i am amy goodman. today in a a democracy now! special, we look at thee democraticic party's nomination of joe biden for president, and his historic pick of senator kamala harris as his vice-presidential running mate, making her the first woman of color to run on a major party ticket. just after thehe democratic nanational convevention wrapped, i spoke with dr. cornel west, professor of the practice of public philosophy at harvardrd universitity, auththor of numemerous books including "race matttters and "black prophetic fire." in 2017, cornel west was in charlottesville when neo-nazis stormed the campus. he and other clergy members were protected by anti-fascists frfrom the mobob of white supremacists. also with us in baltimore, maryland, was ben jealous, presesident of people fofor the american way, former president of the naacp. hehe ran for governor of mararyland in 2018. i began the conversation just after the democratic convention concluded by asking ben jealous what the convention represented. ben jealous: you know, look, i

i am amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. ononly come back, we go to milwaukee where the investigation of the shooting of jacob blake isis underway. we will spspeak to jacob blake . stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is dememocracy n now!, democracynow.org, the e quarante report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. as oututrage mounts over the grd jury ruling in the police killing of breonna taylor, we turn to wisconsin n where the investigation into the police shooting of jacob blake is in its final stages. jake blake's case became a flash point for national protest after the african-american father was shot in the back by kenosha police seven times in august, paralyzing him. wife police officer rusten at pointired the shots blank range into jacob blake's back as blake leaned into his car. inside the car were his three boys a age 3, 5, and eight. prosecutors in wisconsin have tapped former madison police chief noble wray to serve as an independent t voice during the final stages of the investigation into the shooting. w

i'm amy goodman. president trump is headed to kenosha, wisconsin today about the objections of the governor, lieutenant governor, and kenosha mayor and as protests over police violence and white supremacy continue. trump has refused to condemn either the police shooting of jacob blake or the white 17-year-old militia member who last week killed two protesters. he instead defended the teen, kyle rittenhouse, who has been charged with first degree homicide. pres. trump: he was trying to get away from them, i guess. it looks like. and he fell. and then they very violently attacked him. and it was something that we are looking at right now and it is under investigation, but i guess he was in very big trouble. he probably would have been killed. amy: the video in fact appears to show a group attempting to disarm rittenhouse after he had already lethally shot the first protester. inin a fox news intervrview mon, trump again defended police officers who killed. pres. trump: they took. just like an aunt golf

i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we contntinue to o look at te background of judge e amy cocony barretett, the apparent front runner to replace justice ruth bader ginsburg on the supreme court. president trump said he will announce a nominee by saturday, and mitch mcconnell appears to have the 51 votes he needs in the senate to force a confirmation vote through b befe the election. --are looking at anany bon formergo to a member of peopople of praise who is now spepeaking out against te group. coral anika theill was a people of praise memberer for fivive ys from 1979-1984 after being forced to join the organization by her then-husband. she documented her experience in her memoir titled d "bonshea: making light of the dark." thank you so much for joining us from corvallis, oregon. appraiseescribe people and what happened to you while you lived in the community? >> thank you for having me on your show and i am a fan of yoyu and your show. i was a member of the e people appraise. many call community, but i describe it a

i'm amy goodman. the global death toll from covid-19 has topped one million and ththe worlrld health organization says the actual death toll is likekely far high. in the united states, , more thn 205,000 peopople have dieded and over 7.1 million cases have been reported -- by far the highest figures in the wororld. more than half of all reported covid-19 deaths have occurred in just four countries -- the united states, brazil, india, and mexico. on monday, india became the second country to top 6 million cases. public health officials in the united states are expressing alarm as 21 states report t a rising number ofof new covid-19 cases. hospitalizations are surging in the midwest. in the dakotasas, more than 25%f all covid-19 tests are coming back positive, the highest rate in the country. meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting top white house officials pressured the centers for disease control and prevention to downplay the risks of sending children back to the -- back to school. the pressure

i'm amy goodman. the head of the centers for disease controrol and prevention warned wednesday that u.s. residents should not expect to receive a vaccine for the coronavirus until at least mid-2021, contradicting presididt trump's claim that at least 100 millioion doses coulde distributed by the end of 2020. dr. robert redfield was speaking at a senate hearing on the federal government's response to the covid-19 pandemic. >> if you are asking me when it is genererally going to be avavailable to t the american pc so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regegular life, i think we'rere probablbly lookining ate second quarter, third quarter 2021. amy: president trump lashed out i dr. redfield, telling reporters in the white house press briefing room that the top u.s. public health official misspoke. pres. trump: i think he made a mistake when he said that. it is incorrect information. i called him and he did not tell me that and i think he got the message may be confused. amy: trum

