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Enough! A Million Students Walk Out of Schools to Demand Action on Guns in Historic Day of Action
In a historic day of action, more than a million students from over 3,000 schools walked out of classes to protest gun violence on Wednesday. Walkouts occurred in all 50 states as well as some schools overseas. The nationwide student walkouts occurred one month after 17 students and staff were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. At many schools, students walked out for 17 minutes—one minute for each person murdered in Parkland. The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are now organizing a massive March for Our Lives on March 24 in Washington, and solidarity marches are planned across the country.

Remembering Courtlin Arrington: The Victim of a Recent School Shooting Largely Ignored by Media
Wednesday’s nationwide student walkout occurred one month after 17 students and staff were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Many students left classes for 17 minutes—one minute for each person murdered in Parkland. But in Alabama some students walked out for 18 minutes to remember another student who was recently killed by gun violence at school: Courtlin Arrington, a 17-year-old African-American student who was shot dead last week at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama, by a fellow student. She was a high school senior who was planning to attend college next year. She had dreams of becoming a nurse. While the Parkland shooting has dominated national headlines for a month, far less coverage was paid to the death of Courtlin Arrington.

Farmworkers Bring Human Rights Fight to Wendy’s Doorstep, Fasting & Calling for Boycott over Abuses
Dozens of farmworkers with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers have entered their last day of a 5-day fast outside the Manhattan office of Nelson Peltz, the board chair and largest shareholder of the restaurant chain Wendy’s. They are demanding Wendy’s sign onto the Fair Food Program, which would require the fast-food giant to purchase tomatoes from growers that follow a worker-designed code of conduct that includes a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and abuse in the fields. Wendy’s is the only major fast-food chain that has refused to sign onto the Fair Food Program. Wendy’s competitors McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Chipotle and Taco Bell all have joined the Fair Food Program, which CIW members say has virtually ended sexual harassment and assault for tens of thousands of workers on participating farms in seven states. The fast today will end in a “Time’s Up Wendy’s” march in New York.

Rebecca Solnit on #MeToo, Mass Movements and the 10th Anniversary of “Men Explain Things to Me”
This month marks the 10th anniversary of Rebecca Solnit’s groundbreaking essay, “Men Explain Things to Me.” In 2008, Solnit wrote, “Men explain things to me, and other women, whether or not they know what they’re talking about… Every woman knows what I’m talking about. It’s the presumption that makes it hard, at times, for any woman in any field; that keeps women from speaking up and from being heard when they dare; that crushes young women into silence by indicating, the way harassment on the street does, that this is not their world. It trains us in self-doubt and self-limitation just as it exercises men’s unsupported overconfidence.” The essay has also been credited with launching the term “mansplaining,” though Rebecca Solnit did not coin the phrase.

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Trump’s New CIA Nominee, Gina Haspel, Faces Possible Arrest Warrant in Germany over Torture
On Tuesday morning, President Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via Twitter. In the same tweet, the president announced CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is a close ally of the Koch brothers, would be nominated to become the new secretary of state. Trump also tapped CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to head the CIA. Haspel was directly involved in the CIA’s torture program under George W. Bush. She was responsible for running a secret CIA black site in Thailand in 2002 where one prisoner was waterboarded 83 times and tortured in other ways. Both Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel must now face Senate confirmations, but barring any Republican defections, both can be confirmed without any Democratic support. Last year, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights asked German prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Haspel for her role in the torture program.

“She Tortured Just for the Sake of Torture”: CIA Whistleblower on Trump’s New CIA Pick Gina Haspel
Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou personally knew CIA director nominee Gina Haspel when he worked at the CIA. But their careers have taken very different paths over the past decade. Haspel, who was directly involved in torture at a secret CIA prison in Thailand, has been promoted to head the agency. Kiriakou, who blew the whistle on the torture program, ended up being jailed for 23 months.

Jeremy Scahill: Gina Haspel Should Be Answering for Her Torture Crimes, Not Heading the CIA
Trump has tapped CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to replace outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo, after Pompeo was named to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Haspel was directly involved in the CIA’s torture program under George W. Bush. She was responsible for running a secret CIA black site in Thailand in 2002 where one prisoner was waterboarded 83 times and tortured in other ways. But she enjoys broad support, including from the intelligence community and Democrats in the Senate.

