Tanker from iran in open waters heading for venezuela and as you can see in the video its being escorted by a venezuelan mabel warship were going to see that just as we pull out here hold on there it is see it right there now why would an oil tanker need to be as score did buy a gun ship right and the reason is this the United States has threatened to stop the tankers from reaching venezuela a country where citizens are waiting in line for hours because theres a shortage of fuel so let me show you im out of what were talking about thats taking place here heres heres a map of 5 ships that are making their way all the way from over here into iran to vent as well. And the 1st 2 ships by the way the fortune and the forest theyve already arrived in venezuela and the remaining ships thats the petunia faxon and the gavel clavell sorry all 3 of those are still in midocean theyre following behind they could arrive today they could arrive tomorrow unless the United States makes good on its promise or its threat to stop them but as as as we look at this map depicting essentially more than half of the world amazingly we look at a journey thats long and arduous to get refined fuel and chemicals from iran all the way to vent as well so were left with this question why why would they do that venezuela has more oil than just about any country in the world some of the most oil reserves in the world why do they need fuel from all the way over here so we called on the venezuelan ambassador and i asked him that question and heres how he responded. Ministration. Threatened and quest and s. Kept away almost every Single International cooperation from the dishonor so they are scared to sell us any kind of that weve been any kind of. Work you know were going to see so we are not allowed not just by fuel buying chemical components to a start up again i want finally so we would be able to refine our own fuel through no one so it comes down to as you heard him say being able to refine the the oil in other words you can have all the oil in the world but if you cant turn it into usable fuel theres little that you can do with it right then as well as refinery capabilities have collapsed and while the United States and its interference and sanctions that are aimed clearly at destroying the venezuelan economy is undeniable critics of the madeira government also point out that they deserve some blame because the country state oil company has mismanaged and under invested to make sure they could continue to refine so look regardless of the reason for this venezuela needs fuel and iran like the rest of the worlds Oil Producers has too much of it on their hands and thats why the 2 countries have worked out this deal a deal the United States is threatening to squash so but heres the question. As we look at this. Surrounded by the naval vessel just how far will it go the United States in this high stakes game of chicken that is being played out in International Waters between 3 countries who sooner or later seem destined. For some kind of showdown. This is the news with rick sanchez where we drill down on stories like this that many in the Corporate Media ignore because we do believe its time to do news again. All right heres a list of the questions we think youll be asking the morrow is the United States heading toward a showdown with iran and venezuela over fuel shipments will convicted felons be able to vote now in florida and whats the latest with a territorial dispute between india and china. Lets go ahead and get started a man as well where the lines of cars backed in front of gas stations can sometimes stretch for a mile and often times they last for more than of the imagine imagine waiting in line for an entire day just to be able to fill up your car with gas because theres no way to refine the oil that is sitting in your own backyard the vet as well a story is a story of Economic Hardship combined with hardball politics the u. S. Has not hidden its desire to topple the government but would our government go so far as to create a blockade to stop venezuelans from receiving fuel with day. Joining us now live is reporter lucas corner he is the editor of that as well analysis he follows a story d and is good enough to join us now to bring us more on the story lucas what bring us up to date so why is it that venezuela has needed to strike this deal with iran it still remains a critical question right and doesnt it look almost weak in the eyes of the world if it can supply fuel for its own people if its one of the largest one of the Largest Oil Reserves in the entire world. Sure i think the key factor is that not withstanding as you mentioned misson investment in issues with corruption and Strategic Planning that have in many ways harmed but as well as Oil Production in recent years any objective analysis will receive clues in that its the u. S. Sanctions right now which are absolutely devastating whats left of the oil industry and preventing venezuela importing necessary gasoline lets remember that that as well as those National Oil Company but it also has its largest subsidiary United States called citgo. Which is being seen which is in the process of being auctioned off to 2 holders its to the canadian mining giant crystal x. And as a would send its crude to its heavy crude to the gulf Oil Refineries and which would port and it would in turn import refined gasoline it is on able to do that since last year january 21000. 00 due to the u. S. Oil embargoes the United States likewise has deep in those measures imposing sanctions on the Russian Energy giant rosenau forcing it to leave the country. In march and rosenhaus was carrying 60 percent of that as well as crude exports and it was in turn quoting the import of gasoline so this is left of the oil to which one is well it cannot import the gasoline it needs and it cant get the spare parts it likewise needs to repair its refineries so its in a very tough situation and the iranians have told them who would not only import helping them as one for gasoline but also sending technical teams and spare parts to repair the countrys refineries so it looks like an easy deal i mean lets face it iran has way too much of fuel on its hands because of whats going on in the world with the lack of demand. But as well needs it so theyve struck a deal but incomes own goal say im saying no youre not allowed to do this if we have to stop you were going to stop you in mid ocean how serious is this threat do you believe and how serious is it being taken by either party. I think its very serious we should heed the words of President Trump who last week said that the band is what he had been his what a quote unquote surrounded and that. You know he has made repeated threats of military action against venezuela and we saw this recent effort by u. S. Based mercenary contractors to try to topple the mother of governmental whats it appears that a child ministration had some kind of for knowledge or if they did not they did not direct involvement but they might have. That and direct involvement there definitely has very high stakes ministration has made it clear its intention to overthrow the government by any means thats unserious they have repeatedly stressed so i think its a very high stakes situation but so far it seems like the political costs of condemning venezuelans to these you know utterly terrible conditions which they continue to do by imposing war more sanctions seem to be deterring the u. S. From taking military action against these iranian tankers i know you spent a lot of time in venezuela your for are you are you were you are you going as well in yourself you are injured but i. Mean from the u. S. How long have you spent or lived covering that as well and how many years youve been there. I moved the man is over 5 years until the start of this year and i have not been able to get back to the current cold with situation and flights but i have my contacts and i have family in venezuela right now ok i just want to make sure we have credit you is the right person to ask this question too. As far as you know how bad is the situation in venezuela right now i reported a while ago that people actually wait in line for more than a day outside of a gas station to be able to remove their car incrementally to be able to get a little bit of gas is that true. I mean the problem is currently is that given that there is no real gasoline available kind of different private individuals and you know criminal groups have really a black market as a merge and charging people you know excessive 2. 00 or 3. 00 a leader for gasoline in caracas which is on her was unheard of because crocketts was as him always had gasoline even though in the worst of last year and the year before so it is a bear its a very dangerous situation and theres a lot of pressure on the government to regularize the situation of gasoline actually charge. Reasonable International Prices for example 0. 50 a liter instead of reverting to its previous policies of having their the lowest gasoline prices the refraction of a cent for a leader which is unsustainable were down to about 20 seconds but just a quick answer if you could generally speaking the people of venezuela blame a madeira government be the Trump Administration which is. I think that they blame both because i think that there clearly the the mismanagement of government is undeniable but it also is undeniable that the Top Administration is callously worsening exacerbating in an unprecedented way the suffering that is one people that is what has never ever had these kinds of gasoline shortages not since the 2002 or a lockout which the United States backed opposition sought to shut down the oil d industry so this is definitely an unprecedented situation which you know. Is worsening makes that lucas corner youre an excellent guest to talk to on this we certainly appreciate your time thanks for joining us my friend. Part theres a breaking news story that were going to be sharing with you in just a bit its coming to us from minneapolis it seems to be another case of what we saw in new york where a Police Officer held down a man who was saying i cant breathe i cant breathe eerily similar we have that story its breaking news its next stay with us well be right back. Ah no t. V. No crowd. No shots. Actually felt. A strong note as to. Which your thirst for action. Im chris hedges the corporate coup detat has destroyed our Democratic Institutions the commercial media has been less part of the reality show presence expose the trivia see on contact question more. Ive seen the horrors that arise with money and evil. Corporate criminals who trashed countless lives to add just one more dollar to their billions. They threaten they arrive theyll do anything to keep their crimes in the dark but the people theyve heard are demanding justice their stories need to be told on americas lawyer. Year thank you for finally. Understand youre tired of networks. d as. You know d im famous for my views. Yours truly ready. Im holland cook i invite you to climb with me of the Mainstream Media and from that higher fan to each to glimpse the big picture question more. By we told you theres a breaking news story coming out of minneapolis were putting that video together as soon as we get that in were going to share d it for you with you but theres also a breaking news story coming in from florida you know theres a saying that when it comes to president ial politics in america its all about florida florida florida and because of that both parties have always focused on the state with a