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from unprecedented fires raging across california, oregon, and washington has risen to 35 as smoke from the record-shattering blazes brought some of the world's most polluted air to portland, los angeles, san francisco, seattle, and other cities. nearly 5 million acrcres have burned, with entntire towns consumed by flames. president trump is visiting california today but is refusing toto link the fifires to the c e crisis. california governor gavin newsom says there is nono question abat what is fueling the fifires. cook's california puts is america fast-forward. what we are experiencing right here is coming to communities all across the united states of america unless we get our act together on climate change and unless we disabuse ourselves of all of that b.s.@@ that is being spewed by very small group of people. amy: on friday, governor newsom signed a bill allowing former prisoner firefighters to have their records expunged, paving the way for them to get jobs as mu

i'm amy goodman.uring last nights first presidential debate, fox moderator chris wallace asked both candidates by voters should trust them to deal with the race issues facing this country over the next four years. this is what they answer. mr. biden: the reason i got in the race is just close your eyes, remember what those people look like coming out caring torches. their veins bulging, spewing anti-semitic bile and accompanied by the ku klux klan. a young woman got killed and they asked the president what he thought. he said, "there were very fine people on both sides." no president has ever said anything like that. the second point i'd make to you, is that when floyd was mr. floyd was killed, there was a peaceful protest in front of the white house. what did he do? he came out of his bunker, had the military use tear gas on them so he could walk across to a church and hold up a bible. and then what happened after that? the bishop of that very church said that it was a disgrace. the general who was w

i'm amy goodman. the centers fofor disease coconl and prevention has directeted al 50 states s and fiveve large cis to make e preparations t to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine asas soon as late october. in a letter to the nation's governors, cdc director robert redfieldld urged s states to w e any requirements that would prevent vaccine distribution centers from becoming fully operational by november 1. that is two days for election day. the govevernment has hired t the private company y mckesson corporation to distribute a vaccine once it is approved. there is growing cononcern that the trump administration might give emergency approval to a vaccine before clinical tests are completed in an attempt to boost the president's reelection chances. public health officials have warned rushing an unproven vaccine could pose health dangers and inflame anti-vaccination sentiment. this all comes as the u.s. death toll from covid-19 approaches 186,000. meanwhile, covid-19 cases are surging in the midw

i'm m amy goodman. in c california, three firefighters are fighting for their lives after a masassive fe ovovertook their station at the los padres national forest overnight. they were among 14 firefighters who deployed e emergenency shels as flames s overtook their positionon. the massive fire is one of more than 85 raging across the west coast with red flag warnings from san diego to the canadian border in washington state. fires this year have burned more than 2 billion acres across california even before the start of september and october -- historically, cacalifornia's wot months foror fires. said hisnewsom tuesday statements to adapt to the realities of the climate crisis. >> but i quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers. it simply follows completely inconsistent that point of view with the reality on the ground, the facts as we are experiencing -- you may n not believe it intellectually, but your own eyes, your own experiences tell a a different story. amy: the confirmed u.s.

i'm amy goodman. as the u.s. dedeath toll from covid-19 nears 185,000, the trump adadministration is refusg to join more than 170 countries in a global effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine. the administration opposes the effort in part because of the involvement of the world health organization. public health officials warn the move could leave the united states without access to a vaccine if the global effort succeeds and u.s. efforts fail. kendall hoyt of dartmouth's school of medicine said -- "just from a simple risk-management perspective, this is s shortsighteded." in other public health news, a panel of experts at the national institutes of health said there is no evidence to show that convalescent plasma treatment works against the coronavirus. this directly contradicts the food and drug administration, which recently gave emergency use authorization for the treatment. trump triumphantly made the announcement on the eve of the republican national convention. the nih panel said -- "convalesce

i'm amy goodman. nearly 90 wildfires continue to ravage the west coast, where over 5 million acreses have already y been s scorched. san francisco, seattle, and portland have the worst air quality of any major city in the world. hazy conditions from the fires have spread as far as new york and washington, d.c. president trump was in california monday where he was challenged by california's natural resources secretary wade crowfoot over his s denial of climate change. >> if we ignore that science and think it is all about vegetation management, we're not going to succeed protecting california. pres. trump: it will start getting cooler. you just watch. >> i wished science agreed with you. pres. trump: i don't think science knows, actually. amy: "i don't think science knows," trump said. democratic presidential candidate joe biden slammed trump as a climate arsonist. pres. trump: if you give a client arsononist for more year, why would anyone be surprised if we have more america blaze. amy: and related n

