Tuesday      
June 30, 2009

Jet Crash in the Indian Ocean

A search for survivors is underway, following last night’s crash of a Yemenia Airline jet attempting to land on the island nation of Comoros.  The flight originated in Paris yesterday.  We speak to Nicola Clark, the aviation and transportation reporter for the International Herald Tribune in Paris.

Factory Targeted in Immigration Raid to Close

The new owner of a factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts where U.S. military apparel is made is planning to close the site and move production to Puerto Rico, leaving 350 people in the struggling industrial city without jobs.  The factory was the site of a 2007 immigration raid where more than 360 workers were arrested.  We speak with Workers United union organizer Stephen Wishart and factory worker Elisa Rios, who supports the creation of a union at the factory.  We also speak with Brian Cullin, spokesman for factory owner Alliant Techsystems, and Father Richard Wilson, pastor of St. James Roman Catholic Church in New Bedford.

Madoff Hires a Prison Consultant

Facing a 150-year prison term for orchestrating a $65 billion ponzi scheme, Bernard Madoff has reportedly hired a prison consultant.  Newsweek reports Madoff’s lawyer hired the consultant to help him get placed in one of the better prisons.  We talk to John Webster, Managing Director of National Prison and Sentencing Consultants, about how much influence consultants have when it comes to determining where criminals do their time.

Coup in Honduras

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya clash with soldiers near the presidential residency Tegucigalpa, Monday, June 29. 2009. Police fired tear gas to hold back thousands of Hondurans outside the occupied presidential residency as world leaders from Barack Obama to Hugo Chavez appealed to Honduras to reverse a coup that ousted the president, Manuel Zelaya. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya clash with soldiers in Tegucigalpa, Monday, June 29. 2009.(AP)

The ousted president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, is promising to return home this week after Sunday’s military coup forced him to leave the country.  Governments across the region, along with the Obama administration are condemning the coup and say Zelaya should be returned to power.  The BBC’s Mexico City Correspondent, Stephen Gibbs, joins us from Tegucigalpa.

Amber Benson

Though it’s been over six years since the television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” went off the air, actress Amber Benson, who appeared on the show as Tara Maclay for three seasons still gets recognized by Buffy fans all over the world.  But Amber has branched out into directing and writing; she’s just published “Death’s Daughter,” the first of a trilogy of urban fantasy novels.  Here and Now’s Emiko Tamagawa caught up with Amber Benson at a book signing.

Music from the show

  • Medeski, Martin and Wood, “Bloody Oil”
  • Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
  • The Lickets, “A Crowd of Pimps in the Rain”
  • The Doors, “Peace Frog”
  • Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
  • Joss Whedon, “I’m Under Your Spell,” performed by Amber Benson
  • David Greenawalt

    The Honduran political crisis was not a coup. Rather it was legally authorized by the Constitution. According to Article 306 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the authority to call on public forces to enforce their rulings. In this case, they called on the Army to enforce their ruling that Zelaya cease his activities with his illegal referendum.

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