Have want to heal with less time. Amy the u. S. Death toll from covid19 has topped 250,000 as the number of infections soar across the country. Nearly 2000 deaths in one day. But President Trump is all but missing in action. He has not attended a Coronavirus Task force meeting in five months. He continues to have no Public Meetings on his schedule. We will speak with the atlantics ed yong. Then to iran. As President Trump installs loyalists in a shakeup at the pentagon, is the president laying the groundwork to attack iran . Plus, we will look at why climate activists and progressive democrats are protesting president elect joe bidens decision to tap congressman Cedric Richmond to a Top White House post. He is the leading democrat recipient of fossil el money in congress. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the quarantine report. Im amy goodman. The official u. S. Death toll from covid19 has passed a quarter of a Million People as the virus rages out of control from coasttocoast in the United States, with 172,000 infections and nearly 2000 deaths reported on wednesday alone. U. S. Hospitalizations continue to shatter records now at over 73,000 covid19 patients and the average daily death toll is rising in 33 states. Columbia university epidemiologists estimate more than 3 Million People across the u. S. Are currently contagious with coronavirus, nearly 1 of the population. On tuesday, chicagos Public Health commissioner dr. Allison arwady urged City Residents to put off thanksgiving holiday plans, warning as many as 180,000 residents are currently infectious. One in 15 as chicagoans has active covid19 right now. And that is why the risk of gathering is significant. Amy here in new york, mayor bill de blasio has canceled inperson classes for the citys Public School system come the largest in the country even as bars, restaurants, and gyms remain open for limited service. The drug maker pfizer said wednesday it will seek emergency use authorization for its Coronavirus Vaccine after it proved 95 eective at preventi covid19 in a large clinicalrial. Pfizer also reports the vaine poses no serious safety concerns and appears to prevent severe disease among the recipits who beco infected with coronaviru the findings have not yet be peer reviewed. Theaccine still has to be reviewed by the food and drug administration. Its not known how long recipients of pfizers vaccine will remain protected against covid19 or whether it confers immunity. G in waterloo, iowa, a wrongful death lawsuit accuses tyson foods of willful and wanton disregard for Workplace Safety at a pork slaughterhouse that led to over 1000 workplace infections and at least five deaths. The family of meatpacker isidro fernandez, who died of covid19 on april 20, alleges in an amended lawsuit that plant manager tom hart organized a cashbuyin, winnertakeall, betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager how many plant employees would test positive for covid19. In the midwest, over 900 employees of the Mayo Clinic Hospital system have contracted covid19 in just the last two weeks. The infections led to a labor shortage at the mayo clinic campus in rochester, minnesota, where intensive care unit beds are filled to capacity and over healthcare workers are off the 1000 job due to covid19 exposure or diagnosis. Stat news reports hospitals in at least 25 states are critically short of nurses, doctors, and other staff. In a Conference Call with president elect joe biden wednesday, Minnesota Nurses Association president mary turner described the toll the outbreak is having on frontline healthcare workers. Physical impact of this virus have been devastating. I myself have held the hand of dying patnts crying out for their families that they cant see. I have taken care of coworkers as they fight for their lives on a ventilator. Amy as the head of the Minnesota Nurses Association broke down, president elect biden also wiped away a tear, promising personal protective equipment and paying sick leave for frontline workers. He said the Trump Administrations refusal to acknowledge the outcome of the election was preventing his Transition Team from accessing Critical Data about the u. S. Outbreak and could slow the distribution of vaccines in 2021. Mr. Biden there are a whole lot of things we just dont have available to us. Made available soon, we will be behind weeks or months being able to put together the whole initiative. Amy in washington, health and Human Services secretary alex azar said wednesday he wont work with president elect bidens Transition Team until the administrator of the General Services administration only murphy determines biden won the election. When gsa makes a determination, we will ensure complete cooperative, professional transitions and planning. Amy President Trump continues to refuse to concede to joe biden and has retreated from public view, with no Public Events on his calendar today for the 12th day since the election. On twitter, trump continues to promote baseless conspiracy theories about flipped votes and a stolen election. In arizona, secretary of state katie hobbs said her family has been subjected to ongoing and escalating threats of violence since bidens victory. She said in a statement there are those, including the president , members of congress and other elected officials, who are perpetuating misinformation and are encouraging others to distrust the Election Results in a manner that violates the oath of office they took. It is well past time that they stop. Their words and actions have consequences, arizonas secretary of state wrote. On capitol hill, House Democrats voted wednesday to keep nancy pelosi as House Speaker for two more years. Pelosi said she will relinquish the role after the 2022 midterm elections. The head of the Australian Military has apologized to the people of afghanistan after a fouryear probe found Australian Special forces committed war crimes by murdering at least 39 noncombatants in afghanistan. The probe reveals a practice known as blooding where patrol commanders ordered junior soldiers to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve the soldiers first kill. The military has now referred dozens of cases to the Australian Federal police for criminal investigation. Secretary of state mike pompeo has arrived in israel, where he toured an illegal israeli settlement in the occupied west bank. In a surprise move, pompeo also said he would tour a settlement in the occupied Golan Heights on syrian land israel illegally annexed in 1981. Its the first time a u. S. Secretary of state has toured israeli settlements. Which violate multiple u. N. Resolutions and the geneva convention. Speaking in jerusalem alongside israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, pompeo said the u. S. Would label the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement antisemitic. It is a nonviolent movement. Many of its leaders are jewish peace activists. In central america, at least 30 people have died from hurricane iota, the strongest atlantic hurricane of the year. Some 160,000 nicaraguans and 70,000 hondurans were forced to flee their homes. The colombian island of providencia was vastated with 98 of its infrastructure ruined. The storm came just two weeks after hurricane eta devastated the region, killing at least 150 people. In haiti, protesters marched in portauprince wednesday calling for the resignation of jovenel moise, haitis u. S. Backed president , who is now ruling the country by decree after he dismissed parliament in january. Protesters called on president elect biden to stop supporting moise. President trump is no longer in power. He was supporting president moise. Were going to the embassy to tell them to abandon them so the country can develop. Amy new information has emerged about why u. S. Prosecutors may have dropped all charges against mexicos former defense secretary, general salvador cienfuegos, who had been indicted on Money Laundering and Drug Trafficking charges. Vice news reports mexico threatened to kick the u. S. Drug Enforcement Administration out of the country and limit cooperation with the u. S. On drug investigations if the case proceeded. Mexico has also announced it has opened its own probe of cienfuegos. The federal government is scheduled to execute orlando hall today at the federal penitentiary in terra haute, indiana. Hall is an African American man who was sentenced to die by an allwhite jury. He will be the eighth person to be executed by the federal government this year. On wednesday, a federal Appeals Court refused to delay the execution of hall after lawyers challenged the governments lethal injection methods. Meanwhile, the United States is moving ahead with plans to execute lisa coleman on december 8. The African American woman is set to become the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly 70 years. Her chances of receiving clemency have been dealt a setback after two of her attorneys became infected with covid19 after visiting her in prison. The u. S. Federal Aviation Administration has lifted an order that grounded all boeing 737 max planes for 20 months following two fatal crashes in ethiopia and indonesia that killed all 346 people on board. Boeing says it has made changes to the design, software, and crew training for the 737 max, but the plane is still grounded in europe, canada, brazil and china. Michael stumo, whose daughter samya died in the ethiopian crash, criticized the faas decision. Crashfamily and the families are very upset this plane is going back in the air. We dont have a final true art from the ethiopian authorities. Address thet inherent instability of this aircraft, because of the actual figuration, the software theyre keeping the software analysis,the hazard theyre keeping it secret. Amy michael stumos daughter samya was the niece of consumer advocate and president ial candidate ralph nader, who had urged the faa to never let the 737 max fly again because of its flawed design. The Philadelphia City council has formally apologized for the 1985 Police Bombing of the radical, black liberation, antipolicebrutality group move, which killed six adults and five children and destroyed over 60 homes. The City Council Resolution acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of the move bombing. May 13, the anniversary of the massacre, will be established as an annual day of observation, reflection and recommitment. And activist and former professional Football PlayerColin Kaepernick has come out in support of freeing renowned political prisoner and journalist mumia abujamal. He posted this video online. Who haslitical prisoner since the age of 14 dedicated his life to fighting against racism, continues to be caged and lives his life on a slow death row. We are the midst of a movement that says black lives matter. If that is truly the case, then it means his life and legacy must matter. Amy and the National Book award for nonfiction has been awarded to the dead are arising the life of malcolm x by the late journalist les payne and his daughter tamara payne. It is based on decades of research by les payne, who died in 2018. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the quarantine report. Im amy goodman in new york, joined remotely by my cohost nermeen shaikh. Hi, nermeen. Nermeen good morning, amy. Lcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. Amy the official u. S. Death all from covid19 has passed quarter of a Million People as the virus rages out of control withcoasttocoast, 172,000 infections and nearly 2000 deaths reported on wednesday alone. U. S. Hospitalizations continue to shatter records with over 73,000 covid9 patien. The average daily death toll is rising in 33 states. But as covid breaks every reco here in the United States with expected holiday spikes still to come, health and Human Services secretary alex azar said he will not work with wednesday president elect joe biden until the General Services administration declares an election winner. Hhs staffers have been directed to not communicate with bidens team. Biden said the move could delay Vaccine Distribution by weeks or even months. This comes amid reports of hospitals reaching capacity, overwhelmed healthcare workers and a lack of personal protective equipment reminiscent of the first months of the pandemic. Biden spoke with frontline workers on a video call wednesday. This is part of his Emotional Exchange with mary turner, the president of the minnesota chapter of National Nurses united. Yet have not been tested and i have been on the front lines in the icu since february. Mr. Biden you are kidding me. No. We also need safe staffing of patientsnd must be isolated from the general patient population. Orkers who have been exposed are sick need to be allowed to quarantine at home without fear of losing income and thr jobs. This is a novel virus, but principles of Infection Control are not. Our hospitals have not been provided these basic protections. Nurses across the country were so relieved and grateful, mr. President elect, when you committed to taking action that we need to have to get this pandemic under control. We nurses, we know we are facing immense death and suffering in the coming weeks. And we will there, but we need to act now. We need to act quickly to protect our Health Care Workers so we can save as many lives as possible. Thank you. Mr. Biden mary i am sorry im so emotional. Mr. Biden you got me emotional. Amy that is president elect joe biden responding to mary turner, president of the minnesota chapter of National Nurses united. Well, for more, we go to washington, d. C. , where were joined by ed yong, Science Writer at the atlantic. His latest story is headlined no one is listening to us more people than ever are hospitalized with covid19. Healthcare workers cant go on like this. Ed yong, we are nearing 2000 people in a day dying in this country, by far shattering every record in the world for covid19. Your latest piece focuses on healthcare workers. Meanwhile, President Trump remains uncured in the white down in thekered white house. For 12 days he has had no Public Events. Can you talk about the state of this country right now . It is not about what it could have been, although that is a critical issue to look at, but what is happening right now there are many days that President Trump will remain president. That means thousands and thousands of people will die. And cant really overemphasize how important the next few days are. Let me paint the picture for you. It is interesting you said trump has been closed for 12 days. There are typically a 12 day lag between rises in cases and rights as any hospitalizations. That means all the stories you have just heard, that icu nurse, all the stories about hospitals in the midwest being completely at capacity and unable to cope that does not even account for the 1. 5 Million People who have been confirmed as infected over the last 12 days. Some of those people will slam into those hospitals that are already unable to cope with what they have right now over the next few weeks into thanksgiving. And the people who get infected at thanksgiving, they are going to slam into those hospitals and then to be exact or that, and some of those people are going to be dead before christmas. That is what we are looking at. We are looking at enormous tragedy. It is hard to explain how nurses and doctors are dealing with this. I have spent the last couple of weeks interviewing many of them around the country. I have had nurses crying to me on the phone. A nurse ld me nurse w works in canr ward told earliethis week th she caotven she esneven know h to procs the amnt of deathhe iseeing onhe vid word one of thbest ppared hospitalin the eire couny in nraskhas turn an entire wer intcovidnits. Ey are dling witso many more patient in neral and specifically Covid Patients and they have ever had to deal with. Nermeen ed yong, in your piece about medical workers, in addition of course to the there is speak of, also the issue of the effes of th politicatioof the pandemic and the Trump Administrations response. You write in the recent piece that healthcare workers and Public Health officials have received threats and abusive messages accusing them of fear mongering. So in addition to these extremely injurious effects on nurses and on doctors, they are also being abused. They are being abused. They are being harassed. Public Health Officials are taking the brunt of this. But say youre not