New film junction 48, about an aspiring palestinian rap artist who uses his hipiphop to fight back against the israeli states policies. Arabic israeli rapper . I would s say so. My songs are not political. I just descrcribe the plplace i lilive. Amy w we will l also speakak wh tatamer nafar,r, the lead d actn junctction 48. Hes a palelestinian cicitizen f israel and founder of the palestinian hiphop group dam. Then we look at the lastest trove of documentsts published y wikileaks this week. On tuesdsday, march 7, wiwikileaks gaineded its new ses of leaks on n the Central Intelligence agency c codenamedd vault 7. This s series of publicationonss the largest evever publication f providential documents of the agency. Amy thousands of documents published by wikileaks describe cia programs to hack into both apple and android cellphones, smart tvs, and even cars and. Well speak with cindy cohen, executive director of the Electronic Frontier foundation. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. South Koreas Constitutional Court removed President Park goon0hye from Office Friday over charges of graft and corruption. He clears the way for her to face criminal charges. Parks shower have been reduced power had been reduced. Outside the courthouse in the capital seoul, thousands of parks supporters tried to break through police barricades. At least two people were killed in the violence. South koreas Prime Minister and acting president , hwang kyoahn, appealed for calm. In order to stop internal conflicts from intensifying, we should manage the social order and keep a stable government so that National Anxiety in the international societys concerns could be settled. Amy a new election will be held in 60 days. Parks conservative party appears headed to defeat, and its fall from power could mean south koreas next leader will take a more conciliatory approach toward north korea. The upheaval comes days after north korea testfired several ballistic missiles, and as the Trump Administration began deploying a Missile Defense system to south korea. Chinese officials warn the u. S. Is escalating a regigional arms race. In washington, d. C. House , lawmakers advanced legislation thursday to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act. The energy a and commerce cocommittee cleared the measuren a 3123 vote along party lines, capping a hearing that lasted over 27 hours. It followed a similar marathon session in the ways and means committee, which also voted along party lines. This is texas republican and Committee Chair kevin brady. This is obamacare gone. This is the first and most important step to giving relief to americans from this terrible law and to begin the replacement principles of restoring state control and restoring the free market the conservatives, moderates and all republicans have built consensus around. Amy house republicanans are moving rapidly to pass their healthcare legislation, with committee markups coming less than two days after the bill was made public. Democrats objected to the pace of the republican push, noting it took months of debate to craft the Affordable Care act in 2009. They say the gop is ramming through the legislation ahead of a Congressional Budget Office report expected monday that will assess the cosost and impapact f the bill. This is Georgia DemocraticCongress Member john lewis. Mr. Chairman, the bill we have been considering today is fundamentally flawed. Tax cuts for the rich, wealthy, and cooperation are the priority. Elderly, the middle class, and working americans are left out and left behind. Amy the legislation would end the Affordable Care acts expansion of medicaid by 2020. On thursday, the White House Pressed lawmakers to sunset Medicaid Expansion even sooner. The move could put medical treatment, nursing care and other benefits out of reach for millions of poor and disabled americans. Meanwhile, several republican senators questioned whether the house bill has the support to pass the senate. Arkansas senator tom cotton tweeted house healthcare bill cant pass Senate Without major changes. To my friends in house pause, start over. Get it right, dont get it fast. In climate news, the newly confirmed head of the Environmental Protection agency, scott pruitt, said thursday that Carbon Dioxide emissions are not a major contributor to global warming. Pruitt made the comment during an interview with cnbc host joe kernen. Do you believe thatat it has been proven that co2 is the primary control knob for climate . Do you believe that . No, i think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate something very challenging to d do and there is tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact. So, no, i wouould not agree it s a primamary contributor to globl warming that we see. But we dont know that yet. We need to continue the review and analysis. Amy Scott Pruitts comment defies Scientific Consensus about the laws of physics, and could put him at odds with u. S. Law. Federal courts have ruled the epa is obligated to regulate Carbon Dioxide under the clean air act. The epas own website even features a fact sheet declaring Greenhouse Gases act like a blanket