Protest outside the fcc, calling for the commission to save the internet. We will host a debate. And fast food workers go on strike for higher wages. I feel now it is the time for not only me, but all workers across the nation is stand up and speak out and come out of the shadows and let the public be aware of how we live our daytoday lives, which is very poorly. As fast food ceos make 1200 times as much money as the average fast food worker, we will speak with one worker on strike in the fight for a livable wage. Then, to walmart. That is what walmart understands and walmart is pretty good at counting its pennies. Just days after president obama spoke at a walmart, over 18 1800 warehouse workers in california settle a major wage theft lawsuit against walmart and one of its largest contractors. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nigeria has a currently ruled out talks of a prisoner swap with the boko haram to free the 260 schoolgirls held captive for over a month. A nigerian minister had opened the door to frame the girls in return for releasing the groups prisoners, but on wednesday, british minister mark simons said nigerian president good luck donovan has precluded negotiations. Jonathan has precluded negotiations. He was not prepared to negotiate with boko haram for the exchange of the objective girls and prisoners. When he also made clear to me is he wanted his government to continue a dialogue to make sure a solution could be found and that security and stability could return to normal a jury for the medium and longterm. The news comes as the boko haram has carried out a new attack or the school in chibok where the girls were seized, killing four nigerian soldiers. A group of villagers has reportedly killed and obtained scores of alleged boko haram fighters in an ambush. The u. S. Is flying jets and unpiloted drones over nigeria as part of search efforts for the missing girls. But it has yet to provide that information to the Nigerian Government because the two sides have yet to work out an intelligencesharing agreement. The death toll from the mining disaster in western turkey has 282, the worstt ever mining accident in turkish history. The number could rise with hundreds still missing. Turkish unions are holding a oneday strike today in protest of what they call lacks government oversight. The International LaborOrganization Says turkey has the worlds dirt highest rate of worker deaths. The United Nations is warning south sudan is on the brink of famine and genocide unless warring factions end their fighting. Thousands have been killed and more than one Million People have fled their homes since clashes broke out in december. After a visit to south sudan against week, secretarygeneral ban kimoon called for an immediate truce. I was extremely alarmed by what i saw and heard during my brief visit to south sudan. The threat of massive famine is clear and present danger. If the country continues, half of south sudans 10 Million People will be run out of their homes, starving, or dead by the end of this year. To avoid the famine, we are calling for 30 days of tranquility. I have also called for a tribunal to show accountability for the crimes committed by both sides. South sudan was due to hold president ial elections next year, but theyve now been postponed as part of reconciliation efforts. An al jazeera journalist on Hunger Strike against his imprisonment in egypt has reportedly been moved to solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. Has been heldmy without charge for close to nine months and on Hunger Strike since generally 23rd. In a video taken before his transfer to solitary, a frail looking elshamy said he has been denied medical treatment. After i reached 106 days of my Hunger Strike, to hold the egyptian judiciary [indiscernible] ,f anything ever happens to me i have requested several medical checkups from independent sources, and yet it is not been provided. Thousands of fast food workers are staging a oneday strike today in at least 150 cities across the United States. Workers are demanding the right to organize and calling for doubling of their wages from the current in which of 7. 25 an hour to 15 an hour. Organizers with fast food forward say workers in more than 30 countries around the world are also joining the day of action. We will have more on todays fast food strike later in the broadcast. Thousands of people have been evacuated in Southern California immigration wildfires. A local emergency has been declared in san diego county, which is enduring 100degree weather and dry winds. Anund 10 fires have burned estimated 15,000 acres so far. Samesex marriages will begin in idaho friday after a federal judge denied a state request for an injunction. Thee dale ruled this week idaho ban violates couples equal protection rights under the 14th amendment. Idaho had wanted the ruling on hold pending its appeal. But on wednesday, judge dale said she sees no reason to halt the marriages because she expects the appeal to fail. The idaho ruling was the latest in a series of Marriage Equality rulings sweeping the country, with seven state bans struck down this year. Samesex marriage bans are now facing Court Challenges in 31 of the 33 states that enforce them. The Arkansas Supreme Court has overturned a Lower Court Ruling that struck down the states strict