Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders continued his campaigning ahead of the next set of primaries on March 10th, speaking to tens of thousands of supporters in Phoenix, Arizona. But during his speech, a man in the upper sections of the coliseum where Sanders was speaking, unfurled a large Nazi flag bearing a swastika. According to the Washington Post, “While people near the unidentified protester quickly ripped the offending item out of his hands and he was removed from the arena, the mere appearance of a Nazi flag at an event dedicated to a democratic socialist who could become the country’s first Jewish president sparked outcry.” A spokesperson for Sanders said he, “is aware of the flag with the swastika on it and is disturbed by it.” On the same day, Nina Turner, the co-chair of the Sanders campaign, debated Joe Biden’s surrogate Hilary Rosen in an interview on CNN which erupted into a clash between the two. Turner had begun to invoke the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and his position on the complicity of white moderates being more dangerous than the violence of white supremacists when Ms. Rosen repeatedly interrupted her. Rosen on Friday apologized to Turner.

President Donald Trump at a Fox News town hall meeting in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Thursday admitted he would be cutting social safety net programs funded by taxpayers for taxpayers. Biden, who was born in Scranton tweeted in response, “Here’s the deal, folks: social security is on the ballot this year, and the choice couldn’t be clearer.” Sanders shot back, “Here’s the deal: Joe Biden has repeatedly advocated for cuts to Social Security. I’ve fought my whole career to protect and expand it.” Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir added in a statement, “Donald Trump tonight sent a warning shot to our party: if we nominate a candidate like Joe Biden who has repeatedly tried to cut Social Security and pushed disastrous trade deals, Trump will exploit that vulnerability in an effort to obscure his own record and win the battleground states that could swing the general election.”

Also at the Fox News town hall, in what was a preview of Trump’s impending attacks on Biden should Biden be the Democratic nominee, the President took aim at the former Vice President’s numerous gaffes. Trump said he had been “all set” to face Sanders in a general election, but, “Then we have this crazy thing that happened on Tuesday, which [Biden] thought was Thursday, but he also said 150 million people were killed with guns and that he was running for the United States Senate. There’s something going on there.” The Guardian newspaper said, “Biden – who did say those things – has a track record of gaffes, and has turned in bumbling debate performances.” 

The state of Alabama late on Thursday executed a black man named N...

FEATURING JIM HIGHTOWER – One week ago an NBC News/Marist poll found Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leading former Vice President Joe Biden almost two to one for the Democratic Presidential nomination in the Texas primary. Sanders polled at 34% to Biden at only 19%. On Super Tuesday none of that held. It was Biden who won the Texas race with 34% of votes cast while Sanders came in at 30%. 

A similar scenario played in various other Super Tuesday states affirming that the decision by centrist candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg to back out and endorse Biden helped the former Vice President dramatically. 

Jim Hightower, National radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and New York Times best-selling author, twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner. His monthly newsletter is called The Hightower Lowdown.

FEATURING BRANKO MARCETIC – Just a few months ago media pundits were predicting that former Vice President Joe Biden was as shoe-in for the Democratic Presidential nomination. He was polling higher than other candidates and promised to save the nation’s soul, wooing voters with the idea of “electability” in the November faceoff against President Donald Trump. But by February Biden’s numbers dropped precipitously pushing him down to fourth place in the nation’s first primary in Iowa and showing similar numbers in national polls. Then, Super Tuesday happened and Biden surged ahead with the backing of corporate media and centrist candidates. My guest Branko Marcetic calls Biden “Yesterday’s Man” in a new book and that title could not be more prescient. 

Read Branko’s articles on Jacobin Magazine HERE.

Branko Marcetic, staff writer at Jacobin magazine and a 2019-2020 Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting fellow. His new book is called Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has announced she is withdrawing from the race for Democratic Presidential nomination after failing to win any of the 18 primary races so far. Campaign staff from the two front runners left in the race, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, have reportedly reached out to Warren’s campaign in the hopes of receiving her coveted endorsement. On Wednesday the Washington Post reported that representatives of Sanders and Warren were, “discussing ways for their two camps to unite and push a common liberal agenda,” but, “Warren associates and the camp of former vice president Joe Biden also had talks about a potential endorsement if she drops out.” Meanwhile, Sanders in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow disavowed any vitriolic behavior among his supporters toward Warren.

