Womens rights, and more. The debate opened with biden sparring with california senator Kamala Harris on their healthcare plans. Anytime somebody tells you you are going to get something good in 10 years, you should wonder why it takes 10 years. Under our plan, we will ensure everyone has access to health care. Plan by contrast leaves out almost 10 million americans. Amy we will air highlights from the debate and speak to professor cornel west who has endorsed Bernie Sanders and the legendary labor leader dolores huerta. She is cochair of Kamala Harriss campaign. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In detroit, 10 president ial hopefuls took the stage wednesday evening for the Second Democratic primary debate with nine contenders taking aim at former Vice President joe bidens record on criminal justice, the iraq war, immigration, and womens rights. With bidenopened sparring with Kamala Harris on their Health Care Plans with candidate debating the medicare for all plan for nearly 30 minutes. After headlines, we will play highlights of the debate and be joined by cornell west and dolores huerta. Immigration rights activists abruptly interrupted former Vice President joe biden during last nights debate chanting g 3 millllion portatio, refeing to t o obamadmininisations deportation n oft least reee million unundomented pple. E. The disrtionon ce afafter cnns don lemon questiononedhe f forr vice preresint o on his immigration record. , in thePresident Biden first two years of the Obama Administration, nearly 800,000 immigrants were deported, for more than President Trumps first two years. Will the higher deportation rates resume if you are president . Absolutely not. The secretary, we sat together in many meetings. I never heard him talk about any of this when he was the secretary. 3 million deportations. Please be respectful. Amy protesters with the immigration Justice GroupMovimiento Cosecha carried a banner that read stop all deportations on day 1. Earlier wednesday, 22 activists were arrested for blocking the nearby detroitwindsor tunnel at the u. S. Canada border prototesting the fedalal governnts immigrioion crackdown. There we other ptests at wednesds dete, as seral activistshoutedfire pantale whi new yorcity mayor bi de blas wrappedp s opening atement. It was a reference to daniniel pantaleo, the new york policie officer who fiveve years ago choked eriric garner to deataths garner gaspepedi cant breath 11 times. Pantaleo has r remained on the police force ever since. Th is bill d de blasio, defefending his record on the killing later in the debate. There is finally going to bee jujustice. I have confidence in that. In the next 30 days in new york. For the first time we are not waiting on the federal Justice Department, which h told the ciy of new york that we could not proceed because the Justice Department was pursuing their prosecution. Anand years went by, and d a lof pain accrued. Amy in fact, the Justice Department only y requested that new yorkrk hold off on taking action on the pantaleos case, but it was not a legal requirement. New york citys medidical examir has ruled that layleen polanco, a transgender afrolatina woman who was found dead in a jail cell at Rikers Island in june, died of complications from epilepsy. Polalanco was arrested in apriln misdemeanor charges and jailed for two months after she was unable to post 500 bail. She was found dead in a solitary confinement cell in early june. In a statement, the Epilepsy Foundation wrote Layleen Polancos death is an absolute tragedy, and her passing further underscores the dangers of solitary confinement, which isolates already medically fragile people from observation and care. To see our coverage of Layleen Polancos case, visit our website democracynow. Org. The united natns is warning that s syrias s government h hs dramatatically stepped up p bomg and shellingng attacks on n civn areas of idldlib and hama. A. This is u. N. Humanitiaian chie mark lowcock, speaki t to reportrters tuesday y after pleg with the Un Security Council to help stop the violence. There has been a bloody onslaught or more than three months on the people of idlib. It does not stop, it has the potential to createhe worst manitarianisaster inhe world s ever seen n so far this century. Amy y a aivists say recent attatas in idlib appear to be deliberately aimed at health facilities. A medical worker in the region told doctors without dorders, patients, their caretakers and hospital staff are all struggling psychologically. When planes fly over the hospital, they are extremely scared. Some leave the building out of fefear it wiwill be hit. Over the past three months, the assault has forceded more than 450,000 people to flee north towards turkey. The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad zarif, in the latest move by the u. S. To ratchet up tensions after the Trump Administration backed out of the 2015 iran nuclear deal. The highly unusual move to sanction another nations top diplomat comes ahead of the annual u. N. General assembly in new york city in september. The state Department Said it would decide whether to grant zarif a travel v visa on a casey case basasis. Susudans military rulers hahave closed schools across the country indefinitely, after soldiers on monday fired on a peaceful protest of high school students, killing four