i'm amy goodman. we spend the hour looking at the life and legacy of ruth bader ginsburg, as well as the futurue of the supupreme courtrt. ginsbuburg died onon friday at e age of 87 after serving 27 years as a supreme court justice, becoming the most prominent member of the court's liberal wing. ginsburg first gained fame in the 1970's when she co-founded the women's rights project at the american civil liberties union, where she argued six gender discrimination cases before the supreme court. winning five. e once fously qued the abolitiost sarahrimke dung onof her ol argumes. posion in 18 but rah grimke, not abolitiostnd advoce of pele right f men and wen. eaid, i ask no favor r my sex. all i ask of our brethren is that t they take their feet off our necks. amy: ruth bader ginsburg became a federal appellate judge in 1980 and then in 1993 was sworn in as just the second female supreme court justice. during her senate confirmation hearing, she openly dedefended a women's right to have an abortion. tot

i'm amy goodman. inin washington, d.c., the republblican race to replace t e late jusustice ruth badeder ging on t the supreme court is runnig full speed. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is charging ahead with plans to vote on president trump'p's nominee. >> the senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination. istory and precedent make that perfectly clear. amy: trump said monday he would announce his nominee by week's end. mcconnell refused to hold confirmation hearings in 2016 for president obama'a's nonomin, nine months before the election. so far, only two republican senators -- lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins of maine -- have said they do not support voting before the november election. democrats need four republicans to join them to block the nomination. but on monday, democrats were dealt a major setback when republican senators chuck gardner the colorado senate race and senator chuck presley of iowa said they both supported holding a vote on a nominee before the

i'm amy goodman. the u.s. death toll from covid19 by january 1.000 this according to a new projection f from the inflfluenl institute for health metrics and evaluation. that is more than double the current death toll which is approaoaching 187,000. ththe in situ projects the death toll could reach 3000 people a day by december. however, the institute is prprojecting 12020,000 lives c d be s sedf 95% of the country regularly wears face masks. this comes as president trump openly mocked joe biden for wearing a face mask. pres. trump: didid you ever seea man who likes a mask as much as him? and then he makes a speech. not always, butut a lot of times he has it hanging down because you know it? it gives him a feeling of security. if i were a psychiatrist, right? no, i would say, this guy has got some big issues. amy: president trump made the remark during a packed outdoor rally in pennsylvania, where few people wore masks or practiced social distancing. the state of pennsylvania has banned outdoor gatheri

i'm amy goodman. for the second day in a row, presidident trump refused to commit to accepting the results of novembeber's election if his rival joe biden wins. trumump was asked about the election as he left the whwhite house thursday to campaign in north carolina. pres. trump: we want to make sure the election is honest and i'm not sure that it can be. i don't know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited d ballots. millions send to. amy: president trump's threat to invalidate the will of the voters sparked widespread alarm among democrats and progressives and some republicans. on thursday, vermomont indepepet senator bernie s sanders delivid a major address saying the future o of american democracy s at stakeke. sen. sanders: we must ensure in this unprecedented momenent in american history that this is an election that is free and fair, an election in which voters are not intimidated, and knowing election -- an e election which all l votes are e counteanand tt it is an election which

i'm amy goodman. in oregon, a half million people -- or more than 1 out ofof 10 state residents -- have been forced to evacuate their homes as unprecedented wildfires fueleled by the e climate crisis continue to rage across the western united states. in california, the town of berry creek wawas completely consumeds a wall of fire swept through the community, killing 10 people and leaving another 16 missing. meanwhile, the august cocomplex fire has become the largest conflagration in california history at nearly 750 square miles. more than 3 llllion acreres have burned across california, shattering previous records even before the normal peak of the fire season. this comes as president trump last spoke publicly about the fires in august and has yet to offer any public statement of support for victims of the blazes. more details have e emerged over why y astrazeneca papaused itste three e covid-19 vaccine trial n britain. during a private call with investors, astrazeneca's ceo revealed a woman in the tr

