Archive - Jan 8, 2009

• Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority (BART) Police Protests Intensify in Oakland
• Civil Rights Attorney, John Burris on Making  BART Accountable
• Obama Officially Becomes President Elect
• Daschle Tapped to Run Department of Health and Human Services; Appears Before Committee
• Tennessee Valley Authority Officials Testify About Coal and Ash Disaster
• President Mwai Kibaki Signs Kenya's Media Gag Law

• Lebanese Rockets Barrage Israel
• UN Suspends Aide Work in Gaza
• Russia Will Restart Natural Gas Shipments to Europe
• India Calls for Pakistan to Accept Responsibility for Mumbai Attacks
• Sri Lankan Journalist Shot During Morning Commute
• IL Legislature Could Start Blagojevich Impeachments Proceedings Tomorrow
• PTSD Suffers Not Worthy of Purple Heart Says Pentagon

Demonstrators took to the streets of Oakland, California to protest the killing of unarmed black man by BART Police.  Oscar Grant was twenty-two years old, and the father of a four year old daughter.  He was shot in the back as he lay on the ground in a public transit station on New Year's Day. People in the community are angry - and the protests in support of Oscar Grant have been growing in scale and intensity. From Oakland, Africa Jones reports.

Grant's family, community leaders, and politicians are questioning both the shooting and investigation into his death. Joining us now to discuss what legal avenues the family is pursuing is the Grant's attorney, John Burris.
John Burris is the Civil Rights attorney for the family of Oscar Grant, who was shot in the back and killed by a BART Officer on New Years Day, in Oakland California.

Barack Obama is now officially President elect. With Vice President Dick Cheney presiding, the House of Representatives sealed the results of November 4th's electoral college. Reading the results state by state, applause and laughter erupted during the reading of Ohio's results.  The states votes were contested because of alleged illegal vote activity which resulted in George Bush winning the 2004 Election.

Meanwhile, a Senate panel held the first confirmation hearing for an Obama appointee.  Former Senator Tom Daschle, picked to head the Department of Health and Human Services appeared before the committee today.  As Leigh Ann Caldwell reports, Daschle promises to cooperate with the Senate to drastically reform health care.

Three weeks after a massive environmental disaster in Tennessee, lawmakers on Capitol Hill grilled officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority about the safety of the their coal-fired power plant.  FSRN's Karen Miller was there and files this report.