Mike Pompeo, Christian Crusader & Koch Brothers Ally, Tapped to Be Trump’s Secretary of State
On Tuesday, President Trump announced via Twitter he was firing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and tapping CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. As a former Kansas Republican congressmember, Pompeo has a history of making Islamophobic statements. He’s also been a major ally to the billionaire right-wing Koch brothers.

Congresswoman Confirms Erik Prince Tied to Assassination Program Run Out of Dick Cheney’s Office
On one of the latest episodes of Jeremy Scahill’s podcast “Intercepted,” he interviews Democratic Congressmember Jan Schakowsky about Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, who is now under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

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“Unprecedented & Shocking”: Armed Secret Service Agents Should Not Be Allowed at Polling Sites
A bipartisan group of secretaries of state are condemning a proposal to allow armed Secret Service agents at election polling stations. The proposal has already been approved by the House as part of the Homeland Security Department reauthorization bill. On Friday, 19 secretaries of state wrote a letter to Senate leaders urging them to drop the proposal, calling it “unprecedented and shocking.”

Charterize, Privatize, Christianize: The DeVos-Backed Policies That “Gutted” Michigan Public Schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is facing new criticism after she struggled in a recent “60 Minutes” interview to explain why schools in her home state of Michigan are faring poorly under the policies she has championed. DeVos is a billionaire Republican activist and the sister of Blackwater founder Erik Prince. She once served as chair of the American Federation for Children in Michigan, where she promoted school choice and worked to expand the state’s use of private charter schools. Many educators say the results of DeVos’s policies in Michigan have been disastrous.

Critics of Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana Decry State & Company Surveillance of Protesters
In Louisiana, newly disclosed documents reveal a state intelligence agency regularly spied on activists opposing construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which would carry nearly a half-million barrels of oil per day across Louisiana’s wetlands. The documents show the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness regularly drafted intelligence memos on anti-pipeline activists, including a gathering of indigenous-led water protectors who’ve set up a protest encampment along the pipeline’s route. Other newly revealed documents show close coordination between Louisiana regulators and the company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners. This comes just one week after a U.S. district judge in Baton Rouge ordered a temporary injunction against construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline in order to “prevent further irreparable harm” to the region’s delicate ecosystems, while court challenges proceed.

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Death to Drug Dealers: Trump Threatens to Ramp Up Drug War, Praising Efforts in Philippines & China
President Trump has reiterated his calls for the U.S. to impose the death penalty on drug dealers, praising countries like the Philippines, China and Singapore that apply capital punishment to drug traffickers. During a speech on Saturday, Trump recounted conversations with Chinese and Singaporean leaders who, he said, solved their countries’ drug problems by executing drug traffickers. Trump has also repeatedly expressed admiration for Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and said he’s done an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.” Last month, the International Criminal Court opened a preliminary investigation into accusations that Duterte had committed crimes against humanity by overseeing the killing of up to 8,000 people in his so-called war on drugs.

Overthrow: 100 Years of U.S. Meddling & Regime Change, from Iran to Nicaragua to Hawaii to Cuba
As special counsel Robert Mueller continues his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, we take a look back at Washington’s record of meddling in elections across the globe. By one count, the United States has interfered in more than 80 foreign elections between 1946 and 2000. And that doesn’t count U.S.-backed coups and invasions.

As Ex-CIA Head Admits to U.S. Meddling in Elections, Is Outrage over Russian Interference Overblown?
Former CIA Director James Woolsey recently admitted the U.S. meddles in overseas elections. During an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Woolsey laughed about it and said the U.S. takes such action “only for a very good cause.” Woolsey made the comments shortly after 13 Russians were indicted for interfering with the U.S. election.

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A Step Toward Peace? South Korea Announces Trump Will Meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un
The White House says President Trump has accepted an invitation to meet directly with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong spoke with reporters Thursday night outside the White House after briefing officials on the recent talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and said the meeting would take place within two months. No sitting U.S. president has ever met with a North Korean leader; Kim Jong-un has never met another sitting head of state.