getting harassed and abused. Some of the people i have talked to are still spending 12 hour shifts in the icu. They are watching patients die on them. They have to zip them up in body bags. They end their shifts and drive home past rows of packed restaurants, packed sporting venues, people having parties and going out to bars. That is emotionally devastating. These are the people who are trying to save everyones lives. They are inundated, exhausted. At the end of the day, they are forced to watch the people who will likely be in their icus and adding to the burden in about two weeks time. And the social fatigue of having to deal with society that is not doing its part is crushing. People i have spoken to said in the spring when this started, they were energetic and they had drive to them. Partly that was believed by the fact other people were doing their part and everyone was in it together. But we are past the day were people are clapping for healthcare workers in the evening. People have forgotten. Pandemic fatigue has set in. That means healthcare workers who have been at this for the entire year, almost without a break, and youre now exhausted, feel like they are being left alone by the very public they are trying to say. Nermeen we have been talking about infections, that principally about deaths in the u. S. And how the u. S. Stds out as the number one in the world wrotems of death but you in an august in apiece in aust aut covid long haulers. This was in august. Could you talk about what long haulers are add what we have learned since august about this condition which afflicts not older ande who were more vulnerable, but also, as you have said, people who were previously healthy and also the young. Yes. A lot of Covid Patients had ongoing symptoms for many months, well past the period were supposedly mild covid is meant to finish. These symptoms are often not severe enough to send them into an icu but they are certainly severe enough to debilitate their lives. , crushingal problems fatigue that prevents them from doing even the simplest tasks and makes daily activities even physical and mental activities can turn them into a big physiological crash. Like many other people with , longd chronic illnesses haulers have often been dismissed by the medical establishment and neglected. But they have been pushing for their own recognition. They have been doing research on their own community. They have gotten the attention of the nih and who and they are forming communities and pushing and advocating for themselves. The really stark thing here is that we know that a certain propulsion proportion will end up in this bucket. With millions of people being infected now at an ever faster rate than ever, we are looking at a huge proportion of people who are still going to be suffering from the consequences of covid19 well into next year. And maybe for even longer than that. We are looking aa really, really large toll of longterm disability that i dont think america is even remotely ready for. Amy can you talk about the Trump Administration refusing to communicate with the Incoming Biden Administration . What exactly this means . That emily murphy, who daytoday is deciding what to do. Yes, she must take orders from the Trump Administration but every individual can make your own decision about what they want to do if it involves, for example, saving lives. Where she would do the sign off on an ascertainment that means that the Biden Administration can start to plan like a relay race where you dont stop and then take a baton and run, youre running alongside the runner behind you and you take the baton from them. We are at a point right now where biden is saying this could set back, for example, the distribution of the vaccine not only weeks, but by months. That is just o part of this. Talk about the significance of this as President Trump hides ay in the white house. It is just another of a long trumpf decisions that the administration has made that has severely hampered the u. S. s ability to control this very controllable, very preventable prices. None of this should be played out in the way that it has. It is because of the utter incompetence of this administration throughout the entire year and it seems like having lost the recent election, they show no signs of charting a different course. It is really unfortunate. Truehe first time i think hope is on the horizon. We have a new administration coming in that has appointed actu medical experts to its task force, has a plan that just reads very much like all the other roadmap and plans that experts have been pushing for the last year. Weave the promise of two very effective vaccines on e would actual w data. The early signs are very promising. Than a t ofbetter experts habeen hoping for. The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than ever, but thtunnel itsf is incredibly dark. Some Healthcare Systems are going to collapse. Those death rates you have seen are going to get even higher when that happens, when doctors and nurses simply cannot any longer take care of every patient. We are approaching that point where they will have to choose who to save and who to let die. It is a problem that trump is not aiding the biden transition, but we cannot wait for that point. We cannot wait for a new administration to come in in january. Just to then not biden Transition Team and task force, it falls upon all of us to do our part. It falls upon all of us to cancel all travel plans stop it calls upon us to stay with from other people in indoor spaces who are not from our household. Indoor spaces are the best they provide some of the best conditions for the virus to transmit. Bars, restaurants, gyms, house parties, dinner parties these thethe means through which virus spreads easily. And we need to avoid those for the immediate future. We need to hunker down and distance ourselves from each other even at this painful time when we really want to be gathering and hugging our families. Because if we dont, many parts of our countrys Health Care System are just going to collapse within the next few months, even before those signs of hope, before the new administration, before vaccine start coming into play. Nermeen ed yong, as you have talked about, the vaccine is the twoope not just possibly very successful vaccines not just ving hope to people and it u. S. , but around the world. I would like to ask about some of the problems that many countries in fact, the majority of the countries in the world will face in accessing these vaccines. Number one having to do with distribution because both vaccines require stora and transportation in subzero temperatures. D second, the question of electoral property rights. There are a number of developing countries led by ind and south africa that are pushing for the suspension of property right with respect to the covid19 vaccine to make the vaccine more accessible to the majority of countries in the world. And lastly, the fact that rich countriehave already bought up almost the majority i think projected vaccine doses, leaving many in the world to anticipate receiving this vaccin only several yearfrom now. So could you talk about some of the issues, some of the problems that this lack of access might create, not just for people around the world outside the rich countries, but also for the rich countries of such large numbers of people dont receive the vaccine . To be clear, this is not something i personally reported on so i dont want to stray outside what i know. My colleague has written some credible pieces about vaccines and seven of the logistical problems going forward. What i will say is that a pandemic obviously is a global issue, and countries cannot be fighting it alone. America is in a weird position because it has uniquely botched ,ts response to the vaccine were straits that many places in the world with much fewer resources. But the traditional posture of trying to help the rest of the world and being part of this Global Community still stands. There are agreements and alliances that are meant to ensure Equitable International distribution of vaccines to get the entire pandemic under control around the world on the understanding if anyone country is vulnerable, every country is vulnerable. The u. S. Should, i hope, in the coming administration sign up to those alliances and be part within the Global Community. But it also needs a massive dose of humility. Is thee the days when it big player offering aid and advice and expertise to the rest of the world. The u. S. Is in a position where it has as much to learn from other countries as it has to teach. Problems ofyes, the distributing vaccine and allocating it fairly within the u. S. And more broadly are substantial. And they mean these vaccines, when they get approved which hopefully will be not too long from now that is not going to be the end of the pandemic. It will not be a matter of flipping a light switch and restoring the world of 2019 that we have longed for. He will be a slow process, gradually rolling out doses around the country and around the world. Slowly ramping up immunity and slowly bringing this thing under control. Sight. Is in we do have an end game, but it will be a long and came and we will only begin endgame and we will only begin that process soon. In that time, we will still need on the Public Health measures that have been insufficient so far. We need testing, access to rapid diagnostic tests that can make a huge difference. Contact tracing, social interventions i paid sick leave, Clear Communication from people in charge. And we will ne some measure of physical distancing still for many months to come to prevent the kind of Health Care System collapses that we are facing right now. Before we cclude, i wod ask abousomething you wrote about in an october piece, mainly, ever wins the election we know now the bidenheres the administration will probably have to deal with another major epidemic during their term in office. Could you explain why you think that is the case . Close because that has been case for every administration in recent history. Take barack obama and his two terms, he had a deal with mrs pandemic, as he could come and the massive historic Ebola Outbreak in west africa. Of course, not all of those epidemics hit the u. S. , that many of them did and the current pandemic shows just how easily a new disease can affect the entire world. We live in a age of epidemics were new viruses are coming out all the time, when old foes are researching to threaten us once more. This is not a pblem that we can expect to go away at any time, anytime soon. Those of us fortunate enough to survive covid19 pandemic will almost certainly experience more pandemics in our lifetimes, certainly more epidemics that we need to worry about. I just cant overstate how important this is. In thea piece in 2018 atlantic about the need to prepare for pandemics and affect the u. S. Was not prepared enough. Look around you. Clearly, that was the case. We still have holes to fi we have gaps in our preparedness. Overstretchedow our hospitals are, how underfunded our Public Health systems are. How vulnerable prisons and Nursing Homes and meatpacking plants can be. How poorly ventilators our buildings are. How longlasting some of the injustices that have pgued the country for decades and centuries that have now led to people of color, indigenous communities, disabled communities, and elderly communities been disproportionately hit by this virus. We have a lot to fix before the next big epidemic hits us. Amy if you have a big family dinner for thanksgiving, can expect a small funeral for christmas . I would prefer if you dont have a large family dinner at all. Look, i know we really want to see our families. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I have not seen most of them since the start of the year and even longer than that. Indoors, ifather multiple generations gather indoors, speaking loudly for days on end in close contact without masks, those are the perfect conditions for spreading this coronavirus. As i said, a lot of the people who get infted at thanksgiving are going to be rushing into hospital in the middle of december, possibly finding no staff or beds available for them and they will be in the morgue by christmas. That is how this virus acts. It works in a predictable way we have seen throughout the entire year. You can, try and be safer. If you can, try to cancel your ll stop. If we went to have a nice holiday in 2021, we need to make the right choices this year. You dont want to be at the thanksgiving table and a 2021 looking at an empty chair from the person you lost based on bad decisions this year. Amy ed yong, thank you for being with us. We will link to all of your pieces that the atlantic. Your latest no one is listening to us. When we come back, is present trump trying to make plans to attack iran before he leaves office . Stay with us. [music break] Amy Dolly Parton made of 1 million donation earlier this year that is been to do with helping moderna develop this promising covid19 vaccine. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the quarantine report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. We turn now to look at the u. S. Relationship with iran in the twilight of Donald Trumps presidency. The New York Times reported this week that President Trump had inquired about bombing irans main nuclear site in the coming weeks. Trump raised the issue at a meeting last thursday with Vice President mike pence, secretary of state mike pompeo, and top military officials including christopher miller, the new acting defense secretary. The times reports the advisers attempted to dissuade the president , warning that a strike could escalate into a broader conflict. But officials told the times that trump may still be looking for ways to attack iran or iranian assets before his term ends. Thursdays meeting was held a day after International Inspectors reported irans lowenriched uranium stockpile is growing again following trumps abandonment of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. President elect joe biden has said he will rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal once in office. On wednesday, irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad zarif said iran would fully comply with the deal if biden lifts sanctions. Well, for more, were joined by narges bajoghli, professor of middle east studies at Johns Hopkins university and the author of iran reframed anxieties of power in the islamic republic. When you read that piece in the times, professor, that President Trump is weighing bombing iran before he leav office, youresponse . That he is to be it races a ton of questions for me. It was interesting becse the next day after that repo, fox news reported it wasnt trump who requested those plants but actually robert obrien, his National Security advisor requested it from his staff. So it seems to be that right now we dont actuallknow the full story. What we do know is that presiden trump is the first president in decades who has not started a new war and he has run the ft that he does not he is against these wars, these foreign interventions in the middle east. What is going to do in the next two months is unclear, especially given his loss and how he is responding to it for the presential election. Yet we also know at the same time that these reports are coming out, secretary pomo and his state department are continuing to impment new sanctions on iran on a weekly basis. The state department as well as the department of treasury, th put on new sanctions two days ago. There seems to be report they will be designating the houthis and a him as a foreign terrorist organization. There closely aligned with iran. The heartny reports sanctions against syriand iran which are targed against those countries but are part of the larger maximum Pressure Campaign of the Trump Administration, visavis iran. Just this week, the iranian government confirmed there were Cyber Attacks against the Iranian National gas company as the cold weather is starting to set in in iran for the winter. There are no worries across iran these Cyber Attacks might be meant to cause maximum harm and sht period of time and to further come on top of the pandemic, increased sanctions on irans economy, which are huing people, are things the Trump Administration is trying to do tourther increase pressu on the iranian people, and by extension, the iranian