students and an adult. The closures werere announced a day after hundreds of children many of them in School Uniforms flooded the streets of khartoum and other cities to protest the latest killings, which follow a deadly raid on a prodemocracy protest camp in the capital last month that killed an estimated 130 people. In climate news, a massive heat dome that shattered alltime temperature records across much of europe last week has settled in over greenland, driving temperatures across the vast Arctic Island to as much as 30 degrees fahrenheit above normal. Writing in Rolling Stone in an article headlined greenland is melting away before our eyes, meteorologist Eric Holthaus warns greenlands ice is expected to melt at its fastestever rate ever recorded today, when more than 12 billion tons of water will permanently melt away from the ice sheet and find its way down to the ocean, irreversibly raising sea levels globally. At wednesday evenings dedemocraticic president ial deb, Washington Governor Jay Inslee promoted his Climate Justice proposal, which would create a 10year, 9 trillion Investment Plan to combat the Climate Crisis, with 1. 2 trillion earmarked to help frontline communities build a green energy economy. The plan would also phase out u. S. Fossil fuel production and end coal power by 2030. Mrs. Washington governor inslee. If we make to feed the Climate Crisis the top priority of the United States we will have a fighting chance to save ourselves and our childrens future. It has to be our top priority. My plan is one of national mobilization, quickly bringing 100 clean energy to americans. Creating 8 million good union dropped. Amy in texas, at least 66 people sought memedical attentin wednesday after part o of a sprawling g exxonmobil refinery exploded and caught fire. The disaster in the city of baytowown, some 25 miles east of houston, senent huge plumes of black k oke into t the sky and prompted a shelterinplacee order for r 5,000 peoplele. This is longngtime baytown resident agustin loredo. You have to close down your windows, close your doors, turn , if you can, seal off the doors and windows with the update. Duct tape. Do not leaveve until you been notified of f a shelter in place has been l lifted. It is so hard in texas right now because it is so hot. Amy its the second disaster at an exxonmobil plant in baytown this year, after a refinery fire in march spewed toxic pollutants for more than eight days. Another fire that same month at a petrochehemical plant in neary deer park kicked up Dangerous Levels of toxic benzene. The Federal Reserve is cutting Interest Rates for the First Time Since the Great Recession hit 11 years ago, amid fears of a slowing u. S. Economy. After the fed announced the quarterpoint cut in its benchmark Interest Rate wednesday, President Trump attacked his handpicked fed chairman, jerome powell, as not aggressive enough in cutting rates, tweeting, as usual, powell let us down. Trumps latest attack came after powell suggested that President Trumps trade wars are hurting the u. S. Economy. President trump has ordered the u. S. Navy to rescind Achievement Medals given to military lawyers who prosecuted Navy Seal Team leader Eddie Gallagher, who was accused of multiple war crimes including shooting two iraqi civilians and fatally stabbing a captive teenager in the neck. In july, gallagher was acquitted on all but the leastserious charge he faced taking a photo over the dead body of a captive teenage combatant in iraq despite several of gallaghers fellow seals testifying as witnesses to the alleged murders. On twitter, trump blasted the prosecutors, adding, i am very happy for Eddie Gallagher and his family. Puerto ricos disgraced governor, ricardo rossello, nominated his likely successor wednesday, two days before his resignation takes effect. If hes confirmed in a spepecial legislative session today, Pedro Pierluisi i will become puerto ricos secretary of state and will serve out the remainder of rossellos term as governor. Pierluisi previously served as puerto ricos resident commissioner or nonvoting representative in congress from 2009 to 2017. He was one of the key advocates behind the creation of the puerto rico oversight, management, and economic stability act known as promesa which created an unelected, federally appointed control board with sweeping powers to run puerto ricos economy. This is Puerto Rico Independence Party politician Maria De Lourdes santiago. They think it is a great display of sarcasm, a leading slogan, ricky resign and take them with you. The outgoing Governor Haslam does with the financial Oversight Board lawyer under the totally false premise that it is better to have a figure that is less offensive than other possible candidates before the public eye. If anything is clear, it is that the high leadership of the party that promotes stability in puerto rico is a criminal organizationon in which there ae only puppets and puppeteers. Amy governor rossello announced his resignation a week ago, as hundreds of thousandnds of protesters flooded the streets to demand he step down. That followed the publication of hundreds of pages of Text Messages s showing rossesello ad his stafaffers mockingng hurrice maria survivors and using violent, homophobic, and misogynistic language. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen welcome to our viewers and countries around the world. 