How an Alabama Town Is Fighting Against Cancerous & Toxic Coal Ash Dumping—No Thanks to Trump’s EPA
Residents of Uniontown, Alabama, have lived with the Arrowhead landfill, which is twice the size of New York’s Central Park, have protested shipments of toxic coal ash—the residual byproduct of burning coal—from a massive spill in Kingston, Tennessee, believed to be the largest coal ash disaster in U.S. history. For two years, nearly 4 million tons of coal ash was also shipped by rail from a mostly white Tennessee county to Uniontown. Coal ash contains toxins, including arsenic, mercury and boron, that can affect the nervous and reproductive systems and cause other health problems. According to the EPA, people living within a mile of unlined coal ash storage ponds have a one-in-50 risk of developing cancer. In 2013, some Uniontown residents filed a complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This week, the EPA dismissed the claim, saying there was “insufficient evidence.”

Toxic Coal Ash Being Dumped in Puerto Rico, Which Already Suffers Worst Drinking Water in the Nation
Even before Hurricane Maria struck the island nearly six months ago, the majority of Puerto Rico’s residents lived with water that violated health standards set by the U.S. law. Since the storm, residents say the situation has only gotten worse. Among the sources of potential water contamination are mountains of coal ash generated by a coal-fired power plant owned by a private company called AES. For years, residents have demanded the company stop dumping toxic coal ash into their community, saying the waste is poisonous to their health and the environment.

Overlooked: How Women Like Diane Arbus & Ida B. Wells Were Omitted from The NYT Obituaries
As the world marked International Women’s Day on Wednesday, The New York Times began a new project highlighting the lives of remarkable women who never had an obituary in the paper, until now. The list might surprise you. It includes the pioneering anti-lynching journalist Ida B. Wells; the writer and poet Sylvia Plath; Qiu Jin, who was known as China’s Joan of Arc; the groundbreaking photographer Diane Arbus; the woman who helped engineer the Brooklyn Bridge, Emily Warren Roebling; Charlotte Brontë, who wrote “Jane Eyre”; Henrietta Lacks, whose cells led to a medical revolution; and Ada Lovelace, who is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer. The New York Times is calling the project “Overlooked,” and it is part of an effort to make up for the paper’s 167-year history of focusing largely on men—mostly white men—in the obituary pages.

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In Spain, Women Launch Nationwide Feminist Strike Protesting “Alliance of Patriarchy & Capitalism”
In Spain, women have launched the first nationwide women’s strike in Spain’s history to mark International Women’s Day. Their motto: “If we stop, the world stops.” Organizers say its supporters include Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, and Manuela Carmena, the mayor of Madrid. Organizers published a manifesto reading, “Today we call for a society free of sexist oppression, exploitation and violence. We call for rebellion and a struggle against the alliance of the patriarchy and capitalism that wants us to be obedient, submissive and quiet. We do not accept worse working conditions, nor being paid less than men for the same work. That is why we are calling a work strike.”

On International Women’s Day, Women Declare: Emancipation Comes Through the Rejection of Capitalism
From Afghanistan to the Philippines to Mexico to Spain, women across the globe are taking to the streets today to mark International Women’s Day. In South Korea, International Women’s Day rallies were held in Seoul as the #MeToo movement sweeps the country. Filipino women rallied in Manila to protest the policies of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Afghan women held a rare public rally in Kabul. In Kenya, African women are meeting today to discuss ending violence against women and girls with disabilities. In England, women organized a major march on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote. And in the United States, rallies are scheduled to take place across the country today.

Eve Ensler on International Women’s Day & Her New One-Woman Play “In the Body of the World”
Eve Ensler is the award-winning playwright and author of “The Vagina Monologues.” Ensler’s new play, “In the Body of the World,” is an exploration of the female body—how to talk about it, how to protect it, how to value it. She shares her deeply intimate and painful relationship with her own body and how it has changed throughout her life, from being raped to struggling with anorexia, from battling uterine cancer to reclaiming her body when dancing with women from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the City of Joy, a revolutionary community for women survivors of gender violence in Bukavu, which she helped establish.

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“We Won!”: Teachers End Historic Strike in West Virginia with 5% Pay Raise for All State Workers
In West Virginia, teachers have ended their historic strike, after state officials agreed to raise the pay of all state workers by 5 percent. The strike began on February 22 and shut down every public school in the state. It was the longest teachers’ strike in West Virginia history.