Senator Sanders, whose campaign suffered from low turnout among youth and a massive push behind Biden the day before Super Tuesday, told Maddow he would love to debate Biden on the issue of Medicare-for-All. He said, “I would love to debate Joe Biden on this issue, give us an hour on MSNBC… You want to defend that system? Let’s do it.” The next debate between candidates is scheduled for March 15th in Phoenix, Arizona, and unless Representative Tulsi Gabbard remains in the race until then, it is likely to be a face-off between Biden and Sanders alone. However, before that, on March 10th, a number of states will be voting including Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Washington. North Dakota will hold a caucus. In an apparent acknowledgement of Biden’s strength in southern states, Sanders canceled a planned rally in Mississippi in order to switch his focus to Michigan. Meanwhile, California state officials continue to count ballots from Tuesday’s primary which Sanders won. But the extent of Sanders’ win will not be known until all ballots are counted. Every single delegate matters in what remains a close race as Sanders trails Biden in nationwide delegate counts. One expert who tracks election data told The Guardian newspaper, “It’s like there’s this black box of how many ballots are at the post office right now…The x-factor really is: do we see some big surging coming with the uncounted ballot results?… It’s just a huge unknown.” While California voters cast about 10 million ballots on Tuesday, only about 5.3 million have so far been counted.

In the latest news from the spread of the novel coronavirus, a cruise ship returning to California from Hawaii has been held for screening. The ship is carrying about 2,500 passengers. The New York Times explained that, “officials learned that a coronavirus patient who died near Sacrament...

FEATURING JULIO RICARDO VARELA – Super Tuesday results are in and boy what a difference just a few days can make. After polls suggested Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders would have a big night on March 3rd, he won 4 states while former Vice President Joe Biden won 10. Biden had struggled to make traction in early states until his Saturday win in South Carolina and the consolidation of centrist candidates and political figures behind him including Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke. 

Julio Ricardo Varela, Digital Media Director for Futuro Media, founder of LatinoRebels.com, one of the top U.S. Latino media sites. He was formerly digital producer for Al Jazeera America’s “The Stream” and his work has been featured in the Guardian, ESPN, the New York Times, Quartz, Le Monde, Univision and Telemundo and many other outlets. 

FEATURING STEVEN ROSENFELD – Reports from one of the largest voting districts on Super Tuesday – Los Angeles, California – suggest that exercising one’s civic duty was a multi-hour process. Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new electronic voting machines, LA polling places had numerous glitches, resulting in the long wait times. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign night filed for an emergency injunction to keep polling places open past 8 pm giving voters time to get into the booths to cast their ballots.

On the state level, California’s immense population and new changes to voting, means that official results will still be days or even weeks away.

Steven Rosenfeld, Editor, Chief Correspondent & Senior Writing Fellow for Voting Booth a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Former Vice President Joe Biden swept across Super Tuesday primary races capturing wins in 10 states, many of which had poll results just one week ago showing him struggling to win over voters. After Mayor Peter Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out to endorse him on Sunday and Monday following the South Carolina primary, Biden’s campaign got a new lease on life propelling him to victories in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Maine, and Minnesota. A triumphant Biden declared victory on Tuesday night, after briefly mixing up his wife and sister, and being rushed on stage by vegan activists.

Exit polls show that black voters and those who consider themselves “moderate,” gave Biden the massive push he needed. Meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who just a week ago was projected to win more votes than other candidates in most of the 14 Super Tuesday states, suffered from youth voters were excited about his candidacy not showing up in large enough numbers at the polls as expected. Latino voters did show up for Sanders in large numbers however. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, as well as Utah and Colorado and is expected to win in California although he may not receive all California delegates as Biden and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg drew more than 15% of the votes in early tallies. According to the LA Times, “Late deciders in California sided with Biden by a 10-point margin over Sanders,” according to exit polls. Reports abound of long lines and major problems with new electronic touchscreen voting machines especially in Southern California. Sanders’s campaign on Tuesday night filed for an emergency injunction to keep Los Angeles polling places open past 8 pm giving voters time to get into the booths to cast their ballots. Final results from the massive state may not be available for days or even weeks. Speaking from Essex Junction in Vermont Sanders struck a note of determination.

According to the New York Times’s estimate, Biden has now won 433 delegates while Sanders won 388. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who had a disappointing showing is now reassessing her candidacy after garnering only 36 delegates while Mayor Mike Bloomberg ended up with only 12 despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money in the race. Bloomberg on Wednesday morning announced he would end his Presidential b...