voter id law. The law requires voters to present a photo id before casting a ballot. A state judge had ruled the law violates the arkansas constitution, but the states highest court now says the judge did not have the authority to make a decision. The measure was enacted last year after the republicanthe legislature overrode a veto by democratic governor mike eb. North dakota has appealed a federal court ruling that overturned the states antiabortion law, the harshest in the country. The measure banned abortion once a fetal or embryonic heartbeat can be detected, which happens at about six weeks of pregnancy, when many women do not know they are pregnant. It was slated to take effect in august. The Louisiana State senate has passed a sweeping antichoice bill similar to the one that shuttered one third of abortion clinics in texas. The bill would require abortion providers to obtain a mini privileges at a nearby hospital, a step that is often impossible, in part because the providers admit so few patients to hospitals. Critics say the louisiana measure would those three of the states five abortion clinics. Undocumented mexican immigrant seven deportation after 14 years has taken refuge in an arizona church. Daniel ruiz was ordered report for deportation earlier this week. Instead, he took sanctuary in a Tucson Church that once helped take a Central American refugees in the 1980s. He has lived in the u. S. For 14 years, and has a u. S. Born teenage son. He said i will do anything it takes to stay with my family. His action comes as president obama is expected to unveil revisions to his deportation policy the coming weeks. Another mexican citizen is suing immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for holding him in solitary confinement and mistreating him for five months. Fernando figueroa brought has was arrested in september a traffic violation. Figaro says ice agents shackle three parts of his body and beat him until he bled profusely from the face. After realizing the severity of his injuries, figaro said agents wrongly placed him on suicide watch, allowing the them to hold him for five months. The pentagon says it will try to transfer jill Army WhistleblowerChelsea Manning to a civilian prison in order to grant a request for hormone therapy. Manning announced her transition to living as a woman last year, following person dancing for leaking government files to wikileaks. It is the first time the pentagon has granted such a request. In new york, activist have interrupted a speech by the new York State Health commissioner to demand medicaid coverage for Transgender Health care. A 1998 regulation bars transgender people in new york from accessing hormone therapy and other forms of care through medicaid. On wednesday, members of the soviet Sylvia Rivera law project took over the stage of a Health Conference during a keynote address by the commissioner howard zucker. They displayed a banner with the hashtag Trans Health Care now. One of the members spoke from the stage for several moments. Right now new York State Department of health has a regulation that should specifically specifically excludes transgenders from accessing care under medicaid. Join us in demanding that commissioner zucker and the department of health end discrimination against transgender people. In a possible victory for thesgender rights, department of health and Human Services is expected to and a blanket ban on sex were some surgery. The New York Times has ousted its top editor, the first ever woman to hold the position. Executive editor Jill Abramson was replaced in a surprise move by publisher arthur sulzberger. The new yorker reports abramson had recently complained about earning less than her male predecessor, bill keller. She had also voiced concerns about Business Decisions and advertising interfering with the newsroom. Abrahamson has been replaced by whoging editor dean baquet becomes the first africanamerican to hold the post. He was accused of quashing a story on the involvement of phone companies in the bush ministrations domestic servants program while working at the los angeles times. He received complaints from top u. S. Intelligence officials at the time, but says that played no role in his decision. The french photojournalist Camille Lepage has died while covering the conflict in Central African republic. Her body was found murdered after french troops stopped the vehicle driven by christian militants. Friends and colleagues say Camille Lepage was dedicated to documenting africas overlooked conflicts. She was 26 years old. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We turn now to the future of the internet. The federal Communications Commission or fcc is scheduled to vote today on new rules that may effectively abandon Net Neutrality, the concept of a free and open internet. The fcc announced plans last month to let internet providers charge Media Companies extra fees to receive preferential treatment, such as faster speeds for their products and content. Under previous regulations struck down earlier this year, providers were forced to provide all content at equal speeds. Just steps from the fcc, demonstrators have set up tents and banners reading save the internet. Protesters with the occupy the fcc encampment are calling for federal regulators to reclassify Broadband Service as a public utility, which would allow for the requirement of Net Neutrality rules. Since last friday, three of the fccs five members have talked to the protesters. Tom wheeler stopped by and reiterated his commitment to an open internet. Listen closely because theres a lot of background noise. We are four and i am for open internet, a robust internet, a fast internet and there is only one internet. Not this internet for these folks and this internet for these folks. That was fcc chair tom wheeler speaking to protesters at the occupy fcc encampment. A letter was sent urging wheeler you see Agencies Authority to protect the open internet. Meanwhile, the ceos of 28 u. S. Broadband providers and trade groups also wrote a letter to the fcc asking it not to classify broadband as a utility. The ceos of at t, comcast, verizon communications, and Time Warner Cable were among the executives who argued that regulating broadband would impose great costs, allowing unprecedented government micromanagement of all aspects of the internet economy. On more we host a debate now Net Neutrality. Here in new york, were joined by timothy karr, the senior director of strategy at free press, a media reform organization. Joining us from hong kong is ,oshua steimle, the ceo of mwi an Online Marketing firm. Hes a picture bitter to forbes who just wrote a piece called, am i the only techie against Net Neutrality . Timothy karr and Joshua Steimle, welcome to democracy now timothy karr, can you lay out what is at stake now before the fcc today . The fcc is in the process of making a new ruling to protect Net Neutrality. There have been a number of efforts in the past that were thrown out by the courts. The most recent one was in january. The fcc under its new chairman tom wheeler, has pledged to protect the open internet. According to reports that came out in the media about three weeks ago, he is actually proposing what is called a pay for part is a shim is the opposite of Net Neutrality. , whichfor prioritization is the opposite of Net Neutrality. What is happening today is the fcc is having a meeting to decide whether to put this proposal forward. It is likely that will happen today. Then there will be a process over several months where the public can comment and let them know, let the fcc no what they think about german wheelers why is it called Net Neutrality . It is the way the internet was supposed to work, this idea when you go online, doesnt matter whoever you are, you can connect to anyone else who was on the network. You simply have to pay whatever your monthly rate is your Internet Service provider and they get out of your way. Underlying principle of openness is what has made internet such a great engine for free speech and diversity economic innovation. Joshua steimle, why are you against Net Neutrality . To clarify my position, im not against Net Neutrality as a principal, im against Net Neutrality as legislation. I primary motivation there is i am against further government intrusion on the internet. So i see the u. S. Government is not thing that trustworthy steward to take care of the internet and ensure an open internet. I dont like the telecoms. Im definitely not on their side. But i see the telecoms as bad and he was government as worse, and i dont see how we add up that plus worse and end up with better. Your response . This is about protecting the rights of Telecom Companies or protecting the rights of u. S. Government, but protecting the rights of Internet Users. We have had a long tradition of regulation of internet providers. There is a misunderstanding here that Net Neutrality is a regulation of the internet. Like Service Providers comcast, Time Warner Cable, verizon and at t. There is a long history in Communications Law of regulations that protect the public interest. These are companies when they come into your community, have to lay there lines, dig ditches or lay lines or telephone calls. They strike franchise agreements with cities. That is the basic regulation of Internet Service providers. Net neutrality prevents them from blocking our content, censoring our speech, and allows us to connect anyone else online without this kind of discrimination. Your response to that, Joshua Steimle . My concern is that if we have Net Neutrality legislation, we cant trust the telecoms to police themselves. Theyre not going to say, oh, yes, we are handling the traffic the way it is supposed to be handled. So the government will step in and say, we need to ensure that this traffic is being handled correctly edge means we need to install hardware and software to verify this traffic is being handled correctly. This is the same organization that one year ago we discovered has been spying on american citizens. This is the same organization that executes u. S. Citizens in violation of their fifth amendment rights. This is the same organization that has proven it is fairly confident of providing any sort of product or service. We have bridges falling down, issues with every industry that the government touches. I dont trust that entity, that organization, to provide oversight for the internet war for these internet telecoms. One of the things here in the United States is that we actually do have a First Amendment and the second and fourth the memo that protects our right to free speech. Those are government rules, rules to pr