Peace activist Carlos Arredondo has come to be known as "the man in the hat" and widely described as a hero for a viral image of him in a cowboy hat pinching the severed artery of a bloodied, wheelchair-bound victim in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Arredondo is no stranger to tragedy: He became a prominent opponent of the Iraq War after his son, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in Iraq in 2004. His surviving son, Brian, committed suicide in 2011. Carlos and his wife Mélida, join us to describe witnessing the Boston Marathon bombings and the immediate response to aid the victims. [includes rush transcript]

The toll from Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon stands at three dead and at least 144 wounded, 17 critically. The two blasts occurred within a 13-second span and just 100 yards apart near the finish line at the historic race. Doctors have reportedly carried out at least 10 amputations on bombing victims, with many patients suffering shrapnel wounds either from the bombs directly or from the resulting debris. It was the worst bombing in the United States since the Oklahoma City attack of 1995. No arrests have been made, and no one has claimed responsibility. [includes rush transcript]

• 3 Dead, Scores Wounded as Two Bomb Blasts Hit Boston Marathon
• Dozens Dead in Wave of Bombings Across Iraq
• Somalia: At Least 30 Killed in Militant Attacks
• Judge Denies Relief Motion from Hunger-Striking Guantánamo Prisoner
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Iran
• Landmark Report Confirms U.S. Tortured Prisoners After 9/11
• Report: Reform Bill Will Require Undocumented Immigrants to Pay Thousands in Fines
• Venezuelan Opposition Candidate Continues to Challenge Maduro Victory
• Syrian Opposition Says 30 Children Killed in Gov’t Air Strike
• Report: Human Trafficking Increases in Europe
• Obama Signs Bill Gutting Transparency Provisions in Insider Trading Law
• Mississippi’s Only Abortion Clinic to Stay Open for Now
• Students, Officials Condemn School-to-Prison Pipeline in NYC
• New York Times Wins Pulitzers for Coverage of Abuses by Apple, Wal-Mart
• Today Marks 50th Anniversary of MLK’s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

Today is April 15th, Tax Day, when millions of Americans scramble to file their income taxes on time. It’s also a day when people across the country are planning to protest the use of tax dollars to fund war. In dozens of communities across the country, demonstrations are planned at IRS offices, federal buildings and weapons factories to protest ongoing massive U.S. government expenditures on drones, missiles and bombs. According to a new pie chart released by the War Resisters League, 47 percent of federal taxes goes toward war in some form or the other. To protest paying for lethal weapons, some Americans are taking a stand by personally refusing to fund the military. These tax resisters are risking jail time by withholding all or a portion of their federal income taxes, and instead redirecting the money to humanitarian efforts. We speak with Ed Hedemann of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. He has redirected the federal portion of his tax bill to nonprofits and humanitarian efforts for 40 years. [includes rush transcript]

Hugo Chávez’s former foreign minister and vice president, Nicolás Maduro, narrowly won Sunday’s election to fill out the remainder of Chávez’s term following his death from cancer last month. The National Electoral Council of Venezuela says Maduro received 50.7 percent of the vote, besting opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski’s 49.1 percent. The race was far closer than the contest in October when Chávez beat Capriles by 11 percentage points. We host a debate between Rory Carroll, author of "Comandante: Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela," and Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. [includes rush transcript]

• Chávez Successor Wins Venezuelan Election, Opposition Seeks Recount
• Military Guards Fire on Guantánamo Hunger Strikers
• Guantánamo Prisoner: "All of the Detainees Are Suffering Deeply"
• Newtown Mother Delivers Obama's Weekly Address
• Kerry Suggests Eased U.S. Stance on North Korea Talks
• U.S. Pushes Japanese Involvement in TPP Talks
• Former Texas Justice of the Peace Arrested for Prosecutor Slayings
• North Dakota House Approves 20-Week Abortion Ban
• Virginia Board of Health OKs New Limits on Abortion Clinics
• EPA Delays Emissions Caps on New Power Plants
• Russia, U.S. Impose Travel Bans in Widening Row
• Florida Police Officer Fired for Using Trayvon Martin Image in Shooting Target
• Tennessee Republican Withdraws Child Welfare Bill
• GOP Lawmaker Behind North Korea Leak Seeks to Restore Missile Defense Cuts
• Progressive, Conservative Groups Stage "K Street 5K" March Against Money in Politics

