Congress passed a two-week Continuing Resolution Budget bill Thursday, that prevents a government shutdown a day ahead of the deadline. But lawmakers face a rocky road over the next few weeks as they try to clinch a broader budget deal by the end of the year.
Then, John and Brian talk to Bradley Birkenfeld, a former banker and whistleblower whose disclosures to the United States government led to a massive fraud investigation against the Swiss bank UBS and other banks that had enabled tax evasion by ultra-rich U.S. taxpayers. He is the author or Lucifer's Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy.
Violence flared in Israel and the Palestinian territories yesterday in response to the Trump Administration's announcement that it would move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Despite the fact that virtually every Middle East expert has condemned the move as counter to the peace process, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer bragged yesterday that he had personally intervened with President Trump to urge him to make the move. Palestinian political analyst Jafar Ramini joins the show.
Britain and the European Union have reached an agreement that would allow them to move on to the next phase of talks that will lead to the UK's exit from the EU. In a significant concession, British Prime Minister Theresa May promised that there would be no "hard border" in Ireland. The talks now move on to the issue of trade. Joining the show is Robert Griffiths, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
Nearly two weeks after Hondurans went to the polls to elect a new leader, there is still no declared winner, despite the fact that anti-corruption campaigner Salvador Nasralla appeared to have won convincingly. But as is often the case in Central America the right-wing pro-US incumbent, Juan Hernandez said, "Not so fast." Will Hernandez steal the election? Can anybody stop him? Gail Walker, the executive director of Pastors for Peace, joins the show.
An Argentine judge has asked that country's senate to allow the arrest of former Argentine president Christina Kirchner on a charge of treason for allegedly covering up the role of Iranians in a deadly 1994 bomb attack on a Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. Argentine authorities also are reopening the investigation of a prosecutor on the case who may have been murdered. Arnold August, lecturer and author, joins Brian and John.
President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort is arguing that he did not violate a court gag order when he asserts that he helped edit and not author an opinion piece about his political work in Ukraine, his defense lawyer Kevin Downing argued in a court filing on Thursday. Joining the show is Walter Smolarek, a Sputnik News analyst.
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