Rising Up With Sonali presents a “Super Tuesday” special 3-hour live program for television and radio stations to broadcast nationwide. On Tuesday March 3rd, the day that more than a dozen states including California will vote in primary elections, we will bring listeners and viewers around the country the kind of progressive, fact-based, social justice-centered analysis you won’t find in corporate media outlets. 

The live program will air from 7 pm to 10 pm Pacific Standard Time, as polls close and crucial race results are announced. Our guest experts, hailing from a diverse array of backgrounds, will offer election-related insight and analysis grounded in economic and racial justice, climate justice, labor rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and more. Guests include: Norman Solomon, Jane McAlevey, Zahra Billoo, John Nichols, Kshama Sawant, Arun Gupta, Mitch Jeserich, Julio Ricard Varela, and more. Watch the LIVESTREAM on Super Tuesday, March 3rd, from 7 to 10 pm Pacific, right here at RisingUpWithSonali.com.

This year is the first time that California – the nation’s most populous and most racially diverse state –  will participate in primary elections so early in the season. Based in the Los Angeles area, Rising Up With Sonali is poised to offer a unique perspective on the race for Presidential nominations. 

Rising Up With Sonali is an award winning nationally syndicated daily 1-hour television and radio program broadcasting on 30+ Pacifica radio stations and affiliates and on Free Speech TV (Dish Network, DirecTV, Roku, Apple TV, Sling). It is an all-women run program covering a broad array of topics from a fiercely progressive perspective. Rising Up With Sonali was named by The Nation Magazine’s Progressive Honor Roll as 2019’s top Multimedia News program.

The Super Tuesday broadcast is a production of KPFK Pacifica Radio in collaboration with RootsAction Education Fund, a 501 (c) 3 organization.

FEATURING KAYLA GOGARTY – What happens when a potentially deadly disease that requires trust in scientifically proven facts, meets a right-wing President whose favorite media outlets are routinely being factually incorrect? 

The spread of the coronavirus disease across the world and the US is causing panic. On the one hand President Donald Trump, worried about the damage to his reputation and the economy claims everything is fine. On the other hand, rightwing media outlets like Fox News are amplifying conspiracy theories that blame Democrats and everyone else.

Kayla Gogarty, Senior Researcher with Media Matters for America.

At least 22 people have been killed in Tennessee in and around Nashville and in the central part of the state in a major tornado that hit multiple counties and came exactly a year after a similarly deadly tornado. According to NBC news, “At least 45 buildings collapsed in Nashville, and police said that there were multiple buildings with damage, primarily in the downtown and east precincts.” Scenes of devastation are now being shared online. Schools remain closed on Tuesday and local authorities say 50,000 people were without electricity as dozens of electric poles were knocked down by the tornado.

Even as Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared an emergency, his state is one of 14 voting in the Super Tuesday primary races. Lee urged people to be careful saying, “Of course we want people to exercise caution in places like downtown Nashville, but we also want people to exercise their rights and get out and vote.” More than a dozen polling places had to be relocated and many needed power generators to operate. According to the Washington Post, “Polls will still close at 7 p.m. as previously scheduled, though Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said he was ‘working with election officials around the state to ensure polls in affected counties are open for the required 10 hours today.’” Aside from Tennessee, voters are casting ballots in primary races in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Vermont — as well as the territory of American Samoa and American citizens living abroad. 

In other election-related news, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar who ended her presidential bid on Monday endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on the same day and began doing interviews as his political surrogate. On CBS’s Face the Nation on Tuesday Klobuchar pushed back against speculation that she had been promised a post in a Biden cabinet in exchange for her support. She also denied that centrist candidates like her, Pete Buttigieg, and Biden were part of the Democratic Party establishment. She said, “I just don’t think we are the face of the establishment…I think we’re fresh faces in our party.” Biden’s recent win in South Carolina and the dropping out of three centrist candidates has been viewed by media analysts as a major turning point for his flagging candidacy. Biden also won the endorsement of former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke on Monday. As a number of figures join together to surmount Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ primary wins, Klobuchar insisted during her interview that while she is “friends with Bernie,” she doesn’t, “think we should have a socialist heading up” the Democratic Party ticket in November.

In other news the spread of the dangerous new coronavirus strain continues around the world and the US as Americans stock up on food, sanitizers, bottled water and other supplies leaving store shelves empty. King County, Washington, appears to be the epicenter Covid-19 in the US, with a total of six deaths reported there alone – the only six so far in the US. President Donald