As newly elected Pope Francis orders the Vatican to act more decisively on sexual abuse cases, we speak to retired Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit. A survivor of sexual abuse himself, Gumbleton was forced to resign in 2007 after he spoke out publicly in favor of an Ohio bill to extend the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse by clergy. Gumbleton spoke here in New York City last night at a benefit for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Bishop Gumbleton has also been a leading voice for peace, justice and civil rights for decades. He helped found Pax Christi and Bread for the World. We also speak to him about poverty in Detroit, Lori Berenson, war tax resistance, why he challenges the church’s position on gay marriage, the anti-nuke movement and liberation theology. [includes rush transcript]

• Senate Votes to Begin Debate on Gun Control
• Syria: At Least 45 Die in Daraa as British Official Blasts Lack of World Action
• Secret Documents Confirm U.S. Drone Policy Contradicts Public Claims
• U.S. Officials Cast Doubt on Intel Report About North Korea's Nuclear Prowess
• Report: Immigration Bill Could Deny Citizenship to Poor, Recent Arrivals
• Lawyers Warn Hunger-Striking Gitmo Prisoners Could Soon Die
• Chilean Students Hold Mass Rally for Free Education
• Brazilians Protest Privatization of Maracanã Stadium for World Cup, Olympics
• Venezuela: Presidential Candidates Give Final Speeches Before Election
• Uruguay Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
• Official: Break in Arkansas ExxonMobil Oil Pipeline Far Larger Than Believed
• Israeli Military Locks Up 14-Year-Old Palestinian American for Throwing Stones
• House Panel Approves Controversial Data-Sharing Bill
• California: 3 Teens Arrested for Sexual Battery After Suicide of 15-Year-Old Girl
• Las Vegas Cop Will Not Face Criminal Charges for Killing Unarmed Veteran
• Director of Dr. Tiller's Former Abortion Clinic Faces Death Threats

New revelations have emerged in Egypt that members of the army participated in the forced disappearance, torture and killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Despite the allegations, President Mohamed Morsi has declined to prosecute any officers since he assumed power from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after his election in June. The disclosures come amidst growing sectarian violence in Egypt between Muslims and Coptic Christians. We discuss the latest with Democracy Now! correspondent and Nation Institute fellow Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Lina Attalah, chief editor of Egypt Independent, a Cairo-based English-language newspaper and website. [includes rush transcript]

As tens of thousands rallied on Capitol Hill for humane reform Wednesday, more details emerged on the bipartisan immigration plan being drafted in the Senate. The deal will reportedly require greatly increased surveillance and policing near the U.S.-Mexico border. According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. immigration officials would have to certify complete monitoring of the southern U.S. border and a 90 percent success rate in blocking unlawful entry in certain areas. Only then could the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants apply for permanent residency. The process is expected to take at least 10 years. Juan González, Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist, calls the looming congressional debate on immigration "a battle over what will America look like in the 21st century." [includes rush transcript]

Tens of thousands of immigrants from around the country joined allies from the labor movement and beyond to "Rally for Citizenship" Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The demonstrators urged Congress to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and provide a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented residents. Among those who came to push for reform were farm workers from California and house cleaners from Alabama. They were joined by youth activists brought to the country by their parents, only to struggle to attend college or find work after graduating from high school because of their undocumented status. We hear from some of the voices to address the rally: 17-year-old DREAM activist Katherine Tabares of New York; NAACP President Benjamin Jealous; and Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, one of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators drafting a joint immigration bill. [includes rush transcript]