i'm amy goodman.undreds of anti-racist protesters faced armed right-t-wing men brandishing log guns in louisville, kentucky as , saturday they gathered ahead of the kentucky derby to demand justice for breonna taylor, the 26-year-old black emergency room technician who was fatally shot by louisville police in her own home in march. protesters hoped to use the 146th kentucky derby -- already months delayed due to the pandemic -- draw attention to two breonna taylor's case. they said that police did little to intervene as a group of mainly white armed so-called counter-protesters carrying american flags chanted "usa" and "back the blue" and attempted to intimidate the demonstrators. on monday, the louisville mayor announced a new interim police chief, yvette gentry. she is the first black woman to fill the role. this comes as more than 1200 new photos of the crime scene at the louisville apartment where police shot and killed breonna taylor show a scene of chaos that unfolded on march 13 when plaincloth

i'm amy goodman. the city o of louisville, kentucky, announced d tuesday it will pay the family y of breonoa taylor $12 millionndnd institute a slew of reforms to the police department responsible for her death, this more than six months after police shot and killed the 26-year-old black emergency room technician in her own apartment. louisville mayor greg fischer announced the historic settlement at a news conference with breonna taylor's family. attorney benjamin crump p welcod the agreement but demanded the criminal prosecution of the officers who entered taylor's apartment with a no-knock warrant and killed her on march 13. >> we still are dememanding that kentucky attorney general daniel camemeron bring charges immediately against the police officers that murdered breonna taylor. immediately. this week. justice delayed is justicece denied. amy: as part of the settlement, louisville named a dozen changes to how its police departmentnt will operate, including more oversight from top commanders and

i'm amy goodman.s the officiaial u.s. death tol from covovid-19 approaches 200,0 and d more than 6.6 mimillion cs being reported, "the washington post" reports the white house reportedly scuttled a plan to distribute 650 million cloth face masks to every residence in the united states during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. vice president pence and other officials rejected the proposal because "receiving masks might create concern or panic." a draft press release about the plan from the u.s. postal service reads -- "the first shipments are expected to reach u.s. households as early as april xx" with the date left incomplete. one study by the center for economic policy research found widespread mask use across the united states would have saved 40,000 lives in the months of april and may alone. this c comes as the head of the centers for disease control and prevenention warned d wednesdayt u.s. r residents shohould nonott toto receive a v vaccine for t e cororonavirus untitil at least mid-d

i'm amy goodman. residents of t the sanan francio babay area and nororthern califa woke up wednesday to dark orange skies as a blanket of smoke from the state's massive climate change-fueled wildfires smothered the region. the thick smoke blotted out so much sunlight, temperatures dropped well below forecasters' predictions with meteorologists comparing the effect to a nuclear winter. many residents described the scene as apocalyptic. the fires have also devastated oregon, where dozens of blazes have destroyed hundreds of homes and even entire towns. oregon governor kate brown said it could be the greatest disaster in oregon's history. >> i want to be upfront in saying we expect to see a great deal of loss, both in structures and in human lives. this could be the greaeatest los of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state's history. amy: the fires left at least seven people dead across washington, oregon, and california. more fires are raging in montana, colorado, and utah. after headadlin

here with decluttering and organizing tips, my favorite, amy goodman. >> amy: so glad to be here. >>n: i love to organize. >> amy: the more cre disga are. youan to make everything display like a collection. these are my stoneware mugs. before they were in a big, messy clutter. also take advantage of these wire shelves to really take advantage of that space in your cabinet so that you can store more. all the cups and bowls together. we were talking spices earlier. pull that open. it is the bane of our existence because you can spend more time trying to get us my son actually taking down my cooking the dish. i hav axt file folder here to organize them. make a beautiful spice drawer with your ten most used spices. >> ryan: ones that my mother had from 1997. >> amy: you love baking. you pull out one, they all come out into your kitchen. here we are using a file folder to organize the different baking trays, which i love. and you can do your lives too. moving to our organizational containers, i don't know about you, but my drawer, when i pull it out, it's like they're having a party, and

i'm amy goodman. we begin tododay's show l lookit a bombshell report in "the new york times" thatat reveals donad trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years. and he paid just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017. "the times" published the report after obtaining more than two decades of trump's tax return data. on sunday, trump called the report fake news, but he continues s to refuse to release his tatax returns. the reporting paints a picture of trump as either an inept entrepreneur or a criminal tax cheat. for years, he has reported massive losses in some of his key business projects -- including more than $300 million in his golf courses and $55 million in his hotel in washington, d.c. he has used the losses to offset his taxable income in other areas. "the new york times" also reveals the president has been locked in a battle over taxes wiwith the irs o over a $73 mimn tax refund he claimed after his casino business in atlantic city collapsed. trump could be forced