Rate, bin laden had been held as a prisoner of pakistani imprisoned intelligence in about a body since 2006. Top military operators knew about it and provided key assistance and that a former pakistani Intelligence Officer identified bin ladens whereabouts in return for the bulk of a 25 million u. S. Bounty. The white house claims the piece is riddled with inaccuracies. We will give sy hersh a chance to respond. Then as cia whistleblower jeffrey sterling is sentenced to 42 months in jail, we will air an exclusive interview with him. This marks the first time the public has heard his voice since he was arrested four years ago. Scared of me being sent to prison. For something i did not do. But i am comfortable with myself and the choices i have made and would not have done it any other way. I like who i see in the mirror. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The Obama Administration has granted shell conditional approval to begin offshore oil drilling in the arctic this summer, despite protests by environmentalists and a spate of safety problems. Shell was previously allowed to begin Arctic Drilling in 2012, but its attempts were beset by mishaps, including an oil rig which ran aground. The interior Department Found the company screwed up, failing on a number of basic tasks, including supervision of contractors. But the department will now allow shell to drill in the pristine and highly remote chukchi sea, off the coast of alaska, an area roiled by extreme weather which would be extremely difficult to reach in an emergency. Environmentalists soundly condemned the governments decision. Rebecca noblin of the center for biological diversity said scientists tell us that if we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change, we need to Keep Arctic Oil in the ground. Arctic drilling gives us a 75 chance of an oil spill and a 100 chance of climate catastrophe. In yemen, saudiled airstrikes pounded the capital sanaa and southern port of aden, hours before todays ceasefire was due to take effect. The saudi government offered the fiveday truce to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid amid mounting criticism of its airstrikes and blockade. On monday, the shiite Houthi Rebels saudi arabia has targeted with airstrikes participating in the campaign. Meanwhile, both the saudi and u. S. Governments rejected perceptions of a rift between the two allies. Saudi king salman was due to attend this weeks summit of gulf nations but will not attend. In what is seen as a message of protest over the Nuclear Talks saudi arabia announced it would , send lowerlevel officials. White House Press Secretary josh earnest denied reports of a snub. Quite the saudis have said themselves the reason for the change in the kings travel schedule is not related at all to the substance of the meeting. I think what theyve indicated is he has said he preferred to remain in saudi arabia to monitor another major earthquake has struck nepal, killing at least four people, setting off landslides, collapsing damaged buildings and sending panicked residents running into the streets. The 7. 3magnitude quake struck the town of namche bazaar, near mount everest. It comes just over two weeks after a 7. 8magnitude earthquake killed more than 8,000 people. In bangladesh, another blogger who supported secularism has been murdered. Ananta bijoy dash was reportedly attacked by men wielding sharp weapons. His death marks at least the third killing of a bangladeshi blogger in less than three months. Dash wrote for free mind, a website moderated by bangladeshiamerican blogger aivjit roy, who was murdered in february. In the United States the senate , is expected to hold a key procedural vote today on a measure to give president obama fasttrack authority to negotiate the transpacific partnership, or tpp. The 12nation pact would encompass 40 of the Global Economy and is being negotiated in secret. Critics say the deal would hurt workers, undermine regulations , and expand corporate power. Senate lawmakers who support the deal need 60 votes to begin a full debate. A Swedish Court has rejected wikileaks founder Julian Assanges appeal of an arrest warrant which has kept him holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in london for nearly three years. Assange sought refuge over fears the warrant on sex crime allegations could lead to his extradition to sweden, and then the United States. He has not been charged with a crime. Swedens Supreme Court rejected the appeal monday after granting him the right to submit it last month. Swedish prosecutors are preparing to travel to london to interview sange, after refusing to do so for years. Former cia officer jeffrey sterling has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for leaking classified information to New York Times reporter james risen about a failed u. S. Effort to undermine Irans Nuclear weapons program. Risen later exposed how the risky operation could have inadvertently aided the Iranian Nuclear program. In january, sterling was convicted of nine felony counts, including espionage, becoming the latest former Government Employee jailed by the Obama Administration for leaking information. Well have more on sterling later in the broadcast. We will hear an exclusive interview with him before he heads to jail. Freed al jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy is suing the Television