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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran.

President Trump is in London for the first day of the two-day NATO summit, an event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance. But not all is well in London. Turkey threatened to not defend Poland the Baltic States if they do not support Turkey in its fight against the Kurds. The alliance officially listed China as one of its rivals, and President Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for saying in a recent interview that NATO was “brain dead.”

Democratic presidential candidate and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not only a politician -- he’s a media mogul too. Bloomberg News has ordered that its reporters not investigate him or his campaign along with his Democratic competitors. Further, high ranking staff at Bloomberg will be joining his campaign. Meanwhile, The Trump campaign said that it would no longer credential reporters from the Bloomberg news service. Tim Karr, the senior director of strategy and communications at Free Press, joins the show.

California Senator Kamala Harris, once thought to be a top-tier Democratic presidential candidate, announced this afternoon that she was dropping out of the race. Harris has lagged in recent polls, but her campaign announced yesterday that she would take out a significant ad buy in Iowa in the coming weeks. That will now be canceled. Just a few days ago, one of Harris’s top campaign aides defected to the campaign of former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. John speaks with Sputnik News analysts and producers Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek.

The media have reported over the past week that tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others pay no federal income taxes--not a cent. Well, they pay almost no taxes in Europe either, and the European Union is trying to do something about that. A new Digital Tax would impose a levy of between 3.0 percent and 9.5 percent on tech companies with more than $845 million in revenue. Believe it or not, though, Washington is fighting a new tax. And the dispute may not be able to be solved amicably. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins the show.

Ukrainian neo-Nazis--members of the Azov Brigade--have arrived in Hong Kong to teach demonstrators there how to use improvised weapons. They’ve been so brazen that they’ve actually been posting updates of their exploits on social media. Meanwhile, China yesterday banned US Navy port calls and American military aircraft from visiting Hong Kong in response to Washington’s adoption of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a new law that supports demonstrators in Hong Kong. The law passed unanimously in the Senate and by a vote of 417-1 in the House. The Chinese Foreign Ministry warned against further meddling in China’s internal affairs and said additional sanctions could be forthcoming. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins John.

The hosts take a look at the biggest stories of the day, including the NATO summit, the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and more. Sputnik News analysts and producers Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.

Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell join the show.