around the earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causising it to wawarm. Meanwhile, a top official at the epa has resigned in protest of a Trump Administration proposal to entirely defund his office. Mustafa ali helped found the epas office of Environmental Justice in and served under both 1992 republican and democratic administrations. Ali told inside climate news my values and priorities seem to be different than our current leadership and because of that i feel that its best if i take my talents elsewhere. In more climate news, the Trump Administration asked a federal judge this week to halt a landmark tririal broughtht by 21 yoyoung people who say the fedel government is denying their Constitutional Rights by promoting fossil fuel extraction and eenhouse gas emissioions. On capitol hill, the Senate ForeignRelations Committee voted 129 thursday to advance the nomination of David Friedman for u. S. Ambassador to israel. Friedman has no diplomatic experience. He worked as a bankruptcy lawyer for donald trump over the last 15 years. He is a longtime supporter of illegagal jewish settlements in the occupied west bank who has called president barack obama an antisemite. He has also compared liberal American Jews to nazi collaborators. New jersey Democrat Robert menendez joined every Committee Republican in support of friedmdman, sending his confirmation to a vote by the full senate. The Top Commander of u. S. Forces deployed in war zones told Congress Thursday he wants to send morore troops to afghanistn to break a stalemate with the taliban. General joseph votel, head of u. S. Central command, was speaking to the Senate Armed Services committee. I do believe it will involve Additional Forces to ensure that we can make the advise and assist mission more effefective. Amy the u. S. Currently has 8400 troops deployed in afghanistan, alongside roughly three times as many contractors. General votel said he believes a few thousand more troops were needed but did not commit to an , exact number. The testimony y cames s the pentagon began deploying 400 additional marines to syria. Former National Security adviser Michael Flynn worked as a Foreign Agent for the turkish government last fall even as he served as a top adviser to to Donald Trumps campaign and failed to disclose his lobbying efforts as required by law. The revelation came in a retroactive filing by flynn with the Justice Department on tuesday. It reveals he was paid more than to lobby on behalf of a firm 500,000 linked to the turkish government. By failing to register with the federal government, flynn violated the Foreign Agent registration act. On election day, flynn authored an oped in the newspaper the hill calling for the extradition , to turkey of a prominent opponent of president Reccep Erdogan whos lived in pennsylvania since 1999. At thehe white house, press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked if donald trump knew of flynns work as a Foreign Agent. I dont believe that was known. I would refer you to general flynn and to the department of justice e in terms of the fililg set have been made. Had the president had known that, would he have appointed i dont know what he discussed prior to the appointment, his background. I dont know any of that. Amy last month, the white house fired Michael Flynn as National Security adviser, following revelations he discussed u. S. Sanctions against russia with the Russian Ambassador before Donald Trumps inauguration. And did not reveal this fact to Vice President pence. Fbi director james comey met top senators on capitol hill amid mounting calls for an thursday investigation into ties between the Trump Administration and russia. Comey held separate meetings with Senate Majority leader mitch mcconnell, minority leader chuck schumer, and senior members of the Senate Intelligence committee. Its not clear what was discussed, but the talks followed President Trumps unsubstantiated claims last weekend that president Obama Wiretapped trump tower. Wikileaks founder r julian assae said thursday he wilill help hightech cocompanies protect consumers against cia spying. The offer came two days after wikileaks published thousands of documents describing cia programs to hack into both apple and android cellphones, smart tvs, and even cars and trucks. Assange spoke in an online newes conference from the Ecuadorian Embassy inin london. The cenentral intelllligence of itslost control enentire Cyber Weapons arsenal. Historic c act off devastating incompetence to have creaeated such a anrsenal andnd ststored it all in onee place ad not t secured it. Amy after headlines, well speak with c cindy cohen of the electronic frontieiefoundationon about the largest leak of classified material in cia history. In washington, d. C. , the owners of a local restaurant filed suit thursday a against presisident donald trump, alleging theyre losing business due to unfair competition from the Trump International hotel. The owners of cork wine bar say theyve lost patrons who seek to curry favor with the president. This is steven schooner, lawyer for the plaintiffs. Today, whether you are a foreign government, a lobbyist, or a