Network al jazeera for 100 million over its handling of his imprisonment in egypt. Fahmy, who is egyptiancanadian, spent more than a year in prison along with two other al jazeera journalists. In a lawsuit filed in canadian court, he accused al jazeera of giving him misinformation about his legal status in egypt, and airing his reports on its egyptian channel after it was banned by an egyptian court. [indiscernible] instead of punishing the network. But i will not be as obedient as egypt and im here to announce that i will set the record straight and put al jazeera on trial. The network not only breached contract [indiscernible] they also failed to reimburse me for my full legal fees. Amy in nebraska, two prisoners have been found dead after authorities reclaimed control of a prison following an uprising over the weekend. Prisoners took control of half the Housing Units at Tecumseh State Prison on sunday, setting fires and tearing down walls Ceiling Tiles and security cameras. A prisoner told the Lincoln Journal star newspaper the uprising took place after repeated attempts to get prison officials to address poor conditions at the overcrowded prison, including a lack of access to jobs and exercise. Prisoners said they had intended to deliver a petition to prison prison staff demanding improvements. Authorities say the revolt began after a staff member tried to break up an unauthorized gathering. A new report finds Baltimore Police ignore injuries suffered by the people they detain. Following the death of freddie gray from spinal injuries in police custody, the Baltimore Sun found over the past few years, 2600 people have been denied admittance to the city jail because their injuries were too severe. That includes 123 people with visible head injuries. The findings came as the United States faced questions over Police Violence at the United NationsHuman Rights Council in geneva as part of its universal peer review, which takes place every four years. Member states grilled the United States over its failures to close guantanamo prison, prosecute perpetrators of cia torture, and address violence against native american women. But the review focused on racism and Police Violence, an area where u. S. Justice Department OfficialJames Cadogan acknowledged the United States must improve. Whats the tragic death of freddie gray and Michael Brown tamir rice have renewed a debate about the hand of justice. These events challenge us to do better into were carter for progress through both dialogue and action. Amy amy attending the review of the u. S. Human rights record in geneva was the brother of rekia boyd, a 22yearold africanamerican woman fatally shot in the back of the head by an offduty Chicago Police officer in 2012. Last month, dante servin was found not guilty for killing boyd and shooting and injuring her friend. Servin claimed he thought the friend had a gun, although none was found. Martinez sutton called for justice in his sisters death. I just want to see some justice take place. I just want to see justice. You know, they let this guy walk free, not guilty. My sister is dead. They tried to blame it on the guy who got shot in the hand but all of the charges were dismissed against him. So whos going to take this . My sister didnt kill her self, you know. I would love for the department of justice to take a look at this case. Amy george zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder after fatally shooting the unarmed africanamerican teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, has suffered minor injuries after police say he was shot at while driving in central florida. Zimmerman was struck by flying glass and debris, not by a bullet. The man accused of shooting at him was involved in a previous encounter with zimmerman last year, when he said zimmerman threatened to kill him and asked him, do you know who i am . Zimmerman has had repeated runins with police since his acquittal, including two arrests on allegations of domestic violence. An africanamerican man has been found hanging from a tree in the rural town of greensboro georgia. The man, roosevelt champion iii, had been questioned last week in connection with the murder of a white woman. He had not been charged. Authorities say there is nothing to suggest any foul play in his death. Theyre continuing to investigate. Here in new york, an unknown amount of oil has leaked into the hudson river following an explosion and fire at the Indian Point Nuclear power plant in buchanan, north of new york city. A transformer fire over the weekend in a nonnuclear section of the plant caused a holding tank to overflow, spilling thousands of gallons of oil. The fire marks at least the third at the plant in the past eight years. The riverkeeper clean water Advocacy Group said in a statement indian point has a long disturbing history of operational and environmental problems. The plants aging infrastructure has caught up to it and we must see that it is closed or these problems will only worsen with potentially catastrophic results. New York State Senate majority leader dean skelos has stepped down from his post following his arrest on federal corruption charges. Skelos is accused of soliciting payments for his son in exchange for political favors. His resignation comes months after new York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver resigned following charges he took