• Listen to this segment with Rahul Mahajan

• Listen to the entire program with Host Sonali Kolhatkar

Uprising’s guest expert Rahul Mahajan, a sociologist and news analyst and author of Full Spectrum Dominance: US Power in Iraq and Beyond, analyzes today’s news headlines:

Seven million people died as a result of air pollution in 2012, according to a shocking new report. The World Health Organization, which compiled the grim statistics have found that more than 12% of all deaths worldwide can be linked to air pollution, double the number from previous years. Both indoor and outdoor toxic air in Asian countries in particular, can trigger strokes and heart diseases. The deaths are concentrated in large, rapidly industrializing nations such as China, and India. Click here for a New York Times article on the story.

Civil liberties activists in the US have petitioned the State and Justice Departments to end their persecution of NSA whistleblower Edward J. Snowden, particularly in light of the proposals being considered by Congress and the White House to reform the spying program that Snowden leaked. More than a hundred thousand people have signed the petitions, asking for Snowden’s passport to be reinstated and for him to be allowed to seek political asylum. Click here for a Commondreams article for the story.

The deadline for people to enroll in health insurance plans in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act, has been extended – but only for those people who have already started the process. The Obama Administration is struggling to get at least 6 million people insured before the March 31st deadline in an attempt to ensure success of the President’s signature act. This extension is not the first to be announced and has fed critics of Obamacare, particularly members of the Republican Party. Click here for a Guardian newspaper article about the story.

And, for fans of KPFK’s Gospel Classics, there will be a memorial service this morning for the show’s host, the legendary Edna Tatum, who passed away on March 14th. The service will be at 10 am today at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church, 4269 South Figueroa Street in LA.