As deportations break records, an immigration bill is being debated in the Senate that would create a Frankenstein process. It will leave millions by the wayside.

We turn now to climate justice activist Tim DeChristopher, who was released last month after 21 months in federal custody. DeChristopher was convicted of interfering with a public auction in 2008 when he disrupted the Bush administration’s last-minute move to auction off oil and gas exploitation rights in Utah by posing as a bidder. He is the subject of the new documentary, "Bidder 70." "We need to be building power as a social movement. One of the weaknesses for the climate movement," DeChristopher explains, is that "we still have this huge divide between the political side of the movement that focuses on Washington and the grassroots side of the movement that’s been building real power."

The Justice Department’s disclosure that it had secretly subpoenaed phone records from the Associated Press has prompted a wave of comparisons between President Obama and Richard Nixon. Four decades ago, the Nixon administration attempted to block The New York Times from publishing a secret history of the Vietnam War leaked to the newspaper by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Two days after the Times first published excerpts of what became known as the "Pentagon Papers," the Nixon government asked for and received a Supreme Court injunction against the newspaper, arguing that publication of the documents posed a "grave and immediate danger to the security of the United States." We speak to James Goodale, the general counsel at The New York Times during the Pentagon Papers crackdown. Goodale is a leading legal expert on the First Amendment and has just published a new book, "Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles." Goodale said he wrote the book in part because of the work of Julian Assange of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, and how he is likely being targeted by the U.S. government in an ongoing grand jury probe. "My book is meant to be a clarion call to the journalist community: Wake up! There’s danger out there," Goodale says. "You may not like Assange, but wake up! The First Amendment is really going to be damaged. If Obama goes forward and succeeds, he will have succeeded where Nixon failed."

A Pentagon official predicted Thursday the war against al-Qaeda and its affiliates could last up to 20 more years. The comment came during a Senate hearing revisiting the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, enacted by Congress days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. At the hearing, Pentagon officials claimed the AUMF gives the president power to wage endless war anywhere in the world, including in Syria, Yemen and the Congo. "This is the most astounding and most astoundingly disturbing hearing that I’ve been to since I’ve been here," said Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine. "You guys have essentially rewritten the Constitution here today." We play excerpts of Thursday’s Senate hearing and our recent interview with Jeremy Scahill, author of the new bestseller, "Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield."

• Guantánamo Hunger Strike Enters 100th Day; 30 Prisoners Being Force-Fed
• Number of Syrian Refugees Tops 1.5 Million
• Obama: U.S. Won't Take Unilateral Action Against Assad
• Obama Defends Secret Subpoena of Associated Press Phone Records
• DOJ Releases Completely Blacked-Out Memo on Surveillance of Text Messages
• Obama Appoints New Acting IRS Commissioner
• Audit of Witness Protection Program Finds Gaps in Tracking of Terror Suspects
• Note by Boston Bombing Suspect Cites U.S. Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan as Motive
• 9 Afghan Civilians, 6 Americans Killed in Kabul Suicide Bombing
• Cause of Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Still Unknown 1 Month Later
• 3rd U.S. Military Official Tasked with Sexual Assault Prevention Is Accused of Abuse
• Senate Panels Advance Obama Nominees for Labor Dept., EPA with No Republican Support
• House Lawmakers Reach Tentative Deal for Immigration Reform
• 7 Still Missing After Texas Tornadoes; At Least 6 Dead
• LulzSec Computer Hackers Get Jail Terms in Britain
• Case Dropped Against Florida Teen Arrested for Science Experiment
• Today Marks 45th Anniversary of Catonsville 9 Protest Against Vietnam War
• Woman in El Salvador Asks Supreme Court for Life-Saving Abortion

by The Editors

An elite class of Black millionaires has “accumulate wealth at the expense of the vast majority” of South Africa’s people, said community organizer and researcher Molefi Ndlovu, on the latest edition of Black Agenda Televsion. These “Black Diamonds,” as they are called, have become “a sort of middleman, people who push the envelop for the people who hold real power in the country.”

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A flotilla of nine fishing boats—their passengers wielding picket signs instead of fishing poles—blocked the grain ship Mary H from docking in Kalama, Washington.

Students and administrators at New York City’s Cooper Union are clashing over the future of one of the last private universities in the United States to offer free tuition. Activists are occupying the president’s office for a ninth day after the school said fiscal problems would force an end to more than a century of free tuition for undergraduates. We host a debate with three guests: Mark Epstein, the chairman of the board of trustees for Cooper Union; Victoria Sobel, a Cooper Union student organizer who is among the activists who have occupied the president’s office for over a week; and Reuters finance blogger Felix Salmon.

