i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. rmeen: secretary of state mike pompeo and defense secretary jim mattis are in india today to talk about deepening military and trade ties between the two countries. india is the largest weapons importer in the world. pompeo spoke earlier today in delhi.i. >> shared d values of democracy, civil rights. nermeen: pompeo and mattis' trip comes just a week after the indian government conducted raids across the country targeting prominent human rights activists, lawyers, poets and critics of the narendra modi government. at least five people were arrested. the indian government has accused them of inciting violence and having suspected links to maoist rebels. amy: critics say the arrests are part of a broader attempt by modi's government to silence dissidents ahead of next year's general election. we go right now to new delhi, india, where we are joined by the prize winning author a and activist arundhati roy to talk about u.s.-indian ties, last week's raids and today's historic judgment by

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we end the hour with venezuela.sident nicolas maduro arrived the address the united general assembly wednesday just one day after trump accused him of corruption and announceded new sanctions against members of his inner circle, including maduro's wife cilia flores. this is trump speaking to the un general assesembly tuesday. pres. trump: not long ago, venezuela was one of the richest countries on earth. today, socialism has bankrupted driven-rich nation and its people into abject poverty. in that spirit, we asked the nations gathered here to join together and calling for the restoration of democracy in venezuela. today we're announcing additional sanctions against the repressive regime, targeting maduro's inner circle and close advisers. nermeen: trump said wednesday that he would be willing to meet with maduro and that all options are on the table to help end the political, economic and humanitarian chaos in venezuela. this is maduro speaking at the official responding to trump wednesday night. >> desespite all of

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. to new haven,now connecticut. rmeen: one of my cap must renamed sexual assault accusers is deborah ramirez, who says he exposed himself to her, thrusting his genitals in her face, at a drunken dorm party in school year when she and 1983-1984 kavanaugh were both freshmen at yale university. other alumnae include supreme court justice sonia sotomayor and anita hill. women have200 yale signed a letter of support for ramirez and men have signed a similar report. on monday, yale law school faculty canceled 31 classes to cunceled 3 3asses el help allore thlp of inupport of raz -- tt's arly 40% of school0%s udent dy. ey beganh a mo bf b go unporte ecogni assau est wademocr richades thsesese blthal oecticu who dede heatherken heded a h ement yingng theatioio agaiaivaugag"rhtly meanwh a yallaw scscla tis op-e s suppos s yoyopr naon when s rst anannohas noan >> as you previously said on monday, we hosted a sit in, the first 30 minutes we sat in silence, took in the silence that diffuses women whose allegations go unreported,

nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. judiciary chairman chuck grassley has set a 10:00 a.m. friday morning deadline for dr. christine blasey ford to decide whether she will testify about her allegation that supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high school party when she was 15 years old. but dr. blasey ford's lawyers have said in fbi investigation into her claim should be conducted before the committee holds a hearing. attorney lisa banks issued a statement wednesday saying -- "the committee's stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation. there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding. the rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the committee discovering the truth." in a letter to blasey ford's legal team, grassley said -- "it is not the fbi's role to investigate a matter