FEATURING MARIA LUISA MENDONÇA – Brazilians voted in Presidential elections over the weekend and the far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro won a whopping 46% of the vote, with his closest rival, Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party bringing in only 29%. Bolsonaro and Haddad will face each again in a run-off election in two weeks and the right-winger expects to win.

Facing pressure to tone down his extremist rhetoric, Bolsonaro said after Sunday’s election, “I can’t turn into a Little ‘Peace and Love’ Jair, which would be betraying who I am. I have to keep being the same person.”

Anticipating winning the run-off, Bolsonaro has already begun talks with lawmakers. Many fear a return to military rule under Bolsonaro, in a nation that has been rocked with scandal over the past several years. Today’s political landscape in Brazil stands in sharp contrast to the social democratic and pro-worker government of Lula and his Worker’s Party.

Maria Luisa Mendonça, Director of Brazil’s Network for Social Justice and Human Rights.

FEATURING JESSICA JUAREZ SCRUGGS – After weeks of intense political battles and street protests in Washington DC, the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court has ended in the Senate voting to confirm him and the White House quickly moving to swear him in as a justice. On Monday night, the White House held a ceremonial swearing in for Kavanaugh during which President Donald Trump apologized to the new Justice.

Trump has dismissed the mass movement that reared up against Kavanaugh as consisting of “paid protesters,” and “elevator screamers,” claiming that billionaire George Soros was behind it all. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell also joined in the conspiratorial speculation saying GOP leaders were “literally under assault,” by protesters and that, “many of them were obviously trained to get in our faces, to go to our homes up there, basically almost to attack us in the halls of the Capitol.”

There is very real anger among ordinary Americans, especially women. Many are focusing their anger on Republican Senator Susan Collins who decided to vote for Kavanaugh. With the November elections just weeks away, how will the Kavanaugh debacle play out politically?

Jessica Juarez Scruggs, Interim Director of Policy and Legislation at People’s Action.

the White House held a ceremonial swearing in for Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Monday night, two days after the official ceremony was quickly performed in the wake of the razor thin Senate vote to confirm him. During Monday night’s event, President Donald Trump apologized to Kavanaugh on Monday night at a ceremonial swearing in of Brett Kvanaugh to the US Supreme Court.

Earlier, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono spoke to ABC News about the impact that Kavanaugh will have on the court. 

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine was in the spotlight until the very last minute over the vote to confirm Kavanaugh. Although she is a Republican, progressives are angered by her decision to vote for Kavanaugh despite her position as a pro-choice politician. Now, voters are rethinking their support for her and although Collins is not on the ballot this November, many are gearing up for her re-election bid in 2020. Former Obama aide Susan Rice has announced an intention to run against Collins and activists have generated more than $3.6 million in pledged funds to whoever runs against her. There appears to be less animus against Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia who was the sole member of his party to have voted for Kavanaugh.

Later on our show, Megan Peterson, Executive Director of Gender Justice will join us for an analysis of how Senators said they would vote and what a court with Kavanaugh on it would look like.

Hurricane Michael has intensified to a Category 2 storm as it hurls itself toward Florida with landfall expected this Wednesday as a Category 3. According to meteorologists, “Storm surge, damaging winds and heavy rain are likely impacts along the northeastern Gulf Coast, [h]eavy rain and strong winds will spread farther inland across parts of the Southeast after landfall.” Additionally there are predictions that, “Michael could be the strongest hurricane to landfall along the stretch of Florida’s Panhandle Gulf Coast in 12 years.” Storm surge watches are in effect across the state.

As if underscoring the advent of yet another intense hurricane, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a major report on Monday and warned that we have about a dozen years before the worst impacts of climate change can be staved off. Debra Roberts, a co-chair of the working group on impacts said, “It’s a line in the sand and what it says to our species is that this is the moment and we must act now. This is the largest clarion bell from the science community and I hope it mobilises people and dents the mood of complacency.” The report was the product of the Paris Accord signed in December 2015 and will be formally presented at the next UN climate conference in Poland later this year.

Former Trump campaign staffer Rick Gates is under scrutiny once more. The New York Times obtained documents showing that Gates attempted to obtain intelligence advice from an Israeli company about how to manipulate voter sentiment. He was of course seeking to sway the election in Trump’s favor. The Times, which published its exposé on Monday, wrote, “Gates sought one proposal to use bogus personas to...

FEATURING FRANCES CAUSEY – Many white Americans have a history of slave-ownership in their ancestry. It is an inescapable fact of this nation, no matter how hard history books and our political discourse attempts to erase it. For one woman who was born in the South, erasing her family’s history was not an option.

Frances Causey, a long time filmmaker whose credits include Heist: Who Stole the American Dream, has explored her family history, and through it the history of mass enslavement in the US. The name of her new film is The Long Shadow.

For information about the movie visit wwww.thelongshadowfilm.com.

Frances Causey, filmmaker of the new documentary ‘The Long Shadow’. Her earlier film was ‘Heist: Who Stole The American Dream?’.

FEATURING MEGAN PETERSON -Republican Senators forced a procedural vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday, saying that they were satisfied with the results of a cursory FBI probe into allegations of sexual assault against him. The vote took place 51 to 49 with Democrat Joe Manchin voting with Republicans. Senator Lisa Murkowski voted no on the procedural vote. Senator Jeff Flake who had been wavering now says he will vote for Kavanaugh in the full vote on Saturday. And on Friday afternoon Senator Susan Collins announced in a press conference that she would be voting for Kavanaugh, essentially sealing his presence on the court.

But opposition to Kavanaugh continues in full swing from a letter by thousands of lawyers, to the New York Times editorial board, and even retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens urging a “no” vote. Kavanaugh has attempted a last-ditch effort to advocate for his confirmation in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Thursday night where he assured readers he could be “an independent and impartial” judge.

Megan Peterson, Executive Director at Gender Justice, a legal and policy advocacy org committed to gender, economic and reproductive justice.

Republican Senators are forcing a procedural vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday, saying that they were satisfied with the results of a cursory FBI probe into allegations of sexual assault against him. The full vote is expected to take place on Saturday. Senator Steve Daines of Montana said he expects to miss the vote because of his daughter’s wedding. But if the GOP has the votes needed it will move on the process anyway.

Perhaps hoping to defuse the criticism over his lack of appropriate temperament, Kavanaugh penned his own op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late on Thursday saying that he might have been, “too emotional” in his testimony last week. The Journal has strongly defended Kavanaugh, publishing mostly positive coverage of his candidacy for weeks. In his late-breaking op-ed, Kavanaugh wrote, “I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said.” He repeatedly assured readers that he would be an independent and impartial Supreme Court justice and a “team player.”

But many Americans think otherwise. More than 2,000 lawyers have signed onto a letter saying that Kavanaugh is not fit for the court. One signatory said Kavanaugh’s behavior, “was not what we should expect of a Supreme Court Justice. Telling obvious lies about his background, yelling at senators, refusing to answer questions, and blaming his troubles on others is not appropriate behavior.” Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens also does not think Kavanaugh is qualified. He had initially thought of Kavanaugh as suited to the court but then said recently, “His performance in the hearings changed my mind.” The New York Times editorial board published a lengthy and profound op-ed on Friday urging the Senate to vote against Kavanaugh for similar reasons.

Hundreds of people took over the Hart Senate building on Thursday after Republican Senators claimed that Kavanaugh was absolved of the allegations made against him.  Hundreds of mostly women taking over the Hart Senate building on Thursday in Washington DC in protest of Kavanaugh. A number of women remained seated in the atrium and refused to move and were eventually arrested by the Capitol police. Among those arrested were actors Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski. Amy Schumer is one of many hundreds and possibly thousands of women who have been continuously gathering at the Senate Hart building over the course of the Kavanaugh confirmation scandal. On Thursday marches took place all over the country including in Los Angeles where this program is produced.

In Maine, protesters gathered in front of Republican Senator Susan Collins’ office urging her, as they have done for days, to vote down Kavanaugh’s confirmation. But on Thursday Collins said that although she hadn’t finished reading the report from the narrow and secretive FBI probe, that in her opinion,

FEATURING FRANK CLEMENTE – A major New York Times investigation published this week has uncovered that President Donald Trump engaged in what appears to be tax fraud in order to keep as much of his parent’s inheritance as possible. The bombshell story on the cover of the paper is entitled, “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father,” and details how Trump, “received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.”

