Then two catholic worker activists have revealed they secretly carried out multiple acts of sabotage and arson in order to stop construction of the controversial 3. 8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. We are speaking publicly to empower others to act boldly with purity of heart to dismantle the infrastructure which denies us our rights. We have seen repeated failure of the government and it is our responsibilityh and integrity, risking our own liberty for the sovereignty of us all. Amy well speak with Jessica Reznicek and ruby montoya about how they set fire to five pieces of heavy machinery being used to construct the pipeline. Then in austin, texas, four undocumented immigrants are arrested protesting trumps crackdown on sanctuary cities and plans to end daca, deferred action for childhood arrivals. Amy chanting undocumented and unafraid we will speak with dreamer, catalina santiago, one of those arrested, and with attorney Jeff Sessions in el salvador, we will talk to alex sanchez about how many immigrants are being wrongfully targeted as gang members. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In an historic defeat for President Trump and the republican party, the senate voted 49 to 51 early this morning on a bill that would have repealed key parts of the Affordable Care act. Three republicans broke ranks to join democrats and independents opposing the legislation Lisa Murkowski of alaska, Susan Collins of maine, and john mccain of arizona. This is Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell conceding defeat about 2 00 a. M. Eastern time. I also want to think the president and Vice President who couldnt have been more involved and more helpful. So, yes, this is a disappointment. A disappointment, indeed. Our friends over in the house, we thank them as well. I regret our efforts were simply not enough. Amy the socalled skinny repeal of obamacare would have eliminated the individual and the employer mandate that requires certain businesses to provide Health Insurance to employees. The Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would add another 16 Million People to the ranks of the uninsured, while increasing the average Health Insurance premium by more than 1200 next year. As the bill went down to defeat, protesters outside the capitol cheered wildly, chanting, yes we did. The senate adjourned with no further votes planned this week. Well have more on the Senate Healthcare debate after headlines. President trump lashed out at republican dissenters overnight, tweeting 3 republicans and 48 democrats let the American People down. As i said from the beginning, let obamacare implode, then deal. Watch meanwhile, both of alaskas republican senators, dan sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, received calls from interior secretary ryan zinke wednesday, who was reportedly ordered by President Trump to threaten projects important to alaska after senator murkowski broke ranks to oppose the republican healthcare effort. Murkowski appeared to retaliate by postponing a vote on six of trumps nominees for posts at the energy and interior departments. Meanwhile, the senate voted 982 thursday to bring new sanctions against russia over its annexation of ukraines crimea region and its alleged meddling in the 2016 u. S. Election. This is republican senator john mccain of arizona. My friends, the United States a America Needs to stand strong message to Vladimir Putin and in the other aggressor that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy. That is what this bill is all about. We must take our own side in this fight, not as republicans, not as democrats, but as americans. Amy in response, russian president Vladimir Putin accused u. S. Lawmakers of insolence and ordered the u. S. To cut its diplomatic staff by more than 450 while barring state Department Staff from several properties in russia. Thursdays vote sends the sanctions bill to President Trump, whos under intense pressure to sign it amid allegations that his campaign colluded with russia to sway last novembers election. Meanwhile, some republicans are warning President Trump against firing attorney general Jeff Sessions in a potential bid to find a replacement who would in turn fire special counsel Robert Muller and end the investigation into alleged trumprussia ties. Senator chuck grassley, chair of the judiciary committee, said on twitter he would refuse to hold hearings on any new attorney general this year. Meanwhile, South Carolina republican senator Lindsey Graham warned the president hed pay dearly for firing sessions. Fired t sessions is if Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay. Going after mueller could be the end of the Trump Presidency unless mueller did something wrong. Right now i have no reasonably that mueller is compromised. Amy senator graham also said hes crafting a bill that would require judicial review of any move by President Trump to fire special Council Robert mueller. Meanwhile, attorney general sessions broke his silence thursday, calling President Trumps mounting attacks on him kind of hurtful while defending his decision to recuse himself from the russia investigation. But sessions told fox news trump had the power to fire