Democracy Now! Friday, March 27, 2009

Today's Headlines

• Admin Unveils Wall Street Regulatory Overhaul
• AIG Questioned on Billions in Bank Payouts
• Obama to Order Additional 4,000 Troops to Afghanistan
• 48 Killed in Suicide Attack on Pakistan Mosque
• 16 Die in Iraq Car Bombing Attack
• US Says Israel Carried Out Sudan Bombing
• Estimate of Chronically Hungry Passes 1B
• Obama Questioned on Marijuana Legalization in Online Town Hall
• North Dakota Braces for Flooding as Red River Rises
• Pennsylvania Youth Sentences Overturned
• Sen. Sanders Introduces Single-Payer Healthcare Act
• House Expands Wilderness Protection
• Sen. Webb Calls for Review of Criminal Justice System
• Canada Stays Deportation Order of US War Resister

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  Geithner Outlines Plan to Overhaul Nation's Financial Regulatory System

  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined plans Thursday to rewrite the nation’s financial rules as part of what the Wall Street Journal described as the most comprehensive changes to financial market regulation since the New Deal. Geithner’s plan includes the creation of a single regulator to monitor any firm whose failure could threaten the financial system. We speak with economist James Galbraith. [includes rush transcript]

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  Labor Victory in Guadeloupe After Six-Week Strike Reverberates Across French Caribbean and France

  The financial crisis has had reverberations beyond the United States and Europe, with people taking to the streets in cities across the globe to protest rising wealth inequality and to call for economic and labor rights. Perhaps the most significant action took place in the French Caribbean, on the island of Guadeloupe. Amid rising costs of living, labor leaders in Guadeloupe led a forty-four-day general strike that closed down roads, schools, gas stations and public transportation. The strikers claimed a victory earlier this month with a plan to improve wages and living standards. [includes rush transcript]

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  Robert McChesney on "The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers"

  The New York Times and Washington Post have become the latest newspapers to announce plans to downsize their staffs. As papers across the country continue to fold or downsize, policy officials and experts are contemplating a series of proposals to help newspapers stay afloat. On Capitol Hill, Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland has introduced the Newspaper Revitalization Act. Meanwhile, in an article in The Nation magazine titled “The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers,” media activists Robert McChesney and John Nichols are proposing a multi-part journalism economic stimulus package. [includes rush transcript]

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  Three Mile Island: 30th Anniversary of the Worst Nuclear Accident in US History

  Thirty years ago this Saturday, the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania malfunctioned, sparking a meltdown that resulted in the release of radioactivity. It was the worst nuclear accident in US history. The accident at Three Mile Island fueled the nuclear debate in this country that continues to rage to this day. We speak with anti-nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman.