Hi there,

In coming days Democracy Now! will continue to bring you post-election results and in-depth analysis on on the impact of the coming Trump administration. Because Democracy Now! does not accept corporate advertising or sponsorship revenue, we rely on viewers like you to feature voices and analysis you won’t get anywhere else. Can you donate $15 to Democracy Now! today to support our post-election coverage? Right now, a generous donor will DOUBLE your gift, which means your $15 donation is worth $30. Please help us air in-depth, substantive coverage of the outcome of the election and what it means for our collective future. Thank you so much! Every dollar makes a difference.

-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

HeadlinesNovember 06, 2003

Watch Headlines
Listen
Media Options
Listen

Reports: CIA Rebuffed Iraq Efforts To Stop Invasion

Nov 06, 2003

The New York Times and Newsweek are reporting that the Bush administration rebuffed a last minute deal from Saddam Hussein to stop the invasion of Iraq. According to the reports, Iraqi representatives offered to give the U.S. rights to Iraqi oil, to hold elections in Iraq, to allow for an intensive search for weapons of mass destruction and to hand over an Iraqi man who was connected to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Iraq also agreed to support the U.S. so-called war on terrorism and back any U.S.-written Middle East peace proposal. The offer came about through back-channel negotiations between a Lebanese-American businessman, Pentagon advisor Richard Perle and the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. Perle told the New York Times that he met with the Lebanese-businessman but the CIA refused to pursue the negotiations further.

EPA Drops Investigations of Polluting Power Plants

Nov 06, 2003

Lawyers at the Environmental Protection Agency say the agency is preparing to drop investigations into 50 power plants that have violated the Clean Air Act and then reexamine the violations under less stringent new regulations that go into effect next month. The change in policy grew out of recommendations made by Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force. According to the Times, the move is seen as a major victory for the utility industry which could save between $10 and $20 billion in plant upgrades. The Bush administration and energy executives said the old rules were too expensive. One longtime EPA lawyer told the New York Times “I don’t know of anything like this in 30 years.”

EPA Plans to Rewrite Clean Water Act

Nov 06, 2003

Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times reports today that the Bush administration has drafted a new rule that would rewrite the Clean Water Act to make it easier for developers to build on wetlands and streams. Officials estimated that about 20 millions acres of wetlands — or about 20 percent of the nation’s wetlands outside of Alaska — would no longer be protected by the Clean Water Act.

Bush Signs Law Banning Late Term Abortions

Nov 06, 2003

President Bush yesterday signed legislation that bars a certain late-term abortion procedure in what is seen as the most significant law restricting abortion rights in the 30 years since Roe v. Wade. The legislation was challenged in court in New York, California and Nebraska. Under President Clinton, the legislation made it to the White House twice but it was vetoed both times. At a ceremony yesterday Bush said “America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right of life. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government, it comes from the creator of life.”

U.S. Plans to Send Marines Back to Iraq

Nov 06, 2003

The Pentagon has begun notifying 43,000 Reserve and National Guard troops to be prepared for a year-long deployment in Iraq. The reserves will be used as part of a new Pentagon plan to rotate troops in and out of Iraq. The Pentagon also announced that the Marines will soon return to Iraq to help re-enforce the Army in the occupation and reconstruction. The Marines played a major role during the invasion but were pulled out by September. The New York Times reports the Pentagon now plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq from 130,000 to just over 100,000 over the next year.

Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty For Serial Killer

Nov 06, 2003

In Seattle yesterday, a former truck painter named Gary Ridgway, confessed to murdering 48 women. Prosecutors spared him from a death sentence after he confessed to the killings. He is believed to the most prolific serial killer in American history. Some attorneys have criticized the agreement not to seek the death penalty because they say it will make it harder for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in other cases.

UN School Closes Radio for Peace International

Nov 06, 2003

In an update from a story we covered two days, Radio for Peace International is now off the air. The shortwave radio located in Costa Rica had its electricity pulled yesterday by officials at the University for Peace which houses the station. Radio for Peace International broadcasts Democracy Now, Free Speech Radio News, Counterspin and other independent radio programs via shortwave allowing listeners all over the hemisphere to pick up the broadcasts.

Ashcroft to Allow FBI Greater Power in Conducting Background Checks

Nov 06, 2003

Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday issued new guidelines that would make it easier for the FBI to do background checks on anyone in cases involving national security even if there is no evidence of a crime being committed. An attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union responded to the charge by saying “This is exactly what Americans are worried about. It’s the notion that the government can put your life under a microscope without any evidence that you’re doing anything wrong.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top