David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, joins us to discuss the growing scandal over the Justice Department’s seizure of telephone records from Associated Press editors and reporters. The action came as part of a probe into the leaks behind an AP story about how U.S. intelligence thwarted a Yemen-based al-Qaeda bombing plot on a U.S.-bound airplane. "This is a very troubling aspect of this administration — it is hostile to the news media," Johnston says. "They’re behaving much more like a corporation than like the people’s government."

The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, has been forced to resign days after the IRS apologized to tea party and other right-wing groups for putting extra scrutiny on their bids to become tax-exempt organizations. While the IRS targeting of tea party groups has made headlines for days, far less attention has been paid to the roots of the crisis. After the 2010 landmark Supreme Court decision Citizens United, there was a spike in new political organizations seeking tax-exempt status under tax code Section 501(c)(4). The court ruled these groups could raise unlimited corporate money without disclosing donor information. Several groups have claimed to be social welfare organizations while spending tens of millions of dollars on political operations. We speak to David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who writes about taxes issues. "One of the questions that needs to be examined in the real scandal here is: How did MoveOn, how did Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, how did Bill Burton’s progressive Democratic group get approved as exclusively social welfare organizations?" Johnston says. "There are a bunch of folks out there arguing that, well, 'primarily,' that phrase that pops up in IRS regulations, can mean 49.9 percent of your activity. I’m sorry, is there an adult in America who’s been in a romantic relationship who thinks that 'exclusively' is 49 percent of the time?"

• IRS Commissioner Forced to Resign over Extra Scrutiny of Right-Wing Groups
• Holder: Deputy Signed Off on AP Subpoenas
• Holder Unsure of How Many Journalist Subpoenas He's Approved
• Report: Verizon Gave Justice Dept. Records of 2 Journalists
• White House Seeks Revival of Media Shield Law
• Dem Rep. Blasts Holder for Drug War, Marijuana Crackdown
• Suicide Attack Kills 10 in Kabul; Group Tells AP of Plans to Target U.S. Soldiers
• U.N. General Assembly Condemns Syrian Gov't as Toll Passes 80,000
• Palestinians Mark 65th Anniversary of "Nakba"
• Up to 6 Dead in Cambodia Shoe Factory Collapse
• White House Releases Emails on Benghazi Talking Points
• U.S. Earns $50.6 Billion Profit on Student Interest
• Regulators Back Down on New Derivatives Rule
• Hundreds Take Part in Milwaukee Fast-Food, Retail Strike
• North Dakota Abortion Clinic Challenges New Restriction
• Charges Dropped Against NYPD Officer in Shooting Death of Ramarley Graham
• New DNA Evidence Could Clear Florida Death Row Prisoner

TCRP seeks a dedicated assistant legal manager — an individual who has initiative, creativity, and is committed to civil rights in Texas — to help support its work for low-income people around the state. Although the position is in Austin, it includes supporting staff in TCRP’s four regional offices as well. The earliest start date is July 19, 2013.

Primary Duties: assist in helping coordinate and support TCRP’s legal and educational program. doing client outreach and interviews; maintaining client contact; assist attorneys with case preparation and investigation, including requesting documents through freedom of information laws; prepare documents for filing in state and federal court; draft affidavits and documents; manage case files; provide referrals and general information to potential clients; assist in hiring and supervising volunteer interns; supervise correspondence with jail inmates; manage TCRP’s social media accounts; make referrals to social service providers.

Salary: $28,500-$30,200 depending on experience, plus excellent benefits (medical, some dental reimbursement, cafeteria plan, retirement). Informal work setting; staff colleagues dedicated to social justice.

Qualifications: bilingual (read, write, and speak Spanish and English fluently) strongly preferred, but not necessary); experience or similar background preferred; organizational ability; typing and computer skills (including proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, and familiarity with major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter); compelling commitment to human rights; prior community volunteering.

To Apply: Please send résumé, letter, writing sample, and three work references to: Andres Martinez, Assistant Legal Manager Texas Civil Rights Project, 1405 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX 78741 via email at andres.tcrp@gmail.com.

The Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit foundation, promotes civil rights and economic and racial justice throughout Texas, for poor and low-income people. TCRP is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, people with disabilities, women, and LGBT are encouraged to apply.

TCRP seeks a dedicated assistant legal manager — an individual who has initiative, creativity, and is committed to civil rights in Texas — to help support its work for low-income people around the state. Although the position is in Austin, it includes supporting staff in TCRP’s four regional offices as well. The earliest start date is July 19, 2013.

Primary Duties: assist in helping coordinate and support TCRP’s legal and educational program. doing client outreach and interviews; maintaining client contact; assist attorneys with case preparation and investigation, including requesting documents through freedom of information laws; prepare documents for filing in state and federal court; draft affidavits and documents; manage case files; provide referrals and general information to potential clients; assist in hiring and supervising volunteer interns; supervise correspondence with jail inmates; manage TCRP’s social media accounts; make referrals to social service providers.