special interest group, there is no easier way to funnel money directly to the president of the united s states with no transparency whatsoever than by spending money in the president s hotel or his restaurants or through an event hosted in that facility. Amy at the white house, press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the lawsuit. The president has made very clear in the december press conference at trump tower, he does not have conflicts and the us and every thing in accordance with he has gone well beyond what he ever needed to do. Amy as president , trump has rejected advice from ethics experts to divest his vast Business Holdings or create a completely blind trust, and instead handed over management of the Trump Organization to his sons. The head of the office of government ethics slammed that decision as wholly inadequate. A former contribututor to fox ns has reportedly settled a lawsuit charging she was sexually assaulted by an executive at the network. Tamara holder says fox news latino Vice PresidentFrancisco Cortes tried to force her to perform oral sex when the two were alone in his office in february 2015. The New York Times reports holder won a settlement of more than 2. 5 million. The settlement follows the resignation of fox news chair roger ailes last july, who stepped down a amid multiple accusations that he sexually harassed women at the network. Mother jones reporter shane bauer will share this years izzy award with seth freed wessler of the nation institute, after the two worked independently to reveal major abuses at forprofit u. S. Prisons. The annual award is presented by the park center for independent media and named for legendary dissident journalist i. F. Stone. Other winners include nation writer ari berman. He exposed republican efforts to suppress the vote, collecting a special documentary on her prize is america divided. Tuesday interviews with all of this years award winners, go to. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. We begin to they show with an update on the case of prominent immigrant rights advocate ravi ragbir, who we interviewed thursday on democracy now right before his checkin with a deportation officer. Ragbir, originally from trinidad, immigrated to the u. S. Legally, but has a 15yearold crimininal conviction. He has avoided deportation since 2011 due to a series of stays that could end under trump. Amy after he left our studios, conference a news and rally yesterday where hundreds gathered to support him before he went inside, unsure if he would come back out. As he spoke, he was flanked by his wife, his attorney, pastors, and at least four elected officials. They were the city council speaker, two city council members, and a state senator, who would also accompany him inside. When i look out here, when i look get you, each and everyone , it who have come up to me i am overwhelmed. What this is, this is a sea of love. This will overtake any wall that will be built. This sea of love is going to make that change. There will be a delegation accompanying mr. Ravi inside. Thank you. Thank you. Handwe walk hand in we will walk hand in hand [indiscernible] we are going to be Walking Around and praying. Amy can you expand the jericho walked . This is around fully square and the federal building. It is an act of solidarity. It is to be seven times around the building. They start with a prayer and ask for immigrant justice, justice for all workers, immigrant and nonimmigrant. It is a prayer during down the walls. Like border walls, the walls of 26 Federal Plaza where people have to check in and face deportation every day. Ravi is out. He is ok. Amy immigrant rights activist to win into his checkin not knowing whether he would be detained or released is coming out in just a few minutes. Rene felt, maybe you can explain. Like many immigrants facing went in with avi support group that included people who had set up a text alert system and we all just received a very good text alert. It says, everything is ok for now. Thank you probably support. We believe he is about to come out any minute now. Im very out to be rqavis friend, colleague, a lawyer. Im here to report that we are very grateful and humbled that he is here with us. Out thatle to check appointment as a return to his family, we know from what we saw, from loved ones we talked to, that not everyone is that lucky. There are people there right now who are facing detention and deportation. However, we are saddened by the news that we received in t the checkin appointment whehere thy asked ravi to come back in one month to check in again and to make efforts to get a travel document. We dont know what this means. A stay of removal that is in place and remains in place until 2018. How do i feel about coming out . You would think i would be happy. I am happy to be back here with my family, to sing with you, to talk to you will step yes, i am. But i have to go through this gain take your time. Its all right. We love you, ravi. We will be there. How do ihow do i live with this guillotine over my neck . Friends,fe and my aowing that they asked me for travel document. They asked me for a passport. When they a