The devastation from the largest rainstorm to hit the United States is growing. More than 38 people have died. We will go to houston and port arthur texexas for the latest. We will speak with george about the crucial questions hurricane is not being asked about. Another suspect in the brutal beating of Deandre Harris. He has been arrested. Why has it taken so long when the beating was caught on film . We will speak with the reporter who interviewed deandre. There was all of this chaos going around. I felt myself getting hit. Every time i got up, i lost consciousness and fell. And tooks picked me up me over ththere so i can g get. Amamy all that and more, comimg up. Welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In texas, Tropical Storm harvey made a seconond landfall wednesy near the border with louisiana, bringing more rain and catastrophic flooding to the gulf coast as the death toll from the unprecedented storm rose to at least 38. On thursday, the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. Flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. Port arthur is home to the Largest Oil Refinery in the United States. Meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the Barker Reservoir area which has already , reached capacity. Up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. More than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said wednesday the storm will likely be the most expensive disaster in u. S. History. Was overtrina funding 100 billion. I want to say it w was over 125 billion. Go on a parallel standard, it should be far in excess of that amount. Amy elsewhere in texas, a pair of explosions rocked the arkema Chemical Plant northeast of houston early thursday, lighting the night sky and sending thick , black smoke into the air. The Harris CountySheriffs Office says 10 deputies were hospitalized after inhaling fumes. Officials had already evacuated residents within a oneandahalfmile radius of the plant in the town of crosby, after it lost primary and backup power to its coolant system. The plant is believed to produce highly volatile chemicals known as organic peroxides, but the companys ceo has refused to state precisely which chemicals were produced or how much of them were onsite at the time of the explosions. James mattis said wednesday, the u. S. Is never out of Diplomatic Options in dealing with north korea, contradicting donald trump minutes after the president tweeted the u. S. Has been talking to north korea and paying them extortion money for 25 years, talking is not the answer, unquote. Flu a comedy by byth korean accompanied south korean fighter jets. Back in texas, a federal judge blocked implementation of texa new antiimmigrant law just twoo days before it was set to take effect. The ruling by u. S. District judge Orlando Garcia is temporary and will give opponents of the law time to mount a court challenge. S. B. 4 would make it a misdemeanor for local police to limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. It also would ban sanctuary cities in texas and allow officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they detain. The laws scheduled implementation raised concerns that many immigrants in texas are not coming forward to seek help amid flooding from Hurricane Harvey because they fear being detained and deported. In new york, hundreds of protesters marched to trump tower in midtown manhattan wednesday, calling on the Trump Administration not to cancel daca, an immigration policy that protects nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the u. S. As children. Trump is reportedly considering ending the 5yearold program, after attorneys general from 10 states threatened to sue if the administration doesnt end daca by september 5. This is angie kim, a daca recipient. I come from a dim a , beforeon before daca we use words like undocumented. I know what it is like to live life in limbo where you dont have the ability to work, make a living, go to school. Meant everything to me. Five years later, i am back in that place where my life is in limbo. Amy the American Civil Liberties union is warning that the immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ice, is seeking permission to destroy 11 types of records, including information on sexual assaults by ice officers, solitary confinement of prisoners, and even the deaths of people in ice custody. Immigrants rights activists say the request by ice to the National Archives and Record Administration is aimed at covering up the agencys track record of human rights abuses. On capitol hill, democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee are demanding a hearing into why President Trump pardoned the notorious racist arizona sheriff joe arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for defying a court order to stop his deputies from racial profiling. All 17 democratic members of the committee signed a letetter to republican chair bob goodlatte, calling the pardon a gross injustice and saying its, quote, highly problematic for the president to simply dismiss a pending criminal matter. The e letter came as federal jue refused to t throw out arprpais convictionoror contempt of court, even n though trumpss pardon will l keep h him outff prisononordering a arapio to appear in cocourt on october 4. Arpaios attorneys had asked u. S. District judge susan bolton to vacate her finding that arpaio is guilty of a crime. In afghanistan, a u. S. Airstrike destroyed a home in the southeastern province of logar, wednesday, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring 16 others. One resident put the death toll higher, saying at least 28 civilians were dead. The assault came just two days after airstrikes killed more than a dozen civilians in the Western Province of herat on monday. Meanwhile, the pentagon said wednesday the number of u. S. Troops in afghanistan has increased to more than 11,000 thousands more thahan previously known. In yemen, u. S. Backed Saudi Coalition warplanes attacked a checkpoint outside the capital sanaa on wednesday, killing at least five civiliansns. Witnesses said the attack came out of the blue. We e were surprised by the missile falling on the checkpoint, which injured innocent people. Amy the latest civilian deaths came as human Rights Groups asked the u. N. To establish an independent inquiry into war crimes and human rights abuses in the yem c conflict, which the u. N. Says has killed more than 5,000 civilians since march of 2015. The u. S. Backed saudiled war and naval blockade has decimated yemens health and sanitation infrastructure and has left seven million yemenis on the brink of starvation, whilele a cholera epidemic has killed more than 2000 people and sickened more than 500,000 others. Havethan 18,000 refugees recentolence in burma in days. Thousands are at the border, attempting to cross. Theyxodus came after openeded fire on civilians and forced thoususands to flee. Many arriving in blank arriving in bangladesh arrived sick or with bullet wounds. Are killing uss with bullets. They burned our houses. They killed my husband with a bullet. Amy they have long faced persecution and violence in burma, where they are denied citizenship. Been arrested in the brutal beating of a young africanamerican man during a white supremacist rally has been arrested. 33yearold Alex Michael Ramos was arrested in georgia and charged with Malicious Wounding for allegedly attacking antiracist protester Deandre Harris during the unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia, earlier this month. Photos and video show at least six White Supremacists punching, kicking and beating harris with large metal poles. Later in the broadcast, well speak with deanre harris lawyer. Meanwhile, dozens of people are participating in a 100mile march from charlottesville, virginia, to washington, d. C. The marchers are demanding charlottesville mayor mike cigna resign, all confederate monuments be removed, and charges be dropped against people who were arrested protesting against a ku klux klan rally in charlottesville in july. Theyre also demanding an end to stop and frisk, the cashbail system, and militarized policing. The protest took place in august. A top United Nations official said wednesday that donald trump is inciting violence against journalists, warning that freedom of the press is under attack from the president of the United States. U. N. High commissioner for human rights, zeid raad al hussein, was speaking in geneva. To call these news organizations fake does and to refermage to individual journalists in this way, is this not an incitement for others to attack journalists . Ares assume journanalists harmed from one of these organizations. Does the president not bear responsibility for this . Amy u. N. High commissioner zeid also cited trumps attacks on women, mexicans, muslims, and disabled and transgender people, warning trumps comments will embolden his supporters to sharpen their assaults on those communities. The Los Angeles CityCouncil Voted wednesday to eliminate columbus day from the citys calendar and replace it with an annual holiday marking Indigenous Peoples day, in an acknowledgement of the genocide that took place as european powers colonized the americas. Wednesdays 141 vote makes the second monday of each october a day to commemorate indigenous, aboriginal and native people. Columbus has long faced criticism for massacring and enslaving arawak indigenous people, and for opening the door to the european colonization of the americas. And members of the Racial Justice group southerners on new ground are bailing out black women in atlanta and other southern cities this week in order to celebrate black august and call for an end toto the cashbbail system. The action follows a similar nanationwide black mamas bail t day in may, aimed at freeing as many black women from jail as possible in time for a mothers Day Celebration with their families. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Welcome to our listeners and viewers around the country and world. Six days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, the unprecedented storm is continuing to wreck havoc in texas and parts of louisiana. Ththe death toll has risen to at least 38 but authorities expect it to grow as the historic flood waters begin to recede. Early this morning a pair of explosions rocked a Chemical Plant northeast of houston sending thick, black smoke into the air. Officials had already evacuated residents within a oneandahalfmile radius of the arkema plant in the town of crosby. The plant produces highly volatile chemicals known as organic peroxides. The Harris CountySheriffs Office says one deputy was taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes, and nine others drove themselves to the hospital. Now a tropical depression, harvey has moved inland and is now dumping rain on louisiana and kentucky. But many parts of texas remain under water or under flood watch. On thursday the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. Flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. Meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the