i'm amy goodman. iraqi forces have launched an offensive to reclaim anbar province from the self-proclaimed islamic state. thousands of iraqi troops and shiite militias have been massing around the isil-held city of ramadi in preparation for the assault. the announcement comes after us -- defense secretary ash carter criticized the iraqi forces' retreat from ramadi, telling cnn they lacked the will to fight. >> what apparently happened was that the iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. they were not outnumbered. in fact, they vastly outnumber the opposing force. and yet they failed to fight they withdrew from the site and that says to me, and i think to most of us that we have an issue with the will of the iraqis to fight isil and defend themselves. amy: on monday, vice president joe biden spoke to iraqi prime minister haider al-abadi to reaffirm u.s. support following carter's remarks. in yemen, forces loyal to exiled president abed rabbo mansour hadi have reclaimed the southern city of dhale fr

i'm amy goodman. baltimore police investigators have given prosecutors the initial findings from their probe of the death of freddie gray, the man who died of spinal injuries a week after his arrest. state attorney marilyn mosby will now decide whether to take the case to a grand jury to seek an indictment of any of the six officers involved. baltimore police commissioner anthony batts said the investigation has been thorough, and is not over. >> at approximately a: 50 this morning, our task force charged with investigating the tragic death of mr. freddie gray turned over the contents of that investigation to the state's attorney's office. we dedicated 30 plus detectives the full-time job was focused on this case and only this case including labs, lab personnel and academy personnel and homicide detectives. the family and the community and the public deserve transparency and truth. the task force heeded my call and we have exhausted every lead at this point in time. but this does not mean the investig

i'm amy goodman. the british-based syrian observatory for human rights has accused the u.s.-led coalition of killing 64 civilians in an airstrike on a syrian village controlled by the self-proclaimed islamic state. the group said 31 children were among those killed late last week near the northern city of kobani in what it called the worst civilian loss from a single attack since the united states launched its campaign against isil. the pentagon says it is still assessing whether it should open an investigation, but denied there was any information to suggest civilians were killed. it's believed the entire village was wiped out. nepali foreign minister mahendra bahdur pandey said the death toll could still reach 10,000. >> there may be 10,000 people to be dead it is supposed, but we wish it not have to be in that number. but the final number will be at the time when we completely remove the debris and find out -- amy: in burundi, the constitutional court has ruled president pierre nkurunziza can run f

i'm amy goodman. the self-proclaimed islamic state has reportedly solidified its hold on the key iraqi city of ramadi after capturing it from iraqi forces on sunday. there were reports of militants throwing bodies into the euphrates river. meanwhile, thousands of iranian-aligned shiite milita fighters are reportedly gathering east of ramadi in a bid to help retake the city, as the united states has launched airstrikes. state depatment spokesperson jeff rathke acknowledged the loss of ramadi was a setback but pledged continued u.s. support. >> we have always known the fight would be long and difficult, especially in anbar province so there's no denying this is a setback but also no denying the united states will help the iraqis take act ramadi. as of today, we're supporting the iraqi secret he forces and the government of iraq with provision airstrikes and advice to the iraqi forces. our aircraft are in the air searching for isil targets and it will continue to do so until ramadi is retaken. amy: boko

i'm amy goodman. the obama administration has granted shell conditional approval to begin offshore oil drilling in the arctic this summer, despite protests by environmentalists and a spate of safety problems. shell was previously allowed to begin arctic drilling in 2012, but its attempts were beset by mishaps, including an oil rig which ran aground. the interior department found the company "screwed up," failing on a number of basic tasks, including supervision of contractors. but the department will now allow shell to drill in the pristine and highly remote chukchi sea, off the coast of alaska, an area roiled by extreme weather which would be extremely difficult to reach in an emergency. environmentalists soundly condemned the government's decision. rebecca noblin of the center for biological diversity said -- "scientists tell us that if we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change, we need to keep arctic oil in the ground. arctic drilling gives us a 75% chance of an oil spill and a 100% chan

i'm amy goodman. "vietnam: the power of protest."the name of a conference that was recently held in washington, d.c., at the new york avenue presbyterian church. democracy now! co-host juan gonzÁlez moderated the event. juan: no one knows the horror of war more than those who fight it. and i remember when we started the young lords, we opened an office on 111th and madison. and one of our first recruits -- we were all in our twenties -- was a 40-year-old superintendent of a building across the street, named yaya. yaya had been in the korean war. he had been badly wounded, captured by the north koreans and ended up in a pow camp. he was badly injured in his head. the north korean doctors put a new steel plate in his head. they educated him. they treated him, he told us differently than the other pow's because he was african-american. and he came back a changed person. and as soon as we opened up our offices in east harlem, he was the first one to join our organization. and he taught us much about the horrors of war. we had other membe

i'm amy goodman.court of appeals has rolled the nsa's collection of bulk phone records is illegal. in a unanimous decision on thursday, a three-judge panel called the phone records collection unprecedented and unwarranted. the ruling comes as congress faces a june 1 deadline to renew the part of the patriot act that authorizes the nsa's bulk data surveillance. we will have more on this story after headlines. the justice department has confirmed it will investigate the baltimore police department for a potential pattern of unconstitutional policing in the wake of the death of freddie gray. it comes one day after a request from such a probe by baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings blake. six officers were indicted on friday. attorney general loretta lynch said the federal government has a responsibility to look into potential abuses. >> when there are allegations of wrongdoing made against police officers and police departments, the department of justice has a responsibility to examine the evidence and hel