Guantanamo Hunger Strike; Water Rights; Texas Fertilizer

Chapter 1: Guantanamo Hunger Strike

The hunger strike in Guantanamo has grown to more than half of the detainees there in the detention camp on the U.S. Army base in Cuba. Detainees are refusing food, some of them since February 10th following a search and confiscation of some of their belongings. The government has responded by force feeding many of the detainees through tubes and 40 more medical personnel have been sent to assist with the effort. We talk to Raha Wala, an Associate at Human Rights First.

Chapter 2: Water Rights Dispute Between States

Texas has been suffering from a severe drought and rapidly growing Dallas-Fort Worth has found itself without an ample source of water. As a way to quench this thirst, the area has been looking to Oklahoma for help. Oklahomans have refused, given Oklahoma law prohibits sending water out-of-state. As a result Texans sought for relief through the Red River Compact, an agreement between Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas that Congress approved in 1980. The case reached the Supreme Court today where Texas argued the compact means they have a right to 25 percent of the water in question, a claim Oklahoma disputes. We talk to Erik Jaffe, Principle at Erik Jaffe PC and James McDonald, an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP.

Chapter 3: Texas Fertilizer Plant

As authorities and residents sift through clues in order to understand the massive explosion that occurred at the West Fertilizer Company in the town of West, Texas, last wednesday evening, there is still little insight into what may have caused the incident that killed 14 and injured 200. Nevertheless, some have attributed this lack of knowledge into the workplace conditions at this plant to a failure in workplace safety regulation. We talk to Tom O’Connor, Executive Director, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.