And then wrongly imprisoned. Florida lawmakers have just apologized for this grave injustice. We will speak with the Pulitzer Prize winning writer gilbert king. He wrote devil in the grove Thurgood Marshall, the groveland boys, and the dawn of a new america. Then to a modern day case of Racial Injustice in the florida legal system. We will speak to Marissa Alexander here in florida. She was jailed for three years after firing a warning shot into a wall near her abusive husband. Think of the people who are in my situation whose case might not have made the news, who dont have the support, and how difficult it is to come up with the money for probation or to find a job or anything like that. Amy this was around the time that George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin. And here in tampa, florida we , will speak to a syrian refugee who just graduated from Saint Leo University near tampa. He gave the graduation address. So we went out to the street we were met by the Regime Security forces with live bullets. Friendsseeing your getting killed in front of you. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The house of representatives is poised to vote today on healthcare legislation that would repeal much of the Affordable Care act, replacing it with a plan that medical experts which will drive up the cost of medicine while leaving millions without Health Insurance. House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy said after an evening huddle with Party Leaders that republicans have enough votes to pass the bil the schedulevo came after repuican congressmemrs fred upton of michigan and billy long ofissouri erged fromalks at thehite house saying they had flipped from no to yes after winning an amendment that will provide 8 billion over five years to subsidize Health Insurance for people with preexisting conditions. I talked to the president yesterday afternoon. I told him i could not support the bill as it was then moving through the rules Committee Without added protections for those with preexisting illnesses. Based on our discussions and t agreement on this amendment, can now be in a place where i can support the bill with such amendment. Amy its unclear how far the 8 billion subsidy would go towards protecting patients with preexisting conditions. Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck schumer of new york, compared the measure to giving cough syrup to a cancer patient. Major medical organizations and the aarp have warned the bill will cause serious harm to patients and drive up the cost of health care. The Congressional Budget Office has not had time to score the legislation legislationmeaning , the house will vote on a bill without knowing its projected impact. A cbo review of similar legislation in march estimated it would add 24 Million People to the ranks of the uninsured. On capitol hill, fbi director james comey told a Senate Committee he agonized over his decision, just days before novembers election, to reveal a new investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server to send classified messages when she was secretary of state. Clinton and others have said comeys move helped swing the president ial election to donald trump. But on wednesday, fbi director comey said he would do the same thing again. This is terrible. It makes me mildly nauseous to think we had some impact on the election. It honestly, it would not change the decision. Everyone who disagrees with me, has to come back to october 28 and stare at this and tell me what you would do. Would you speak or would you conceal . But want awrong, slew made a decision between those two choices, that even in hindsight, i would make the same decision. Amy meanwhile, director comey acknowledged the fbi is continuing to probe allegations that russia interfered in the 2016 election, but refused to comment on any links between russia and President Trump or his associates. That prompted California Democratic senator Diane Feinstein to question why comey revealed the investigation into clintons email server while failing to reveal the fbis investigation into russias to whether Trump Officials colluded with russia to sway the election. Comey is set to meet with members of the House Intelligence Committee today in closeddoor briefings on the fbis investigation into russia. President donald trump welcomed Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to the white House Wednesday, telling reporters that achieving peace in the middle east is maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years. Pres. Trump the palestinians and israelis must Work Together to reach an agreement that allows both peoples to live, worship, and thrive and prosper in peace. And i will do whatever is necessary to facilitate the agreement, to mediate, to arbitrate anything they would like to do. But i would love to be a mediator or an arbitrator or a facilitator. And we will get this done. Amy President Trumps comments came despite his remarks in february that ended a longstanding u. S. Commitment to the establishment of a palestinian state, saying he had no preference for either a onestate or twostate solution to the israelipalestinian conflict. Trumps ambassador to the israel, is a longtime supporter of illegal jewish