Barker Reservoir area, which has already reached capacity. Amy accuweather is now projecting the Economic Impact of harvey might top 190 billion that exceeds the Economic Impact of katrtrina and sandy combineded. Up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. According to the red cross, more than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. We go now to port arthur, texas, where we are joined by hilton kelly, the founder of community inpower and Development Association in port arthur texas. He is a former hollywood stuntman turned environmental activist. In 2011 he was awarded the goldman prize, the worlds most prestigious environmental award for his work battling for communities living in the shadow of polluting industries in port arthur and the texas gulf coast. Port arthur is home to the Largest Oil Refinery in the country. The plan has been shut down due to flooding. , welcome toy democracy now. Port arthur is under can you describe the scene for us where you live and work . Thank you for inviting me to the show. Isht now, port arthur somewhat of a ghost town. The mayor has declared our area a disaster area and so has our governor. The federal government has also declared it a disaster area. There is a curfew in place. , on the 600 block of proctor street, near city hall. Town here. St most of the neighborhood has been evacuated. People have been sent to various shelters, different churches, because the neighborhoods have been flooded. My own home has taken on at least two feet of water inside the home. Outside my home, we have about four feet of water. It is devastating to witness so many people being impacted i this hurricane impacted by this hurricane. Us while we slept and flooded our homes. We woke up having to step in four or five feet of water to make it to the door. Many people were stuck in their homes. People had to climb on their roof. To a lot ofating these families and a lot of the elderly people that were trapped. Some shelters that were open, particularly the civic center, it started to take on water. Hundreds went there for refuge. When they got there, they found more water and they had to be as accu waited from the shelter. Evacuated frombe the shelter. People were sent to a middle school, where it was filled to capacity, and many people were stuck outside the doors with nowhere to go. I joined the rescue effort and had a van full off people and i brought them to the Woodrow Wilson shelter. They were told they could not go in and we had to let those folks sit in the car, with me going back trying to help others. We did find it refuge for those folks and we continued the rescue. Itit is sad when the First Responders are dumbfounded as to what to do. The system has failed and then they kick it into high gear and things get back into motion about 10 00 l last night. You tell us what people in port arthur need most now as rescue efforts are underway . Clothing,ople need basic amenities, people need right thing this time and not just give you a on coming reneged through with the funding. Comingvictim of fema not through. I had everything in place, receipts, the fema number. This was during hurricane ike. I still have not received a check reimbursing me for what i spent for me and my family and the 18 other people i had with me whoho had no money. They told me i qualified. Get theparamount we proper paperwork on the proper people in place to make sure thele are found through system properly and that they are given what they are due due to this natural disisasr they are facing, through no fault of their own. Most of f the homes in our neighborhood have been filled of water. To three feet people have lost clothing, shoes, many of their electronics , and god knows what else is lost inside. In some cases, money. People had to flee with the clothes on their back. They have yet to return home because the force responders the First Responders are just starting to arrive, as far away as lafayette, baton rouge. These places are coming here to help us this morning. Command center this morning for these First Responders that come and get their coordinates together. I will be assisting them going through these communities so they can do a search and rescue and recovery. There are still people stuck in their homes, particularly elderly people. Communications. In some cases, you are going in to recover bodies of people who have succumb to the cold and water. It is a sad day here in port arthur and i am basically, with very few words when it comes to this happening. Blowing my mind. I do not understand how this happened so quietly. Know the rain came down, but we suspect some of the levees had to have been blown or overflowed and water crept up in these communities. I dont understand how that much water can come in so quickly and quietly. You are not just organizing now. You are a long time organizer. You are located among a major petrochemical and Hazardous Waste facilities on the coast. Have suffered long from the omissions spewing from these smokestacks. Looking at the beaumont enterprise, they right Motiva Enterprises terms through more than 600,000 crude oil barrels a day. Its refinery was forced to cease operations. Energy and exxonmobil refineries also shut down their conflict is. Plant, placebian us there. The kind of work you have been doing. This is one storm on top of the daily toxic storm you have been organizing around. I have been working on this for more than 20 years now. We have been getting these plants to