Democracy Now! (6 am), for January 28, 2005 - 9:00am

White House Won't Contest Media Ownership Rules in Major Victory for Grassroots Media Activists
Grassroots media activists won a major victory Thursday when the Bush administration announced it would not seek to overturn a court ruling that has blocked the Federal Communications Commission from implementing sweepings regulations that would allow for greater media consolidation.

Gonzales Misrepresented Role in Shielding Bush's Drunk Driving Record
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics filed a complaint with the State Bar of Texas requesting an investigation into misrepresentations Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales made in a written response to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in protecting President Bush's DUI arrest. We speak with the executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.

Michael Ratner: Gonzales "Has His Hand Deep in the Blood of the Conspiracy Of Torture"
A contentious senate debate for the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales is expected next week, we speak with Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Michael Ratner about Gonzales' role in laying the legal groundwork for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. Claims Maher Arar "Extraordinary Rendition" Lawsuit Jeopardizes National Security
The U.S. government is attempting to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Canadian citizen Maher Arar, claiming the litigation would jeopardize national security. Arar was jailed by the U.S. and secretly deported to Syria where he was held for almost a year without charge and repeatedly tortured.

2005 World Social Forum Kicks Off in Porto Alegre
Over 120,000 are gearing up for the 2005 World Social Forum which opened in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. We go to Brazil to speak with Njoki Njoroge Njehu of the 50 Years is Enough network.

Heavy Bloodshed in Iraq Only Expected to Worsen on Election Day
As a three-day national lockdown begins in Iraq ahead of Sunday's elections, bloodshed continues unabated across the country. We go to Baghdad to speak with independent journalist Dahr Jamail.

Report: Global Warming Much Worse Than Previously Thought
We speak with physicist and professor, Myles Allen who is the principal investigator of a major new study conducted by the ClimatePrediction.net project that warns the effects of global warming may be twice as bad as previously thought.

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