him. To make a change, he can subtly do so and i would be glad to yield in that circumstance. No doubt about it. But i do believe that we are. Aking tremendous progress amy attorney general sessions made the comments from san salvado, where he met el salvadors president , salvador sanchez ceren, to discuss the transnational gang known as ms13. Sessions trip came as the immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ice, said , its carrying out raids targeting undocumented teenagers it accuses of being members of ms13 and other gangs. The criteria ice is using to assess gang affiliation reportedly includes whether teenagers have tattoos, Wear Clothing typical to a gang, or even spend time in an area thats known to have gangs. During a News Conference at the white house thursday, acting ice director thomas homan spoke in front of a series of images of young brown men with tattoos, saying his agency was now deporting undocumented immigrants whove been arrested for a crime even if they havent been found guilty. Infor those that get booked connie jail come under the prior administration, they needed a conviction before we can put a detainer on them. That is not necessary anymore. If you have been arrested for a serious crime and are in a county jail, were going to take the person into custody. Amy the ice campaign against ms13 came as new details emerged about the 10 migrants found dead from heat exposure and asphyxiation in the back of a tractortrailer in a walmart parking lot in san antonio, texas, last weekend. One of the migrants, 19yearold frank fuentes, was brought to the u. S. As a toddler from guatemala and raised in Northern Virginia before he was deported last march. At the time of fuentess deportation, ice said the teenager was suspected of having ties to ms13. His friends dispute the accusation. Fuentes former classmate juan benitez told the Washington Post growing up where we grew up, it was just easier for the government to label him as a statistic and say that he was affiliated with a gang. Growing up in a rough neighborhood we stayed away from people like that. It was the only way to be safe. Before his deportation, fuentes was a recipient of daca, or deferred action for childhood arrivals, which grants Legal Protection for some young immigrants to live and work in the United States. We will have more on the fight of undocumented immigrants to protect daca later in the broadcast. In connecticut, an undocumented mother who took sanctuary in a New Haven Church to avoid deportation to guatemala has won an emergency stay that will keep her in the u. S. At least for now. The order by a federal judge will see the immigrations and Customs Enforcement take another look at the case of nury chavarria, the mother of four children who has been living in the United States for 24 years. The department of justice said in court papers wednesday that federal civil rights law does not protect workers from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The assertion came in a legal brief filed by the Justice Department lawyers in a federal case involving a skydiving instructor who said he was fired after a customer objected to his status as a gay man. The plaintiffs lawyer says the Trump Administration is on the wrong side of history in arguing people should be excluded under title vii of the civil rights act. About the this is human condition and the right to be free from employment discrimination and to protect your family, especially if you can get married as a gay person. Amy top u. S. Military leaders pushed back thursday against President Trumps order, made in a series of three tweets, banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces. Marine corps general joseph dunford, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, said the announcement caught him by surprise and that the military would continue to allow transgender soldiers and officers to serve until defense secretary james mattis received specific instructions from the president. This is general mark milley, chief of staff of the army, speaking thursday. To date, walking in here, ive yet to receive and limitation guidance, directives, from the department of defense general mattis. We grow up and learn to obey the chain of command. My chain of command for secretary of army and the secretary of defense, right . And the president. So we will work through the implementation guidance when we get it. Amy trumps ban on transgender troops could impact as many as 15,000 people. Its unclear whether they would face honorable or dishonorable discharges. At the white house, divisions among senior staff were on full display thursday after newly appointed Communications DirectorAnthony Scaramucci railed against leaks in a series of expletiveladen interviews. On wednesday, scaramucci phoned new yorker correspondent ryan lizza and demanded to know who leaked details about a white house dinner to lizza, threatening to fire the entire White House Communications team. Scaramucci then accused trumps chief of staff Reince Priebus of being the leaker, predicting priebus would soon be asked to resign and calling him an effing paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac. Scaramucci also took a swipe at trumps