10 president ial hopefuls took the stage wednesday evening for a second round of democratic debates. During the night, joe biden defended his record after facing numerous attacks on his record on criminal justice, the iraq war, immigration, and womens rights. Everybody is talking about how terrible i am on these issues. Who i obama knew exactly was, he had 10 lawyers do a background check on me, civil rights and civil liberties, and he chose me and he said it was the best decision ever. Amy new york senator kierersten gillibrand receives some of the loudest applause or the night when she outlined what she would do first as president. The first thing i will do when i am president is clorox the oval office. [laughter] the second thing i will do is reengage on global im change. I will not only find that paris climate records but i will lead a worldwide conversation about the urgency of this crisis. Amy much of the debate focused on domestic policy but Hawaii Congress member Tulsi Gabbard made a link between u. S. Wars overseas and deteriorating infrastructure at home. The truth toing people across the country about the fact that people in flint, michigan are still being poisoned by the water in their system. Because every single month we are spending 4 billion on a continuing war in afghanistan. 4 billion every single month. Rather than ending that more, bringing our troops home, and using those psses resources into serving the needs of the people here in this country. Nermeen there were no questions about iran during the debate, but bill deblasio attempted to raise the issue. We are on a march to war in iran right now. Please follow the rules. We have t to stop this marcho war in iran. Amy the first portion of the debate focused heavily on health care. With one of the Top Priorities for democratic voters and that his health care. Week, yourris, this released a new Health Care Plan which would preserve private insurance and take 10 years to phase in. Vice President Bidens Campaign Calls your plan a have it every which way approach and says it is part of the confusing pattern about equivocating about your health care stance. What do you say to that . They are probably confused because they have not read it. I have been spending time in this campaign listening to american families, listening to experts, listening to health care providers. With was a very clear understanding that i needed to create a plan that was responsive to the needs of the american people. The senator has had several plans so far and any time somebody tells you you are going to get something good in 10 years, you should wonder why it takes 10 years. There is no mention of the fact that the plan will cost 3 trillion, you will lose your employerbased insurance. This is the single most important issue facing the public. To be very blunt and straightforward, you cannot beat President Trump with doubletalk on this plan. Your response . Unfortunately, you are simply inaccurate in what you are describing. The reality is our plan will Bring Health Care to all americans under a medicare for all system. Our plan will allow people to start signing up on the first day. Babies will be born intoto our plan. Right now, 4 million babies are every year in america. Under our plan, we will ensure everyone has access to health her. Contrast, leaves out almost 10 million americans. No matter how you cut it, it cost 3 trillion when it is employed. 10 years from now, after two terms of the senator being president. Secondly, it would require middleclass taxes to go up, not down. Thirdly, it would eliminate employerbased insurance. Fourthly, what happens in the meantime . I would like to respond. The cost of doing nothing is far too expensive. 3ond, we are now paying trillion a year for r health cae in america. Over the next 10 years, it will probably be 6 trillion. We must act. Amy we aree joined right now by cornell west, professor of public philosophy at harvard university. He was at the debate the last two nights in district, also standing outside in large rallies. He has endorsed bernie sanander. In sacramento, california, we are joined by renowned civil rights activist dolores horta. She is the cofounder of the united card from farm workers of america. She is cochair for Kamala Harris is president ial campaign along with barbara lee. We welcome you both to democracy now we have an interesting hour, playing a highlight from the debate in getting your response. Dolores huerta, your thoughts on the debate over the last two nights, the second of the series, as 20 democratic president ial hopefuls spar to become the president of the United States . Dolores well, i just had to say, as a woman of color, to me, it is gratifying to see some of these subjects such as racism, the police issues, are finally being debated. These are issues that we have had in our country for 100 years but nobody ever spoke to them or about them. To see that they are now a priority in terms of the debates, conversations taking place right now, i think that is important because we are not going to be able to solve these issues, especially racism, unless we talk about them, making sure that people can debate about them. Not only the reasons but what we have to do to eliminate these divisive issues we have in our country. I believe all of the