Democracy Now! Monday, June 16, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Iowa Flooding Leaves 36,000 Homeless
• Flooding in China Kills 70 People
• Al-Maliki Warns Iraq May Not Sign US Forces Agreement
• Karzai Threatens to Send Afghan Troops into Pakistan
• McCain: Gitmo Ruling One of Court’s “Worst Decisions” Ever
• McCain Fundraiser Compares Rape to Bad Weather
• Report: AQ Khan Had Electronic Blueprints of Nuclear Weapon
• Memorial Unveiled for Journalists Killed
• Reuters Calls on Israel to Release Findings of Killed Cameraman
• FCC Chair to Support XM-Sirius Merger
• Los Angeles Dismisses “Afro-centric” Teacher
• Progressive Philanthropist Stewart Mott, 70, Dies
• “Meet the Press” Host Tim Russert, 58, Dies

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  Extreme Weather & Global Warming: Floods in Iowa & China, Wildfires in California, Heat Waves on the East Coast, Tornadoes Across the Midwest

  The words “extreme weather” are rarely associated in the mainstream media with another two words: “global warming.” But scientists argue that these extreme weather events are consistent with changes they have long predicted would accompany global warming. We speak to Joseph Romm of ClimateProgress.org and Perry Beeman of the Des Moines Register. [includes rush transcript]

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  Art in a Time of Terror: Acclaimed Art Professor Steve Kurtz on How He Became a "Bioterrorism" Suspect After His Wife Died in Her Sleep

  In his first broadcast interview, Steve Kurtz discusses the bizarre case of how he became the focus of an FBI bioterrorism investigation. On May 11, 2004, his wife Hope Kurtz tragically died in her sleep. When he called 911 for help, a nightmare that would last for the next four years began to unfold. The police became suspicious of his art supplies and harmless bacteria cultures that he was using for an antiwar project about the public health impact of germ warfare programs. His home was raided by the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and Homeland Security. His belongings, his cat, and even his wife’s body were seized. [includes rush transcript–partial]