After Victorious Strike, W. Virginia Teacher Sends Message to Oklahoma Educators Poised to Walk Out
As West Virginia teachers celebrate victory in their historic strike, Oklahoma teachers are considering following in their footsteps. On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Education Association announced that teachers would go strike on April 23 if the state Legislature doesn’t approve pay increases and funding for educational needs. Teresa Danks is a third-grade teacher at Grimes Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She made headlines last year when she panhandled on a roadside to raise money for supplies for her classroom. She has since started a foundation called Begging for Education, dedicated to funding classrooms, improving teachers’ salaries and fiscal responsibility in Oklahoma.

Dems Team Up with GOP to Weaken Bank Rules, Which Critics Say May Lead to More Bailouts & Misconduct
On Tuesday, 16 Senate Democrats joined with 50 Republicans to advance a bill slated to roll back key financial regulations passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The bill would exempt 25 of the nation’s 40 largest banks from being subject to heightened scrutiny by the Federal Reserve. If it passes, it would be the biggest weakening of the Dodd-Frank Act since it was signed into law in 2010. The 67-32 vote in favor of a “motion to proceed” now sends the bill back to the floor for debate and possible amendments before a final vote in the coming days.

Texas Primaries See Surging Democratic Turnout & Record Number of Female Candidates
This year’s midterm elections officially began on Tuesday as Democratic and Republican primaries were held in Texas. Democrats are hoping Texas could become a key state in the party’s effort to retake control of the Senate and the House. A record 50 women were on the ballot in what many are calling the “year of the women.” On Tuesday, Congressmember Beto O’Rourke won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. He will take on incumbent Ted Cruz, who easily won the Republican primary. On the House side, Democrats are putting up candidates in every Texas district for the first time in over 25 years. In one of the most watched Democratic races, progressive Democrat Laura Moser placed second, forcing a runoff against Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, an attorney who has been criticized for working at a law firm that has targeted unions in Texas. The race is seen as part of a war within the Democratic Party. Moser was endorsed by Our Revolution—the political organization that grew out of Bernie Sanders’s run for the White House. Fletcher was backed by the Democratic Party. In February, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took the unusual step of directly attacking Moser even though she is a Democrat. Moser and Fletcher will now face each other in a runoff to decide who will face Republican Congressmember John Culberson in November.

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Lori Wallach and Michael Hudson Debate Trump’s Plan to Impose Steel & Aluminum Tariffs
“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” That’s the message President Trump tweeted on Friday, sending shockwaves across the globe and sparking fear of impending economic volatility. On Thursday, world stock markets tumbled after Trump announced he plans to impose new tariffs on imports of foreign steel and aluminum. The new tariffs—25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum—will benefit U.S. producers of the metals, while raising prices for companies that manufacture everything from cars to airplanes to high-rise apartments. Prominent Republicans and business leaders have denounced Trump’s plan, saying the tariffs will hurt the manufacturing industry and U.S. competitiveness. Trump’s announcement has also prompted concerns that other countries will impose retaliatory tariffs while challenging U.S. protectionism at the World Trade Organization.

Sen. Chris Murphy Calls for Reinstating Assault Weapons Ban & Breaking NRA’s “Vise Grip” on GOP
The Florida Senate has voted to support a number of a new gun control measures following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead. Meanwhile, in Washington, Republican lawmakers said last week they’re moving on from the debate over gun control, after failing to pass a single bill on firearms in the wake of last month’s massacre in Florida. One of the most vocal advocates for gun control in Washington is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Shortly after the Florida shooting, Murphy took to the floor of the Senate to call for action. “Let me just note once again for my colleagues that this happens nowhere else other than the United States of America, this epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting,” Murphy said. “It only happens here, not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction.”

Sen. Chris Murphy: The U.S. Is Exporting Violence & Killing Civilians in Illegal War in Yemen
On Capitol Hill, three U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would force Congress to vote for the first time on whether to continue U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. The measure was introduced by Republican Mike Lee, Democrat Chris Murphy and Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, who noted that the Constitution gives Congress—and not the president—the power to declare war. For more, we speak with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

You can now get instant access to all 12 signs of the 2018 Planet Waves annual edition, The Art of Becoming — we’ll be publishing the additional transit videos soon. Order all 12 signs here to read your Sun, Moon and rising sign and those of loved ones, or choose your individual signs here.