Salary: $28,500-$30,200 depending on experience, plus excellent benefits (medical, some dental reimbursement, cafeteria plan, retirement). Informal work setting; staff colleagues dedicated to social justice.

Qualifications: bilingual (read, write, and speak Spanish and English fluently) strongly preferred, but not necessary); experience or similar background preferred; organizational ability; typing and computer skills (including proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, and familiarity with major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter); compelling commitment to human rights; prior community volunteering.

To Apply: Please send résumé, letter, writing sample, and three work references to: Andres Martinez, Assistant Legal Manager Texas Civil Rights Project, 1405 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX 78741 via email at andres.tcrp@gmail.com.

The Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit foundation, promotes civil rights and economic and racial justice throughout Texas, for poor and low-income people. TCRP is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, people with disabilities, women, and LGBT are encouraged to apply.

by Your World News

For some time now, Black Agenda Report has been calling the Obama administration not the lesser of two but the more effective evil, able to enact measures that white Democrats or Republicans could not without massive public opposition. Your World News Films, directed by Solomon Comissiong, presents the documentary "The More Effective Evil: The Impact of President Obama on the Black Community and Humanity."

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The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor rallied yesterday against sale of the L.A. Times to Charles and David Koch, billionaire brothers who fund anti-union causes.

Following last week’s guilty verdict in Guatemala’s historic genocide trial, reporter Allan Nairn says the United States should follow Guatemala’s lead and indict the Reagan administration officials who supported the genocide under General Efraín Ríos Montt. "All of [these crimes] were crimes not just of General Ríos Montt, but also of the U.S. government," Nairn says. Former President Ronald Reagan once called Ríos Montt "a man of great personal integrity." After the verdict, Judge Yassmin Barrios ordered the attorney general to launch an immediate investigation of "all others" connected to the crimes.

Days after Guatemala’s former U.S.-backed dictator, Efraín Ríos Montt, was convicted of genocide, we’re joined by a woman largely responsible for making sure he was brought to justice. Rigoberta Menchú began the process over a decade ago with legal cases filed against Guatemalan generals for atrocities committed in the Mayan region. Her lawsuits helped culminate last week in Ríos Montt’s landmark guilty verdict and 80-year sentence for his role in the killings of more than 1,700 Ixil Mayan people. Menchú lost her father, mother and two brothers during the Guatemalan genocide, later winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaigning on behalf of Guatemala’s indigenous population. "The conviction of Ríos Montt may provide an opportunity to close a chapter of our lives, a chapter of profound pain, [allowing] us to begin a new relationship amongst Guatemalans," Menchú says. "Because during the genocide, we felt so alone, we felt powerless, and we felt that nobody had our back. ... The fact the genocide was committed is [now] recognized means that nobody will ever forget."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges joins us to discuss what could mark the most significant government intrusion on freedom of the press in decades. The Justice Department has acknowledged seizing the work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 reporters and editors at the Associated Press. The phones targeted included the general AP office numbers in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Connecticut, and the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery. The action likely came as part of a probe into the leaks behind an AP story on the U.S. intelligence operation that stopped a Yemen-based al-Qaeda bombing plot on a U.S.-bound airplane. Hedges, a senior fellow at The Nation Institute and former New York Times reporter, calls the monitoring "one more assault in a long series of assault against freedom of information and freedom of the press." Highlighting the Obama administration’s targeting of government whistleblowers, Hedges adds: "Talk to any investigative journalist who must investigate the government, and they will tell you that there is a deep freeze. People are terrified of speaking, because they’re terrified of going to jail."

• Holder Defends Monitoring of AP Phone Records
• Wal-Mart Linked to Collapsed Bangladeshi Factory; The Gap Rejects Safety Pact
• Russia Expels Alleged CIA Spy Caught Recruiting
• 3 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan
• Minnesota Gov. Signs Same-Sex Marriage Law
• Fort Hood Sexual Assault Coordinator Accused of Abuses
• Warren Questions Regulators, Justice Dept. on Lack of Wall Street Prosecutors
• Fast-Food Workers Strike in Milwaukee
• Undocumented Immigrants Protest Deportations at Illinois Jail
• Former Head of Hispanic Outreach for Florida GOP Switches Parties over "Intolerance"
• Cooper Union Students Continue Tuition Protest
• Seattle Teachers Win Campaign Against Standardized MAP Test
• Angelina Jolie Reveals Double Masectomy for Breast Cancer; Firm Owns Mutation Gene

by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

It should surprise no one that the world’s biggest and harshest criminal injustice system puts many innocent people in jail, disproportionately Black. “America’s addiction to racism and violence creates outright criminality among police and prosecutors.” Police and prosecutors routinely frame the innocent, knowing that “mass incarceration depends on an assembly line of conviction.”

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