Reporters David Barstow, Suzanne Craig, and Russ Beutner pointed out that, “Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help.”

A Trump lawyer released a statement saying, “The New York Times’ allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, and highly defamatory. There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which The Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate.” In the wake of the report, the New York State Tax Department is reportedly looking into potential wrongdoing by the Trumps.

Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness.

FEATURING KSHAMA SAWANT – The online retail giant Amazon made a surprise announcement earlier this week that it was raising its employee minimum wage to $15 an hour. As per CNN, “The change takes effect November 1 and applies to full-time, part-time and temporary workers. Amazon says the $15 minimum wage will benefit more than 250,000 Amazon employees, plus 100,000 seasonal workers.

Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos, who is the world’s richest man and who has been the target of fierce criticism for underpaying his employees, said, “We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead. We’re excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us.”

But in Seattle, Washington, the company hasn’t been so generous in its efforts to help workers or the residents of the city where it is headquartered.

Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Councilmember, first Socialist councilmember to be elected, affiliated with Socialist Alternative party.

US Senators on Friday are expected to pass a procedural vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh with a full vote possibly over the weekend. On Thursday the FBI released its very narrow report on allegations of sexual assault to members of the Senate. The report is being kept closely guarded from the public but Senate Democrats complained that federal law enforcement officers did not interview nearly enough people with knowledge of the matter including Kavanaugh and his first accuser Christine Blasey Ford. As of this recording, Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who was wavering in her opposition to Kavanaugh has announced she will not vote for him.

What the FBI did not examine was whether Kavanaugh was truthful in several other claims he made during his sworn testimony. Many media outlets have pointed out that Kavanaugh simply lied about numerous things and because he did so under oath, it could amount to perjury. This week Brave New Films published a video of Kavanaugh’s lies which we will feature on our show.

You can watch the film yourself and share it online from BNF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bravenewfilms.

US Senators are viewing the controversial FBI probe into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday morning. According to Senator Dick Durbin, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, “Only one copy is being made available to senators, and each party will take turns viewing it in one-hour increments.” Durbin called the conditions under which Senators could read the report, “Bizarre,” adding, “it doesn’t make any sense.” The report’s contents will clearly be kept sealed from the public.

But White House officials, according to the New York Times, “after reviewing summaries of interviews conducted by the F.B.I., are increasingly confident that the information collected will ease the path for senators to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.” And, “an official briefed on the F.B.I. review said the bureau contacted 10 people and interviewed nine of them…The White House concluded that the interviews did not corroborate sexual misconduct accusations against Judge Kavanaugh, and could help his case, said the person briefed on the findings, who requested anonymity to discuss them.” But Senate Democrats complained that the FBI did not interview nearly enough people to properly verify Kavanaugh’s innocence.

It is not up to the White House anymore, it is up to the entire US Senate now and Senators will take a procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination on Friday in a high-stakes event that is expected to roll over into the weekend. AP described the tension around the nomination that could go through or end on a single vote saying, “With Republicans clinging to a razor-thin 51-49 majority and five senators — including three Republicans — still vacillating, the conservative jurist’s prospects of Senate confirmation remained murky and dependent, in part, on the file’s contents, which are supposed to be kept secret.”

Meanwhile Senators reacted to President Trump’s shocking tirade against Kavanaugh accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday. Even Republican Lindsay Graham, who has been one of Kavanaugh’s most vociferous supporters, remarked about the President’s words, “I would tell him, knock it off. You’re not helping.” Senator Jeff Flake, who is one of the three Republicans wavering on Kavanaugh and who was the one to demand the FBI probe, said to reporters, “I thought it was obviously insensitive and appalling, frankly. There’s no time or place, but particularly, to discuss something so sensitive at a political rally is just wrong.” Independent Senator Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats had even more to say about Trump’s behavior in a CNN interview on Wednesday. Senator Angus King in an interview on Wednesday denounced President Trump’s mocking of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Sen. King has said that he plans to vote against Kavanaugh.

And, Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska surprised many when he gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, defending the #MeToo movement. Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska on Wednesday said he had wanted the President to nominate a woman to the US Supreme Cour...