Amy in philadelphia, a black mother who was attacked with her family in october by a horde of Police Officers is speaking out about the harrowing experience. Rickia young was driving an suv with her twoyearold son and teenage nephew when officers descended on the vehicle, broke all its windows, assaulted and arrested young, pulled her 16yearold nephew frothe car, and grabbed her child. We will he rickia her own wordand speato her aorney. Then we look at how the ridehailing Companies Uber and lyft scored a major victory against Worker Rights with the passage of proposition 22 in california. Theyre now pushing similar measures in other states. With this passage, this will basicivers like me from protections afforded to most in the state. These companies are promising to roll out this model tionwide. It foretells a grim future for gig workers across the country. Amy we will look at other Ballot Initiatives around the country. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the quarantine report. Im amy goodman. The united stes confmed more than 200,000 new Coronavirus Infections on monday and more than 1500 new deaths, capping the deadliest week of the u. S. Outbreak since april. Nearly than 16,000 people have died of covid19 across the u. S. In just the last week alone. Public Health Officials warn the worst could yet to come. This is top Infectious Disease expert dr. Anthony fauci. What we have now is a challenge ahead of us of the bleak months of december and januarwhere we have a baseline of infections that literally is breaking records every day with regard to number of infections, number of hospitalizations, and numbers of deaths. The numbers are stunning. We can do something about it, but that something right now is Public Health measures. Amy u. Hospitalizations are at a record high, with more than 100,000 covid19 patients filling beds. Intensive care units in hospitals from coast to coast report a rapidly 21 number of beds. New mexicos governor warning doctors may soon have to ration care. Executives with the drug makers pfizer and moderna have declined an invitation to meet at the white house today for what President Trump is billing as a vaccine summit. The event appears to be an effort by trump to pressure the food and Drug Administration to rapidly approve the Drug Companies covid19 vaccines. The fda is currently reviewing data from pfizers Clinical Trials and could allow emergency use of its vaccine by the end of the week. This comes as the New York Times reports the Trump Administration turned down an offer by pfizer last summer to lock in supplies of its coronavirus vaccine, giving other countries a chance to get in line ahead of the u. S. For the Drugs Limited initial supply. This morning, the United Kingdom began administering its first doses of pfizers vaccine to elderly residents. 90yearold grandmother Margaret Keenan was first in line. I am happy it has happened. I have done it and hopefully it will help other people to come along. Best to geto the rid of this terrible thing. Amy the second person who is given the vaccine was named william shakespeare. Meanwhile, there are new questions about the rollout of vaccines in the u. S. The wall street journal reports pfizer expects to ship half as many doses of its vaccine as planned in 2020, and the medical news site stat reports frontline u. S. Healthcare workers think the Trump Administrations pledge to vaccinate 20 Million People in december seems unrealistic. On capitol hill, the Senate Homeland security chair, Wisconsin Republican senator ron johnson, has invited members of a fringe medical association to testify on the coronavirus pandemic. The lead witness, dr. Jane orient, has expressed antivaccine views and has pushed the use of hydroxychloroquine an antimalaria drug once promoted by President Trump, which can cause heart rhythm problems and showed no benefit in treating covid19. Another witness testifying today, dr. Ramin oskoui, has falsely claimed that masks and social distancing dont work at combating the spread of coronavirus. In economic news, congress is poised to pass a spending bill to avoid a Government Shutdown as negotiations continw for emergency Coronavirus Relief. Senate republicans have offered a limited 908 billion Coronavirus Relief bill thats far short of the more than 3 trillion stimulus package passed by House Democrats in may. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is warning other members of the Democratic Caucus not to support a republicanbacked measure that would shield corporations from liability if they expose workers or customers to covid19. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports millions of people who lost their jobs during the pandemic will owe an average of over 5800 in back rent and utilities by january, as debt to landlords could reach a total of 70 billion after a federal moratorium on evictions expires december 31. This comes as housing and Economic Justice activists warn of mass evictions. President elect joe biden is reportedly preparing to pick retired general lloyd austin to be his secretary of defense. If confirmed, austin would become the first African American to head the pentagon. Austin is the former chief of u. S. Central command where he oversaw u. S. Forces in iraq and syria. After retiring in 2016, he joined the board of raytheon and became a partner in pine Island Capital partners, a Venture Capital fund focused on militaryrelated companies. General austin will need a legal waiver from congress to take the position due to laws designed to preserve the civilian control of the military. The selection of austin is being seen as a victory for antiwar groups who had fought against the possible selection of Michelle Flournoy as defense secretary due to her past support of wars in iraq, libya, and other countries. Cnn reports President Trump called the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of representatives multiple times over the past week asking him to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Its at least the third state where trump has tried to have lawmakers ignore the will of voters in order to send an alternate Electoral College slate to formally pick the new president in janry. Trump remains unsuccessful in his effort. Today is t socalled safe harboreadline for states to certified their election results. On monday, georgias republican secretary of state recertified joe bidens win after a recount requested by the Trump Campaign. Gabriel sterling, georgias voting implementation manager, blasted trumps legal team for spreading selectively edited videos falsely implying election workers had rigged the election. What is really frustrating is the president s attorneys have the same videotape. They sell the same thing the rest of us could see and they chose to mislead state senators and the public about what was on that video. Amy nearly 1500 lawyers from around the u. S. Have signed an open letter to the American Bar Association condemning Trump Campaign lawyers for subverting democracy. Saying they could be disbarred for violating the o2 the u. S. Constitution. The lawyers right a license to practice law is not a license to lie. Giuliani was hospitalized with covid19 sunday after he consistently refused to wear a mask or practice social distancing in multiple public appearances around the u. S. Both chambers of arizonas state legislature in michigans house of representatives have suspended work for a week following giulianis positive test after lawmakers in both states came in close contact with giuliani and his team. Michigans secretary of state says dozens of armed Trump Supporters gathered outside her home saturday evening demanding she overturn joe bidens electoral win in michigan. Jocelyn benson says she was putting up christmas decorions with her son when the armed group began making loud and threatening demands that she stop the steal, echoing rhetoric spread by President Trump. Benson spoke monday with cnn. S on who started my career investigating hate groups and hate crimes, seeing how he forwards and rhetoric can lead to hatul actio by follers. Am in ocber, thebi rest over a don farright litia meers accud of plotting to kidnap a murder michan goverr greten whitr. Floridaarmed poce raide the homef rebeh joneon mond. She the datscientiswho was foed to regn in maas the leadoftware veloper r floris coronavis data port after s refusedo cens informaon about flidacovid19utbreak. Poce seizeher computerand pointed guns at her children. Jones posted video of the raid on twitter. Police come down here he just pointed a gun at my children amy Rebekah Jones accused floridas Governor Ron Desantis of sending the gestapo after her. She wrote on twitter this is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power. Florida authorities said the raid was part of a probe into a recent hack ofhe flori heal departments website but jones said she hasnt had access tohe site in six months. An environmental news, the Trump Administration has rejected setting tougher standards on industrial soot emissions despite evidence linking the deadly air pollutant to increasing covid19 deaths and other respiratory illnesses. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler made the decision, ignoring his own scientists at the epa who found strengthening the emissions rule could save up to 34,000 lives a year. And melinda coleman, the mother of late Sexual Assault survivor and advocate daisy coleman, died by apparent suicide sunday, four months after daisys death by suicide. Melinda was 58 years old. Melindas passing was announced by the group safebae, a youthled organization cofounded by her daughter daisy, raising awareness on Sexual Assault in middle and high schools. In a statement, the group said the bottomless grief of losing her husband, tristan, and daisy was more than she could face most days. Melindas son tristan was killed in a car crash two years ago. In 2016, democracy now interviewed melinda at the sundance film festival, where daisy described her harrowing experience with Sexual Assault in the Netflix Documentary audrie daisy. I am really proud of her. I think she has been incredibly strong. I think she is a great person. Im so happy she is in my life. She is my hero. Amy to see our full interview with melinda and daisy coleman, you can go to democracynow. Org. Both now died by suicide. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the quarantine report. Im amy goodman in new york joined by my cohost Juan Gonzalez in new brunswick, new jersey. Hi, juan. Juan hi, amy. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. Amy we begin with a horrific story. A warning to our listeners and viewers the next segment contains graphic images and descriptions of police violence. We go to philadelphia, where a black mother who was attacked with her family in october by a horde of Police Officers is speaking out about the harrowing experience. Rickia young was driving an suv with her twoyearold son and teenage nephew on october 27 as the city was engulfed in protest over the Police Killing of walter wallace, jr. , a black man having a Mental Health crisis earlier that day. But rickia young didnt yet know about the killing. She was just trying to get her nephew and son home when she took a turn down a oneway street, unknowingly driving straight into a throng of police in riot gear. As young tried to turn the car around and leave the dangerous scene, t officerdescendeon her suv, broke a itsindows, assated and rested h. This is rickia young in her own wos, descring the tack t the Philadelphia Inquirer in a recently published interview. Once i got close enough to see the cops, i stopped. I stopped right there. I was trying to turn around. It was like people came inside the street. There were throwing stuff at the cops. The next thing you know, the cops started charging, running. My nephew was saying, lock the doors. They were banging on the car. There were saying, turn this effing car around. They yanked my door open. By that time, they busted the back window. They pulled out of e car and busted the other window. Mys yelling at them,ike, son in thcar, my n is in thear on they sted the window, they we him up were doing atever the we doing tme, hittg me, thwing me. On, e look ohis face he w petrified. Petrified. Amy rica young was en parated fr her twoearold child anheld forours. She descbed pleang with poli officerrom the ba of a police wagon. I was asking, what is going on . Where is my son . Where is my son . Screaming, trying to find my son. The officer had the nerve to telle, his in a tter plac dhs. You can saynything u want about , but lony sayi somethg like tt toe is an insult. Thphiladelia deparent of police treated me aif i w an anal othe stre. An animadoneven desve th. Amy fter pice assated ckia you and sepated her fromerhild, a photo was taken of a female officer holding the toddler. The National Fraternal order of police, the nations Largest Police union, posted the photo on social media, falsely claiming this child was lost during the violent riots in philadelphia, wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness. We are the only thing standing between order and anarchy. The false post racked up thousands of shares before it was deleted amid outcry. More than a month after the lice attack, rickia young is still fiting forustice a demandinthe offirs invold be fed. Shes alsorying toelp her twoyearld recover fromhe ysicalnd emotial traumof the sault. To th rkia speang philalphia quirer. He petried. Is only o years ol myom andy nephew asked him whatappened. Eep] open e, [b door aeggingis hands he kt repeatg it. Likee stiltrying to te the story. Bit his nls, puls here now anhe never didhose thgs befor he is trmatized. He is ing throh somethg. He cant express to me how he is feeling. Amy are little twoyearold is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids. When police impounded her suv, they did not have access to the hearing aids for weeks. For more on this disturbing place assault and what has happened since that night on october 27, we go to philadelphia where were joined by kevin mincey, rickia youngs attorney. Kevin, welcome to democracy now thank you for joining us. It is such a horrific story. If you could tell us what the Police Explanation for this is, what they are doing, and how rickia is dealing with her child who is so traumatized at this point . Morning. Ood thank you for having me. Police have not offered any explanation as to why they acted the way they did that night. They have responded instead with an investigation into rickia. , firstld her vehicle after losing her vehicle, not knowing where it was for several days according to what they told us and when they fally recovered it three or four days later, none of her belongings were inside. The hearing aids come her purse, wallet. Even more damage than when she left. They smashed out the windows. The Police Response has been unsatisfactory, disappointing and really insulting to ms. Young and her son. Ms. Young had done nothing wrong that night. ,uan kevin, kevin mincey what do you understand from the Police Version is the reason they stopped her in the first place . Clearly, she was just driving through come happened to be driving through the neighborhood. There has been no explanation. The only thing the even tried to do was workshop the story where they were going to accuse her of trying to assault a police officer. That was done after they had taken her into custody when rickia young was in the hospital and being held at Police Headquarters with wristband that says arrested for assault on police. You can see from the videos taken that nighthat her car never moved. When she came down the street and started to turn and turn around, she stopped and did not backup because there were people around her, people running toward her. She did not do anything to revoke an officer. I think that is why they ultimately decided not to charge or criminally, because they had no evidence for such charge. Juan could you talk about her family eveually found and were able to locate her child . Sure. Firstly, there were two young women who are in the paddy wagon