regime. Narges bajoghli, if you could talk about how you expect things might change under a bidenharris administration, not just with respect to the nuclr agreement, but even with respect sorry, with resct to the nuclear agreement, whether you think either the u. S. Or iran will want to negotiate the terms of that agreement before the u. S. Rejoins . And whether the agreement will only be negotiated, as i think some in iran have suggested, only after president ial ection in iran are due to be held next ye in the middle of the year . Yes, there are president ial eltions coming up in iran in the summer of 2021. So there is a very short time period and window left at this moment between when the Biden Administration comes into office, sworn in, and the president ial elections in iran. One ofhe things that arent rtaiat t moment is who will windows president ial elections in iran, whether it will connue to be folks from e moderate reformist side of the table who have been wantg to engage with the west or it will be more hardliners have taken a harsh stance against the gp poa, the iran deal, and the way the trumpet administration pulled out the sanctions that have been put in place. What the Biden Administration does in the next few months is whaty to determining local politics might look li on a National Level in an and who might be the president coming in. As it stds today within this past week, but president rouhani of iran, the foreign minister zari, and the Speaker Parliament have all me statements that have indicated iei openness to reengage with the United States on a certain level. Said if the Biden Administration comes back to a u. N. Resolution 2231, that they will come back that iranill. E back to its promises so compliance for compliancis what t iranians are arguing for. As far as a new deal or something that would bmore than the jcpoa, that is something that so far aranda saint it will not consider as long as the sanctions are on and as long as that ited stas does not go backo its promises in the jcpoa. We also dont know who will be within the Foreign Policy team and in the bid Administration Quite yet and so it is difficult to say what t bidenhersey will do going forward. Until it becom a little bit clearer who they bring in for the foreign especially their iran team. Amy at the same time President Trump might be threatening war with iran and semisay it is already war when you have the level of sanctions he is imposed on iran at a time of the covid devastation, perhaps not ravaging iran as much as does ravaging the United States because he has not gotten a handle on it, but when you have him threatening war, yet at the same timsayi he would pull thousands of troops out of iraq and afghanistan, which has shaken the National Security establishment, democrat and republican in the United States, can you make sense of this . Know, i appreciate that question, amy,ecause i thinit is really important to understand theaximum pressure from the Trump Administration evenran is something secrary pompeo yesterday came out with a very large statement that he released where he was defending maximum pressure whereby all means itas failed to get to the policies they were trying to get to. But regardless, maximum pressure has devastated irans economy, especially driving the middle class toward poverty. Tohas also in addition sancons, involved a slew of Cyber Attacks as well as media warfare, disinformation campaigns, funding for different opposition groups. So this is pretty much a war by any means against iran. It has not gone into hot confrontation with iran directly yet, although there is confrontation in different areas in syria and iraq and within yemen and saudi arabia. This really is a multipronged attack against iran. Time also at the same it is true the pandemic is ravagi the u. S. , but also ravaging iran. In the midst of this,ore and more sanctions are being put onto country. These different nratives that are ming out aut Trip Reduction in afghanistan and iraq and then the potential floor at least plans being drawn up, whether they will be executed or not, for attacking iran part of the way to make sense of this is there are folks with the trump administratio from secretary pumped to ellio , and netanyahu, whare really hoping for ws to ve an excuse to further weaken iran. They see this as onof the last opportunities before the biden adnistration comes in. All of these different stories we are going to see coming up between now and january 20, i think we have to keep an eye toward part of them also being an attempt to push at iran in different ways and to see whether it will reacin such a way it would warrant an american attack or not. The trump ministration has had the red line is the killing of an american. So we haveo see if thes different ways iwhich iran is being pressured, both in battlefields across the region as well as in Cyber Attacks and others, whether these will be made the iranians will take her not. On the other hand, iran is indicated within the revolutionary guard d the government itself they undersnd they are being pushed in this way and they are saying they will continue to remain patient until the Biden Administration comes in. So right now but in this entire sort of atmosphere, what is really dangerous i think there a lot of potential r miscalculation on different parts of playing fields. This is something we have to really wait and see what ll happen in e next two months and whether it will be something that will dragon is something hotter. Amy narges bajoghli, thank you for being with us, professor of middle east studies at Johns Hopkins university. Author of iran reframed anxieties of power in the islamic republic. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. Today, climate and Racial Justice activists are joining Union Members and newlyelected members of congress to call on president elect joe biden to address covid, the economy, and appoint a corporatefree cabinet. Their push comes as biden announced several appointments tuesday and said he is tapping louisiana congressmember and former Congressional Black Caucus churchill he the appointment. He is the living democrat recipient of fossil fl money in congress. This comes as the Sunrise Movement and justice democrats are pushing the biden team to place progressives and a key cabinet positions. Their dream Team Includes barbara lee, elizabeth warren, keithllis, Bernie Sanders, haaland. Lee, and deb for more were joined by Waleed Shahid, spokesperson for justice democrats. Can you talk about what the response has been to the cabinet and the staff appointments so far . Begin with Cedric Richmond and your concerns. I think progressives are upset with the appointment of Cedric Richmond as one of the leading recipients of fossil fuel donations, took money from the corporate pack of exxon, chevron, valero this past year. He is someone who his own constituents of new orleans and louisiana have said have not taken the issue of regulating the fossil fuel industry and the Climate Crisis seriously. We are concerned that representative richmond was appointed to the inner circle. Former lobbyist was appointed, has worked for groups that oppose allowing the government to manufacture prcription drugs and opposed medicare for all. And now going forward, we have heard news that deb haaland is being considered for secretary of the interior. I think this might have been linked in response to the outcry. Looking forward, we have to keep e a tightye and scrutiny over this fight for the soul of the biden presidency. Will they appoint all of these corporate friendly insiders or will they appoint significant numbers of progressives who make up nearly 40 of the seats of democrats in the house are members of the progressive caucus. We think we deserve adequate representation. Nermeen on the basis of the appointments made so far, there has been a lot of discussion about what you have just mentioned, the split within the Democratic Party between progressives and centrists. How do you think it will go, the bidenheres the administration . Which direction do you see them tilting in on the basis of the ointments they have already made . The appoint of ron klain as chief of staff is an interesting one. The other two men in consideration for that, one of the most prominent roles in the white house, were much more hostile to progressives, much more ideologically new liberal, appointing ronerabl klain was a significant sign. He is given a statement he understands the party has become more progressive, has gone in progressive direction, especially over the last four years. We have to be optimistic because we want joe biden to deliver on behalf of working emilys, but we also have to keep a close eye the good thing is unlike president obama in 2008, theres not much of a honeymoon period as you can tell for joe biden. I think there will be a lot of scrutiny and oversight in terms of wanting more corporatefree appointments to this administration. We hope we will get some. Amy can you talk about the call for Bernie Sanders to be made labor secretary . Do you think see that happening . I think he would make a great labor secretary. We called for three people per position we thought would be great. Bernie sanders is one of the most tireless workers for families. Also and 11, mary y henry. Having someone in all these departments dedicated to bolt action, especially if Mitch Mcconnell controls the republican senator, we need people in executive positions who will use the full power of the federal government to move forward an agenda that solves peoples problems and does not allow Mitch Mcconnell to rob the american majority from governing. Amy finally, the protest being held today, what exactly are the demands as people gathered together around the country . And your response to those democrats and the republicans you know, went from republican to democrat in their vote for pridentelect biden in saying you must be quiet until the final runoff elections in georgia . One of the strange things is just a democrats, some conservative democrats go on television and say how excited they are to bring forth a new era of bipartisanship, of working acrs the aisl how they are optimistic that joe biden and Mitch Mcconnell can strike some deals. If you actually look across the aisle, it is a scary situation. Mitch mcconnell has amplified President Trumps efforts to orchestrate a coup, do legitimatize the biden victory, therefore delegitimized the next four years of a biden presidency. The majority of those incomes are acting that way. For democrats to allow Mitch Mcconnell to rob the majority of governing would be terrible for all the democrats. Amy Waleed Shahid narrator on this episode of earth focus, Climate Change is forcing traditional Dairy Producers to look for more sustainable methods. In central california, farmers have found ways to reduce and even reuse methane gas, while in eastern africa, drought is creating a market for an unexpected source of milk