• Tens of Thousands Rally for Humane Immigration Reform
• Senate Immigration Plan Sets Cumbersome Border Requirements
• Obama Budget Plan Endorses Social Security Cuts
• Petition Opposing Chained CPI Draws 2.3 Million Signatures
• Senate to Hold First Gun-Control Vote After Compromise on Background Checks
• Michelle Obama Pushes Gun-Control Vote
• Rhode Island Introduces Gun-Control Measure
• Military Court Raises Burden for Manning Prosecutors; Internet, Phone Access Curbed
• HRW: Over 4,300 Civilians Killed in Syrian Strikes
• U.N. Warns of Funding Shortfall for Syrian Refugees
• Hagel: North Korea "Skating Very Close to a Dangerous Line"
• Witness Ties Guatemalan President to Maya Killings in Montt Trial
• Colombians Stage Nationwide March for Peace
• Canadian Teen Commits Suicide over Alleged Rape, Bullying

Amira Hass, the only Jewish-Israeli journalist to have spent almost 20 years living in and reporting from Gaza and the West Bank, recently suffered a torrent of hate mail and calls for her prosecution after she wrote an article defending the right of Palestinians to resist violent occupation. In the article, Hass defended the throwing of stones by Palestinian youth at Israeli soldiers, calling it "the birthright and duty of anyone subject to foreign rule." Hass said Israelis remain in denial about "how much violence is used on a daily basis against Palestinians. They don’t like to be told that someone has the right to resist their violence." Hass joins us to discuss the reaction to her piece and her response to the latest regional visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Despite vows to revive peace talks and free up the Palestinian economy, Hass says the Obama administration wants to preserve the status quo of occupation. [includes rush transcript]

In his new book, "The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth," Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti tracks the transformation of the CIA and U.S. special operations forces into man-hunting and killing machines in the world’s dark spaces: the new American way of war. The book’s revelations include disclosing that the Pakistani government agreed to allow the drone attacks in return for the CIA’s assassination of Pakistani militant Nek Muhammad, who was not even a target of the United States. Mazzetti’s reporting on the violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan — and Washington’s response — won him a Pulitzer Prize in 2009. The year before, he was a Pulitzer finalist for his reporting on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. [includes rush transcript]

• Vote Set to Begin Gun-Control Debate After GOP Backs Down on Filibuster
• Newtown Families Lobby Congress for Gun-Control Vote
• Sen. Inhofe: Obama Admin Using Newtown Families for Issue They Have Nothing to Do With
• Biden: Threat of GOP Filibuster on Gun-Control Vote "Mind-Boggling"
• 6-Year-Old Killed in Accidental Shooting
• 14 Wounded in Stabbing Rampage at Texas College
• Most Borrowers to Receive Paltry Sum from Banks in Foreclosure Settlement
• North Korea Warns South of "Thermonuclear War"
• Earthquake Kills 37 in Iran
• Israeli Troops Shoot Palestinian Journalist in Face for Filming Raid
• Kerry to Meet with Syrian Opposition After Israel-West Bank Visit
• Alabama Gov. Signs Anti-Abortion Law; Arkansas Senate Advances New Curbs
• Jury Awards $236 Million to New Hampshire for ExxonMobil Contamination
• Arkansas Residents File Class Action Suit Against ExxonMobil for Oil Spill
• Elderly Protester Halts Construction of Keystone XL in Oklahoma
• Hundreds of Students Stage Walkout Against Budgets Cuts in New Jersey
• Kelly Wins Illinois Special Election for Vacant House Seat
• NYC to Pay Over $350,000 for Damage in Occupy Wall Street Raid