millions of dollars in bribes. The chief of police in gloucester, massachusetts is traveling to washington, d. C. Today to meet with lawmakers and , tout the citys new approach to handling drug addicts. In a Facebook Post thats received 2 million views, police chief Leonard Campanello announced earlier this month Gloucester Police will no longer criminally charge drug addicts who seek help, instead guiding them immediately toward detox and recovery. The Police Department has also reached a deal with a local pharmacy to cover the cost of the lifesaving overdose antidote narcan for the uninsured, using money seized from drug dealers. Campanello discussed the plans with local news station wcvb. We wanted the Police Department to be one of the safe havens that you could walk in when you are ready, and we dont want to waste that moment when the addict is ready. Were done with an addict and criminally charged for the offense of addiction. We are going to take that extra step and make sure they get the treatment that they need. Amy verizon has announced plans to buy aol in an estimated 4. 4 billion deal. The purchase will reportedly let verizon expand its mobile video and advertising plans. And a new report has revealed walmart is getting its bottled water from california despite a historic drought. The drought prompted the states firstever mandatory water restrictions. California communities have been ordered to slash their water use by as much as 36 , while the curbs do not apply to agriculture and other industry. Local news station cbs13 news found walmart is drawing its bottled water from the sacramento municipal water supply. At a massive profit. Starbucks has also been drawn bottled water from california, although it recently vowed to move production to pennsylvania after the practice came to light. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with aaron mate. Aaron welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. Four years ago this month, president obama announced u. S. Forces had killed Osama Bin Laden in a raid on his hideout in pakistan. At my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against the compound in abbottabad, pakistan. A small team of americans carried it out with extreme eric kurtz and capability. No americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body. Aaron but now, a new investigation says the official story is a lie. In an explosive report, the veteran journalist Seymour Hersh alleges a vast deception on everything from how bin laden was found, to how he was killed. According to hersh, pakistan detained bin laden in 2006 and kept him prisoner with the backing of saudi arabia. In 2010, a pakistani Intelligence Officer disclosed bin ladens location to the cia. Hersh says the u. S. And pakistan then struck a deal. The u. S. Would raid bin ladens compound in abbottabad, but make it look as if pakistan was unaware. In fact, hersh says top Pakistani Military leaders provided key help. Amy the report also challenges the u. S. Account of bin ladens shooting, saying there was never a firefight inside the compound and that bin laden himself wasnt armed. Questions are also raised about whether bin laden was actually buried at sea, as the u. S. Claimed. Hersh says instead, the navy seals threw parts of bin ladens body into the hindu kush mountains from their helicopter. The white house has rejected hershs account of the bin laden raid. Press secretary josh earnest spoke to reporters on monday. I can tell you that the Obama White House is not the only one to observe that the story is riddled with inaccuracies and outright falsehoods. The former Deputy Director of the cia, mike morrell, has had every sentence was wrong and one of your colleagues at cnn put it best, peter bergen, described the story as being about 10,000 words in length and said, based on reading it that what is true in the story isnt new, and what is new in the story isnt true. So i thought that was a pretty good way of describing why no one here is really concerned about it. Amy in a statement, White House National security spokesperson ned price said there are too many inaccuracies and baseless assertions in this piece to fact check each one the notion that the operation that killed osama bin ladin was anything but a unilateral u. S. Mission is patently false. But despite the white houses denials, none of its statements have addressed hershs specific allegations. Meanwhile, other reporting is beginning to corroborate some key elements. According to nbc news, three intelligence sources have backed hershs claim that the u. S. Heard about bin ladens location when a pakistani officer told the cia. The u. S. Has said it helped find bin laden by tracking his personal courier, which hersh says is a ruse. The nbc sources also backed hershs contention that the pakistani government knew all along where bin laden was hiding. Well, for more, we are joined by Seymour Hersh, whose 10,000 word article, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, appears online at the london review of books. Its hershs latest Major Investigation in a body of work spanning decades. He who won the Pulitzer Prize for exposing the 1968 my lai massacre in vietnam, when u. S. Forces killed hundreds of civilians. In 2004, hersh broke the abu ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. Seymour hersh, welcome to democracy now. Why dont you, in y