settlements in the occupied west bank. The Trump Administration has proposed moving the u. S. Embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem, a move fiercely opposed of palestinians and much of the world community. President donald trump is slated to issue a new executive order today making it easier for taxexempt churches to participate in politics. Trumps order comes on the national day of prayer, an annual observance created by congress in 1952. On the campaign trail, trump repeatedly promised to do away with the johnson amendment, which prohibits religious leaders from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Meanwhile, scores of lgbtq activists rallied outside the white House Wednesday following rumors trumps executive order would allow businesses to deny services to gay, lesbian and transgender people in the name of religious freedom. This is Ellen Buchman of the Leadership Conference on civil and human rights. We have been here before, my friends. While generations have been working to advance progress, we all know that others have been working to impede that progress and those rights. And they have often turned to religion as their weapon of choice, or as their excuse to promote discriminatory behavior. Amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The Washington Post reports trumps executive order wont include the lgbtq provision, though the administration hasnt yet revealed the text of trumps order. Meanwhile, President Trump will travel to new york city today to deliver a speech on a decommissioned Aircraft Carrier alongside australian Prime Minister malcolm turnbull. Its trumps first return to his hometown since his inauguration last january. Protesters plan to gather near the uss intrepid in manhattan, where they hope to drown out President Trumps speech by banking on pots and pans. Meanwhile, President Trump will travel as well to new york. In mosul, iraq, a handful of civilians used small wooden boats to cross the tigris river on wednesday as heavy floods made bridges between the two halves of the wartorn city impossible. Civilians complained of being trapped between aces and u. S. Backed forces fighting for control of the city. This is a mosul resident. Our main domain is the provision of the means to move between the east and west sides of the city. Transportation between the two sides is difficult. The call for the construction of a new bridge to facilitate movement between the two sides. People who have someone ill or are in an emergency situation cannot cross now after the closure of the bridge. Amy about 400,000 people are trapped in western mosul, while hundreds of thousands more have fled to squalid camps for the internally displaced. In nigeria, aid agencies are warning that thousands face starvation as the number of people at risk of famine has climbed to 1. 5 million. This is gujja, an internally displaced person who says her family was left hungry after fleeing the militant group boko haram. Boko haram chased us out and killed many of our people. When we left, we spent about three days in the bush with hunger and thirst before we were moved to a frenchspeaking country. They took us by car to a place where we lived without food and shelter. All of the basic needs are scarce. We are suffering because of hunger and lack of water. We dont have anything. Food and mats are scarce. About 20 of our people died because of suffering. Amy the United Nations warns some 20 Million People in south sudan, somalia, yemen and nigeria are at risk of famine, and risk of famine more than , at any time since world war ii. Puerto rico sicken to restructure 123 billion in debt in a move that is likely to slash money for health care, pensions, and infrastructure on the island territory. Years of austerity programs aimed at came back the debt has let puerto ricos official Unemployment Rate at nearly 12 with nearly half of all Puerto Ricans living in poverty. The u. S. Supreme court will now designate a bankruptcy judge to handle the case. In texas, state lawmakers have sent a harsh antiimmigrant bill to republican governor greg abbott, whos promised to sign it into law. Sb4, a socalled show your papers bill, will outlaw sanctuary cities and allow Police Officers to check the immigration status of anyone they detain. In baton rouge, louisiana, the family of alton sterling, the African American father of five done down by police in 2016, called wednesday for the states attorney general to bring criminal charges against his killers. The call came after the Trump Justice Department declined to bring federal charges against officers Blane Salamoni and howie lake. Sterling family lawyer Chris Stewart said the u. S. Attorneys office provided new details about the killing, including how officer salamoni shot sterling six times. We learned some new things today. Salamonid that officer walked up to alton sterling and put a gun to his head and said i will kill you,bitch. You heard me correctly. We heard from them that officers alimony kept instigating this situation. You heard me correctly. The attorney general has a phenomenal case because no Police Officer should conduct themselves like that. Amy in a statement, Louisiana Attorney general jeff landry promised a thorough investigation into whether to charge Officers Lake and salamoni. Alton sterlings aunt, sandra sterling, said she was devastated after learning new details about how her nephew was killed. And what i heard today, the suffering still continues. Now that i know it is not a civil matter anymore, it is a human matter. Elton is no longer here, but his voice will still be heard through us. Stand behind us because we love alton and we dont want this to end. Remember his name. Amy Alton Sterlings killing on july 5 of last year sparked nationwide protests against Police Brutality. In boston the red sox on , wednesday said the team will ban a fan from fenway park for life after he was overheard repeatedly using racist epithets. The move came after Baltimore Orioles outfielder adam jones complained of racist taunts, including the nword, coming from the stands during a game monday evening. In a statement, red sox president sam kennedy said im here to send a message loud and clear that the treatment of others that youve been reading about here lately is unacceptable. In washington, d. C. , three members of the activist Group Code Pink were convicted wednesday over their role in a january 10 protest against a Senate Confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions as attorney general. One of the three, desiree alifairooz, faces up to 12 months in prison on disruptive conduct charges after she let out a burst of laughter when sessions said he had a record of treating all americans equally under the law. During the protest, the demonstrators wore white, hooded robes and chanted no trump no kkk no fascist usa sessions has a history of making racist comments, including reportedly saying he thought the ku klux klan was ok until i found out they smoked pot. The university of colorado bolder threatened student environmental activists with arrest and forced them to end a nearly weeklong sitin on wednesday. The sitin was demanding the university divest from fossil fuels. On tuesday, University Chancellor met with some of the students to discuss divestment. The protest came as students at the university of california at santa cruz held a sitin at an administrative building, in a protest charging the campus is hostile to africanamerican students. The africanblack Student Union is calling for a housing coop for students of color and required diversity training for incoming students. And that saint all of, college in minnesota saint all of college in minnesota, many protested racist incidents on campus. And in jackson, mississippi, social justice activist and attorney Chokwe Antar Lumumba is positioned to become the citys next mayor after handily winning a primary election on tuesday. The 34yearold lumumba supports economic democracy proposed a , civic Incubator Fund to support cooperative, memberowned businesses in jackson. Hes expected to easily win a general election. June 6 lumumba is the son of late jackson mayor chokwe lumumba, a longtime black nationalist organizer and attorney dubbed americas most revolutionary mayor before his death in 2014. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from the wedu. S of tampa pbs lawmakers in florida have taken an unusual step and apologized for what happened to four young africanamerican men in groveland, florida, nearly 70 years ago in 1949. The men, known as the groveland four, were falsely accused of raping a 17yearold white girl. Before going to trial one of the , four men, Ernest Thomas, was hunted down and murdered by a mob of 1000 and led by the local sheriff Willis Mccall. He was killed in a hail of gunfire. The other three men were tortured in jail until two of them gave false confessions. Charles greenlee was sentenced to life. Walter irvin and Samuel Shepherd were condemned to death. When irvin and shepherd appealed the conviction they were , represented by Thurgood Marshall of the naacp, who would later become the first africanamerican Supreme Court justice. Samuel shepherd later died after being shot by a sheriff and his deputy. Walter irvin was also shot but survived. He eventually died in 1968 two years after being paroled. Charles greenlee lived until 2012. But the story of the groveland four has continued to haunt the state of florida. Last month, charles greenlees daughter carol thanked florida lawmakers for apologizing to her family. This is a glorious day. And still today, the tears are hard to hold back. But today, the tears our tears tears of joy. I want to thank all of you for prison. G my family from nieces, my son, my brothers from the dark cloud, the shame, and the stigma that have been put upon them. In releasing me from 67 years i was the child, i was the baby that my father went to groveland to find a job to 1949. T back in and today, i feel free. Amy today were going to look at the groveland four story. Cattle, goodman in florida. Nermeen shaikh is in new york. Nermeen we are joined by gilbert king, author of the book devil in the grove Thurgood Marshall, the groveland boys, and the dawn of a new america. The book has been widely praised for keeping the story of the groveland four alive. Gilbert king, welcome to democracy now could you explain the case of the groveland four and your reaction to the Florida State legislature passing this resolution and issuing an apology . Sure.