So-called "ag-gag" bills that criminalize undercover filming on farms and at slaughterhouses to document criminal animal abuse are sweeping the country. Five states, including Missouri, Utah and Iowa, already have such laws in place. North Carolina has just become the latest state to consider such a law, joining a list that includes Arkansas, California, Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont. Many of these bills have been introduced with the backing of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a mechanism for corporate lobbyists to help write state laws. We host a debate on the ag-gag laws with two guests: independent journalist Will Potter, and Emily Meredith, communications director for the Animal Agriculture Alliance. [includes rush transcript]

An animal rights investigator details how he has spent over a decade secretly filming animal abuse and why that work is now imperiled by a wave of laws sweeping the country. Speaking on the condition we conceal his identity, "Pete" has secretly captured animal abuse on farms and slaughterhouses after applying to work at the location. He has released video footage to law enforcement and activist groups such as Mercy for Animals, helping spark national outcry and charges against the abusers. His investigations and footage have led to at least 15 criminal cases and have been used in several documentaries. But now Pete’s work is under threat. A dozen or so state legislatures have introduced bills that target people who covertly expose farm animal abuse. Nicknamed "ag-gag" laws, they would make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms or apply for a job at one without disclosing affiliations with animal rights groups. They also require activists to hand over undercover videos within 24 hours, preventing them from amassing a trove of material and publicizing their findings on their own. [includes rush transcript]

<li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#490">U.S. to Deploy New Laser Attack Weapon Near Iran</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#491">Kerry Continues Harsh Rhetoric Against Iran During Israeli Visit</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#492">Storage Pits Leaking at Embattled Fukushima Nuclear Plant</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#493">Obama Pushes Gun Control in Connecticut Visit</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#494">Senators Negotiating Deal on Background Checks</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#495">Syria: At Least 15 Killed in Damascus Suicide Blast</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#496">Italy Pardons U.S. Colonel Convicted in Rendition of Egyptian Cleric</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#497">Trial for Osama bin Laden&#x27;s Son-in-Law Could Be Delayed by U.S. Budget Cuts</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#498">WikiLeaks: Vatican Dismissed Reports of Violence Under Pinochet as &quot;Communist Propaganda&quot;</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#499">Julian Assange Hails WikiLeaks&#x27; Release of &quot;Kissinger Cables&quot; in Video Address</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#4910">Chile Exhumes Body of Poet Pablo Neruda to Probe Poisoning Claims</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#4911">Philippines Bills U.S. $1.5 Million for Damages to Coral Reef</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#4912">Hagel Seeks Changes to Military&#x27;s Legal Process for Sexual Assault</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#4913">Maryland Set to Legalize Medical Marijuana</a></li><li><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/4/9/headlines#4914">Israeli Journalist Amira Hass Faces Backlash for Supporting Palestinian Right to Resist</a></li>

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87. Thatcher was Britain’s first female prime minister, serving three terms in office. Known as the "Iron Lady," Thatcher became synonymous with austerity economics as a close ally of President Ronald Reagan. She famously declared to critics of neoliberal capitalism that "there is no alternative." Her long-running battle with striking British miners dealt a major blow to the union movement in Britain and ushered in a wave of privatizations. On foreign policy, Thatcher presided over the Falklands War with Argentina, provided critical support to the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and famously labeled Nelson Mandela a "terrorist" while backing South Africa’s apartheid regime. We go to London to discuss Thatcher’s legacy with Tariq Ali, British-Pakistani political commentator, writer, activist and editor of the New Left Review. [includes rush transcript]

Icelandic Parliamentarian Birgitta Jónsdóttir played a critical role in WikiLeaks’ release of the "Collateral Murder" video, which showed a U.S. military helicopter in July 2007 as it killed 12 people and wounded two children in Iraq. Jónsdóttir joins us on her first trip to the United States since a secret grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, began its investigation of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. She also discusses her role at the center of another closely watched legal case — challenging of the government’s effort to obtain her Twitter records without a warrant — and why she has come to the United States to champion the cases of military whistleblower Bradley Manning and the accused hacker Jeremy Hammond. [includes rush transcript]