What A Day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an emotional address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday after his visit to Bucha. In his speech, Zelensky accused Russian troops of atrocities, which included violent murder, rape, and a number of horrific acts.

There are a number of states fighting over redrawing their maps even as the midterm elections inch closer. Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, joins us to break down some of the states that are knee-deep in this issue right now.

And in headlines: Oklahoma’s Legislature passed a near-total ban on abortion, China recorded its highest number of COVID cases in a single day, and the Biden administration plans to extend the payment pause for federal student loan debt to August.

Show Notes:

Vote Save America’s Midterm Madness – https://votesaveamerica.com/midterm-madness/

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to form the company’s first union in the U.S. last Friday, making a historic win for labor organizers everywhere. The union earned recognition in less than a year into its existence, and it overcame multiple arrests as well as millions that Amazon spent on anti-union consultants. Chris Smalls, founder of the Amazon Labor Union, joins us to discuss how it felt to win and what comes next.

And in headlines: Sacramento police arrested a suspect in connection to Sunday’s mass shooting in the city, the Senate reached a bipartisan $10 billion deal to fund COVID relief, and Elon Musk purchased about $2.9 billion worth of Twitter stock.

Show Notes:

Chris Smalls, President of the Amazon Labor Union – https://twitter.com/Shut_downAmazon

The Intercept: “New Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Like “Union,” “Restrooms,” “Pay Raise,” and “Plantation” – https://bit.ly/3NM8Qyy

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday/

Signs of a massacre in Bucha, a town near Kyiv, have intensified calls for investigations into possible war crimes by Russia. Footage and photographs from Bucha show the corpses of at least twenty men strewn across the streets. The town’s mayor has said the victims included men and women and at least one child, and that they’ve already buried 280 people in mass graves.

Today, hundreds of people are assembling at the U.S. Department of Education in D.C. to urge President Biden to cancel all federal student debt. The pause on payments is currently slated to end on May 1st, and Biden has yet to announce either another extension or any kind of relief for borrowers. Braxton Brewington, the press secretary for The Debt Collective, joins us to discuss why debt needs to be canceled rather than paused.

And in headlines: Six people are dead after a mass shooting in Sacramento, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan dissolved the country’s parliament, and Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York voted to form the company's first union in the U.S.

Show Notes:

The Debt Collective – https://debtcollective.org/

Washington Post: “What the student loan payment pause has meant to Black women” – https://wapo.st/3K5SjTH

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Biden administration will reportedly end its use of Title 42 by late May. The policy effectively acted as a suspension of the legal asylum process, and has been viewed as inhumane by immigration activists.

The BA.2 Omicron subvariant is now the dominant COVID strain in the U.S. This comes as many states begin to close mass vaccination and testing sites that were vital throughout the pandemic. Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist & epidemiologist, joins us to give us her perspective on the matter.

And in headlines: Russian forces are moving away from two Ukrainian cities, Arizona Republican Governor Doug Doucey signed a bill that outlaws abortion after 15 weeks, and Republican Senator Susan Collins said that she plans to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Show Notes:

We are out on Friday, April 1st, and will be back with a new episode on Monday, April 4th.

Vote Save America: Midterm Madness – https://votesaveamerica.com/midterm-madness/

Trans Week Of Visibility And Action – https://www.trans-week.com/

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Over 3.9 million people have fled Ukraine and become refugees since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the United Nations. About 2.3 million of those people have gone to neighboring Poland, and another 600,000 people have crossed into neighboring Romania. Julia Pashkovska, a mother who left her home in central Ukraine, joins us to discuss her experience fleeing the country.

And in headlines: A Palestinian gunman killed 5 people in Tel Aviv, the FDA approved a second booster dose of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID vaccines for older adults, and the House Jan. 6 committee found a 7.5 hour gap in former President Donald Trump’s phone logs from the day of the insurrection.