chief strategist steve bannon with a crude reference to a sexual act, and added what i want to do is i want to effing kill all the leakers and i want to get the president s agenda on track so we can succeed for the American People. On thursday morning, scaramucci phoned into cnns new day program, where he compared his relationship with Reince Priebus to the biblical brothers cain and abel, and said leakers should be met with harsh punishment. The White House Leaks are small potatoes relative to things that are going on leaking things about syria or north korea were leaking things about iraq. Those are the types of leaks that are so treasonous, that 150 years ago, people would have been hung for those types of leaks. Amy at the white house, press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders declined to say whether President Trump still has confidence in his chief of staff. In jerusalem, over 100 palestinians were injured thursday after Israeli Security forces fired rubber ola and loved stun grenades at worshipers there a mosque. Some of those hurt suffered broken bones. The crackdown came after authorities removed cameras and other security measures around the site, which is sacred to both muslims and use following weeks of intense protest by palestinians to many unfettered access to the site. In wisconsin,s. Republican Governor Scott walker, House Speaker paul ryan, a President Trump are backing a plan that would see the hightech manufacturer foxconn build a 10 billion factory in the state in exchange for 3 billion in tax credits. Governor walker says the factory, which would produce flatpanel display screens, would add 13,000 jobs to wisconsins economy. In fact, foxconn has said the factory would only provide an initial 3000 jobs with the potential to add more in the future. Critics say thats unlikely to happen, as the plant will probably be highly automated, and that taxpayers may end up paying 1 million per job created. The jobs will carry an average salary of 54,000. In garfield county, oklahoma, sheriff jerry niles and five of his subordinates will face manslaughter charges after a prisoner died in june when he was held in a restraint chair more than 48 hours without adequate food, water, or medical care. Oklahomas attorney general says 58yearold anthony huff was placed in a restraint chair on june 6 and found unresponsive on june 8, still bound to the chair. Hed been arrested on a public intoxication charge. Prosecutors say the jail staff failed to provide huff his medication for heart disease, hypertension, and other disorders, and failed to provide him with water every 2 hours as required by law. And in sports news, Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman john urschel said thursday he will retire from the nfl after a recent study that found virtually all pro Football Players show signs of a degenerative brain disease known as cte. The 26yearold player called the decision difficult, but said he would move on to pursue a doctorate in mathematics at m. I. T. Two years ago, urschel suffered a concussion in a helmettohelmet collision, which he says affected his ability to think well mathematically. A study published this week in the journal of the American Medical Association found that, of 111 nfl players whose brains were studied, 110 of them had signs of cte, which can lead to memory loss, depression, and dementia often years or even decades after players retire. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In an historic defeat for the republican party, the senate voted 49 to 51 early this morning against a bill that would have repealed key parts of the Affordable Care act. Nays are 51. Ayes the amendment is not agreed to. Amy as the bill was defeated, protesters outside the capitol cheered and chanted yes we did. The loss was a stinging defeat for President Trump and for republicans who have spent seven years vowing to repeal and replace obamacare. This is Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, conceding defeat around 2 00 a. M. Eastern time. I also want to thank the president and the Vice President who could not has been more helpful. And more so, yes, this is a disappointment. A disappointment, indeed. Our friends over in the house, we thank them as well. I regret that our efforts were simply not enough this time. Amy the socalled skinny repeal of obamacare would have eliminated the individual and the employer mandate that requires certain businesses to provide Health Insurance to employees. Its defeat came after the Congressional Budget Office said it would have added another 16 Million People to the ranks of the uninsured and increased premiums by at least 20 . The bill was only made public around 10 00 p. M. Thursday night, giving senators only two only a few to review it hours before they had to vote. Joining every democrat in opposing the measure were republicans Susan Collins of maine, Lisa Murkowski of alaska, and arizona senator john mccain, who returned to washington this week after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Right now as i mentioned earlier, i am voting no unless i see that there is a cap to a conference that will come out with a result that will address the challenges. State iss quo in my uns