high beam precision because a win in florida is often determined by just a couple 100 votes literally. In recent years though its republicans who have done well in florida and many say its because they have strategically excluded minorities and low income citizens who dont have the resources to hire a lawyer from voting what they did is they passed laws to stop anyone convicted of a felony no matter how large or small the felony from put dissipating in elections even after they serve their time so that took tens of thousands of people off the off the voter rolls right the strategy seems to have helped republicans win elections but this morning a judge overruled that decision here with more from floridas r. T. E. Correspondent john hardy reporting. Federal judge Robert Hinkle of the u. S. District court in tallahassee ruled sunday that a quote pay to vote system in florida requiring felons to pay all the court finds fees and other costs associated with their sentencing is essentially discriminatory and unconstitutional in his ruling judge hankel wrote quote the 24th amendment precludes florida from conditioning voting in federal elections on payment of these fees and costs judge will also granted a permanent injunction to civil Rights Groups like the American Civil Liberties union or a. C. L. U. That challenge the law as discriminatory the state is expected to appeal for several decades florida felons were barred from voting that is until voters here passed a measure known as amendment for restoring the Voting Rights of felons who have completed their sentences for crimes other than murder or sex crimes but then last june republican lawmakers in the state led by governor Rhonda Santas passed a law requiring felons to pay back all their fines fees and restitution as part of their sentence before being allowed to vote again floridas Supreme Court upheld the law but the federal Court Intervene with an injunction ruling in favor of 17. 00 former felons who sued the state of the. The judge panel of the 11th u. S. Circuit court of appeals upheld the injunction back in february judge ruling sunday is basically built upon the previous Circuit Court of appeals decision but because of the timing and a likely appeal by the state its unlikely that people affected by the ruling will be able to register to vote in time for november still with the election looming right around the corner voters Rights Groups will likely be increasing their efforts to sign up felons who may be eligible to vote the question then is how many will actually vote and what will the electoral impact be for the news of rick sanchez john honey. Thanks so much john now another breaking story this one as i told you a little while ago is taking place in minneapolis minnesota federal authorities have now stepped in because d it appears at least in the video that were about to delicately show you that a Police Officer has done what a nother Police Officer in new york couple years ago was accused of doing and that is holding down a man who is essentially screaming that he cant breathe and it appears the man has died as a result of that at least thats what the federal authorities including the f. B. I. Are now investigating Michelle Greenstein is come back out here to join us now to take us through the story i know the details are sketchy i know this is a bridge that happened last night right thats right it happened a little bit after 8 pm monday in minneapolis minnesota and like you said the f. B. I. Is now going to be part of this investigation now we can tell you that the man has been identified by his family lawyer as george floyd and lets take a look at this video that like you said we are going to delicately show you so as you can see right here were going to pause here and show you that the officer actually sorry about that kevin you can play again right here we have the officer with his need actually on floyds head now if we take a listen to this video we will hear that the man is repeatedly telling the officer he cant breathe and were going to play that for you now he also begs a quote dont kill me and now this officer actually i saw the man several. You know you do more of the ground bro because you dont want to grow you know bomb or you know. Being. Blown bro you joy. Now as you can hear that the bystanders who gathered as time progressed can be heard telling the police to let floyd breathe they say quote hes not responsive right now they say quote check his pulse but actually some of these officers braniff their pepper spray at these bystanders and the officer in question as you just saw actually kept his body weight on floyd for several minutes at least 4 minutes after floyd to stop so the content show lets just be clear can we look at that video one more time or even just freeze it. Just freeze or right there that were looking at the officers and the. According to the report i read in the Chicago Tribune in the Minneapolis Tribune on his neck but i have to report in short the pressure was applied to his neck until he stopped being responsive its unclear at this point if he died to suffocation due to choking or due to Something Else we thought there was a report that said the man was saying i cant breathe i didnt hear that he was saying i cant breathe can we put that together can we play that one more time. When you grow but you dont have to grow youve been a bum for you know you didnt move the ground broke because you dont want to grow youve been a bum or you know. Being. Thrown out of video we cant see him right it happens in an earlier kind of video and the Police Statement puts the situation a little differently they say that floyd appeared to be suffering medical distress and that he died after being transported to the hospital which is why this video has become s