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Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 19, 2016
Ari Berman: How Voter Suppression Helped Pave Way for a Legislative Coup in North Carolina

We turn now to North Carolina, where as many as 39 protesters were arrested Friday at the State Legislative Building. Activists are accusing Republican lawmakers of waging a legislative coup by attempting to strip power from the state’s incoming governor, Democrat Roy Cooper. Cooper narrowly beat Republican Governor Pat McCrory by 10,000 votes last month. In an unprecedented move, Republicans filed dozens of new bills last week during a special session of the General Assembly called to consider relief for Hurricane Matthew victims. We speak to Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation. His latest piece is titled "North Carolina’s Legislative Coup Shows What Voter Suppression Will Look Like Under Trump."
Ambassador for Apartheid: Trump's Pick for Israel Post Slammed as Threat to Peace & Two-State Talks

President-elect Donald Trump is facing widespread criticism for picking David Friedman to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. For years, Friedman has served as president of American Friends of Beit El Institutions, which has raised millions of dollars to support illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, has also worked as a bankruptcy attorney for Trump for the past 15 years. He supports Israel’s Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank and says he doesn’t think it would be illegal for Israel to annex the entire Palestinian territory, despite the fact that it would be blatantly illegal under international law. During the presidential campaign, Friedman also said he opposes a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. 
Elector: Our Duty in Electoral College is to Prevent Unqualified Demagogues from Presidency

The 538 electors of the Electoral College are set to meet today to officially choose the next president of the United States. Members of the Electoral College are meeting in their respective state capitals to cast ballots to determine who will be the next president. In past elections, the meetings have generally been considered a formality. But this year, an increasing number of people have called on the electors to refuse to vote for President-elect Donald Trump. One Republican elector has come out saying he will not vote for Trump, and there are reports of other so-called Republican faithless electors. Michael Moore has offered to pay the fines of any electors who break ranks and vote against Donald Trump. Donald Trump needs to secure 270 elector votes to take office. He lost the popular vote by 2.9 million. We speak to Polly Baca, Democratic elector from Colorado.
Jewish Voice for Peace: Trump Election Has Empowered Anti-Semitism & Islamophobia in United States

In Montana, a white supremacist website has issued a call for online attacks against the Jewish community in the town of Whitefish, where white supremacist Richard Spencer’s mother lives. The call listed the phone numbers and email addresses of Jewish residents. Richard Spencer says he’s considering running for Montana Congressmember Ryan Zinke’s U.S. House seat, if Zinke is confirmed to head the Interior Department. Trump picked Zinke for the Cabinet position last week. Meanwhile, Trump has picked Stephen Miller, who has close ties to Richard Spencer, to be a senior adviser in the White House. We speak to Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Mustafa Barghouti: Trump Pick for Ambassador to Israel Giving the Green Light to Israeli Extremists

As President-elect Donald Trump picks David Friedman to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, we look at President Obama’s record dealing with the Israel-Palestine crisis. We speak to Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Texas Is a Model for a More-Libertarian, More Diverse America: Avik Roy
Avik Roy, the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity co-founder, discusses how Texas has not only become an economic powerhouse, but has maintained a sense of inclusion that doesn't exist in many other states.
 

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