i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. rmeen: donald trump's adult n said a mounting tensions as evidence that top trump not colludinge with russia to sway the 2016 election. in an interview with "the telegraph" eric said -- "if there was anything that syria did, it was to validate the fact that therere is no russian tie." we are joined now by two guests, here in new york, stephen cohen, professor emeritus of russian studies and politics at new york university and princeton university. amy: joining us from london jonathan steele, former moscow , correspondent for the guardian. he is chief reporter at the website middle east eye. he is the author of "eternal russia: yeltsin, gorbachev, and the mirage of democracy." thank you for joining us again. you spent years in moscow. the significance of what donald trump's son said, really what was pointingen out, that perhaps this bombing was about, given what is happening in washington right now, questioning donald trump's relationship with russia, that they wanted to prove something

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. rmeen: the associated press is reporting ivanka trump secured three new exclusive trademarks in china the very same day she and her father, president trump, had dinner with chinese president xi jinping at trump's private mar-a-lago resort in florida. the china trademarks give her company the exclusive rights to sell ivanka-branded jewelry, bags, and spa services in china. the "new york times" reports japan also approved new trademarks for ivanka for branded shoes, handbags, and clothing in february, and she has trademark applications pending in at least 10 other countries. ivanka no longer manages her $50 million company, but she continues to own it. ivanka also serves in the trump administration as an adviser to the president. so does her husband, trump's son-in-law jared kushner. , earlier this month, "cbs this morning" gayle king asked ivanka trump about potential conflicts of interest. >> will be talk abouout the evocativive brand, you are no longer rununning the day-to-day. -- whe

im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh, -- i am amy goodman with nermeen shaikh.o guests. can you introduce yourselves? very happy to be here with you and tell you about our sister. say, berta, the honduran environmental leader, she was a goldman environmental prize winner for her community. where do you live? live in virginia. i came here in 1972. it hurts that my sister was killed and the only thing i can ask you is to tell the to do the of honduras right thing and find the killer of my sister. they had eight people in jail. but i asked the government of honduras to do something about and find the people who are responsible for her death. the president should know about this. the president of honduras. nermeen: and why don't you introduce yourself? you have been working on what is happening in honduras. >> hi, i am melissa cox. i am a let american solidarity worker and we are calling for justice in the case of berta, which means the berta caceres act, which is legislation in the house of representatives right now. it is calling for the suspension of security aid

nermeen: and i am nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. in syria the death toll from a suspected chemical weapons attack in a rebel-held town in the province of idlib has risen to 86. the dead include at least 30 children. dozens of civilians were also injured. much of the international community has accused the syrian military was responsible for the attack. syria has denied the charge claiming the chemicals were released after a syrian airstrike hit a stockpile of chemical weapons controlled by rebel groups. on wednesday, the u.n. security council held an emergency session whwhere britain, france, and the united states put forward a resolution condemning syria. amy: meanwhile, at the white house, president trump said the attack had transformed his views on the war in syria. just last week, the trump administration was signaling it would not push for the removal of syrian president bashar al assad. but during a press conference on wednesday with king