Show Notes:

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America – https://www.mightycause.com/story/M1wzpf

Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine – https://bit.ly/36WSK40

American Red Cross – https://rdcrss.org/3vT4qPO

Polish Humanitarian Action: SOS Ukraine – https://www.pah.org.pl/en/

Association for Legal Intervention – https://interwencjaprawna.pl/en/get-involved/donate/

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The House select committee investigating the insurrection is reportedly soon going to seek an interview with Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She was found to have lobbied former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to pursue a plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election, sending 29 texts on the subject.

Immigration advocates, lawmakers, and health officials are urging President Biden to overturn Title 42, a Trump administration policy used to block migrants at the borders from seeking asylum due to COVID-19. Karla Marisol Vargas, an immigration attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, joins us to discuss the policy and the legal battles against it.

And in headlines: Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continue in Turkey, China put half of Shanghai on lockdown to contain a growing COVID outbreak, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the infamous Don’t Say Gay bill into law.

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

On Saturday, President Biden gave a speech from Warsaw, Poland, where he talked about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But at one point, he briefly spoke off the cuff and said about Russian President Vladimir Putin, “This man cannot remain in power.” White House officials quickly walked back Biden’s statement, saying that the U.S. has no strategy of regime change in Russia. 

Today is the fourth day of Trans Week of Visibility and Action, a 7-day campaign that aims to mobilize the masses in defense of trans lives. It culminates this Thursday, March 31st, with the Trans Day of Visibility. Activist Raquel Willis, one of the organizers of this week, joins us to discuss how the issue of trans rights spans over different states.

And in headlines: A Colorado jury found that Denver police officers used excessive force against the people protesting George Floyd’s death back in 2020, heatwaves and fires broke out across the western U.S., and President Biden is expected to unveil a new income tax on the country’s 700 richest American families.

Show Notes:

Trans Week Of Visibility And Action – https://www.trans-week.com/

The Nation: Chase Strangio and Raquel Willis on Keeping Transgender Youth Safe – https://youtu.be/Vx9pJ2H4okI

Trans Justice Funding Project: https://www.transjusticefundingproject.org/

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday/

President Biden spoke in Brussels after meeting with European allies on Thursday, and announced that the U.S. would commit more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and welcome 100,000 refugees.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is poised to sign two GOP-backed bills into law: the notorious Don’t Say Gay bill and the Stop WOKE Act. Florida House Representative Michele Rayner joins us to discuss how they plan to fight these measures, even if they get signed into law.

And in headlines: North Korea tested its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile yet, the Biden administration said it will speed up the asylum process for refugees at the southern border, and the European Union finalized a sweeping antitrust law targeting some of the world's largest tech companies.

Show Notes:

Equality Florida – https://www.eqfl.org/

Michele Rayner for Congress – https://micheleforflorida.com/

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced her second day of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Like Tuesday, there were some moments of substance in there, but many Republican senators didn’t let up on a bad faith effort to drum up controversies around Judge Jackson that just don’t exist.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the U.S. government formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Part of the assessment was based on intelligence, but Blinken also specifically referred to attacks on civilians in Mariupol. Julia Knyupa, a Ukrainian refugee who is currently in Poland, joins us to discuss her experience fleeing the country.

And in headlines: Two tornadoes devastated New Orleans and killed at least one person, the Taliban turned away thousands of Afghan girls from secondary school, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon will DJ at this year's Lollapalooza festival.

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Tuesday was the second day of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings. She faced questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee on a variety of topics, including her religion, abortion rights, critical race theory, war crimes, and child pornography sentencing.

The World Health Organization said that as of March 18, at least 62 healthcare facilities had been hit in Ukraine. There are estimates that as many as 10 million people have either left the country or gone to western Ukraine to escape the conflict. Avril Benoit, the executive director of Doctors Without Borders, joins us to discuss the work her organization is doing to provide humanitarian aid to those in need there.

And in headlines: Two Republican governors vetoed anti-trans bills, Amanda Bynes was released from her conservatorship, and the Democratic Party proposed letting some states move up their 2024 presidential primaries to before March.

Show Notes:

Doctors Without Borders: “MSF assesses response as Ukraine conflict escalates” – https://bit.ly/3JAxY8K

Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday