Democracy Now!

The University of California, Berkeley has provided Trump officials with the names of at least 160 students, faculty and staff in cases of alleged antisemitism on campus, in response to the administration's sweeping crackdown on Palestinian solidarity activism. The administration has already threatened to cut off federal funding from academic institutions and has targeted international students involved in the pro-Palestine movement.There is no good evidence that antisemitism is rampant on campus," says the philosopher Judith Butler, who teaches at UC Berkeley and whose name was among those shared with the Trump administration. To take a position against genocide is certainly not an antisemitic thing to do. Most Jews are against genocide, and we were taught to be against genocide, and we were taught, as well, that 'never again' is a slogan that should apply to all people."

Journalist Chris Hedges warns that President Trump and his allies are weaponizing" the shocking assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to crush dissent.We've reached a very frightening turning point," says Hedges. We've already seen an assault on civil liberties, on institutions, universities, the media, that are tasked with maintaining an open society. That will now be accelerated."Even though authorities are still trying to determine a motive in the killing, Trump has blamed radicals on the left" for political violence, and top White House adviser Stephen Miller vowed to dismantle many progressive organizations. Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of shooting Kirk during a college event in Utah last week, grew up in a Republican family, and bullet casings found at the scene were engraved with references to various online and video games memes. Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox has claimed Robinson had leftist ideology," but did not share any evidence to support the claim. There has also also been speculation that Robinson may have been influenced by a far-right movement known as Groypers, which is tied to the white nationalist Nick Fuentes and had previously targeted Kirk for harassment.

As Israel continues its campaign to erase Gaza City by systematically bombing residential buildings, schools, homes and tent encampments, we speak with Dr. Mohammed Saqr, the director of nursing at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. He says medical workers, who are starving like the rest of the population, have nothing left to give amid hundreds of deaths and injuries each day.We are psychologically unstable, because we see [the] execution of civilians on a daily basis," says Saqr. We have no beds. We have to put patients on the ground - no supplies, no instruments. And things will go worse when the Israeli evacuation orders [displace] the Gaza City [residents] to come here to Khan Younis concentration camp."Saqr also describes the daily challenges of life in Gaza, saying he only owns a single pair of shoes that he shares with his five sons. Please stop humiliating us. We are not animals," he says.

Israel Continues Bombardment of Gaza City, Killing 25 Palestinians Today, Arab Leaders Hold Emergency Meeting in Qatar to Discuss Israel's Strike in Doha, Israeli Army Raids Home of Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Basel Adra, Tyler Robinson, Accused of Assassinating Charlie Kirk, to Appear in Court Tuesday, More Than 100,000 Anti-Immigration Protesters March in London, Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Oil Refinery, as Romania Says a Russian Drone Entered Its Airspace, The International Federation of Journalists Condemns Israel for Killing at Least Nine Yemeni Journalists, U.S. Expresses Regret over ICE Raid Targeting South Korean Workers in Georgia, Sushila Karki Sworn In as Nepal's Interim Prime Minister, Vows to Serve for Only Six Months, Venezuelan Gov't Accuses U.S. Navy of Raiding Fishing Boat in Venezuelan Waters, Trump Vows to Call a National Emergency and Federalize Washington, D.C., ICE Fatally Shoots Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez During Traffic Stop in Chicago, ICE Agents Abduct Willian Gimenez, Who Accused Off-Duty Chicago Police Officers of Abusing Migrants, Homeless Advocates Denounce Fox News Host Calling for Unhoused People to Be Executed, New York Gov. Hochul Endorses Mamdani for Mayor of New York City, Spanish Vuelta Bike Race Interrupted by Pro-Palestinian Protests, Actors Display Signs of Support for Palestinians at Emmy Awards Ceremony

Following massive, youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations in Nepal, the country's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks set to become interim prime minister. This week, protesters set fire to the Parliament and other government buildings, and at least 21 people were killed in a police crackdown. The protests continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.We don't really know what is happening at the moment ... since most of our state institutions have been either destroyed or are nonfunctional," says Pranaya Rana, a writer and journalist based in Kathmandu. We really are counting on the new generation, the Gen Z, who led the protests, to take us forward."

Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to annihilate" democracy in Brazil following his election defeat in 2022. The sentencing marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state is brought to trial and convicted for attempting to overthrow the government. Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators, who were also sentenced to prison, hatched a plan that involved using armed forces to assassinate the President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.The decision was made amid political pressure from the Trump administration to drop the case against Bolsonaro. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged that the U.S. would respond accordingly," calling the ruling a witch hunt. Latin American countries need to be united and have a very strong position to defend democracy and to defend our sovereignty and independence," says Maria Luisa Mendonca, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil.

Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, about Israel's recent move to expand settlements in the West Bank in an effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state. They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen," says Hasan.Hasan also comments on the deadly U.S. attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. There's no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S.," he says.

President Trump announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody for the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Although the motive has not yet been established, Trump has escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, We just have to beat the hell out of them." Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, who says that the right is using Kirk's killing to smear the left.There's a real rewriting of history going on. It's what far-right regimes do after tragedies like this: They try and weaponize them to go after their enemies," says Hasan. None of us should celebrate political violence, because it's a threat to all of us," he adds.

Israel's Deadly Attacks on Gaza City Have Left 50,000 Palestinians Without Shelter, Israeli Forces Arrest 1,500 Palestinians, Including Children, in Mass Raid on Tulkarem, Netanyahu Approves New West Bank Settlements, Warning There Won't Be a Palestinian State", U.N. Security Council Condemns Israeli Strike on Qatar, Sens. Van Hollen and Merkley Say U.S. Is Complicit in Israel's Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians, Trump Announces Suspect in Charlie Kirk's Murder in Custody, State Department Threatens Action Against Immigrants Who Praise Killing of Charlie Kirk, Trump to Honor Charlie Kirk with Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, Politicians Cancel Public Events, Citing Security Concerns in Wake of Charlie Kirk Killing, Several HBCU Campuses Put on Lockdown After Receiving Threats in the Wake of Kirk's Murder, Brazil's Supreme Court Sentences Ex-President Bolsonaro to Prison for Coup Attempt, Michigan Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Fake Electors", Senate Republicans Vote to Fast-Track Confirmation of Trump's Judicial Nominees, Federal Appeals Courts Allows Trump Admin to Cut Off Medicaid Funds to Planned Parenthood, California Approves Bill Allowing Providers to Omit Names of Patients from Abortion Pill Bottles, Trump Suggests Russia Sent Drones into Poland by Mistake", Belarus Frees 52 Political Prisoners to Lithuania as U.S. Eases Sanctions

We speak to two activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla as it prepares to set sail for Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. In recent days, two drone attacks on the flotilla ships, which are docked in Tunisia, have been reported. We know who has interest in stopping these flotillas," says Mariana Mortagua, a Portuguese parliamentarian who has joined the Global Sumud Flotilla and suspects the strikes were the work of the Israeli military. Mortagua says she has joined the flotilla because it's my duty to be here and to help in any way I can ... to show people that Gaza is a real place. It's not an abstract location. Gaza exists. It's there. Real people are living there and are living under attack."We also hear from Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian activist based in Barcelona and a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee. There is no one mission or campaign that will have a direct outcome impact. But I believe solidarity work is an accumulative process that we have to build in," says Abukeshek. We have to mobilize people around the world. We have to get pressure on governments, because that's the only way that Israel will listen and will stop their crimes."

Is President Trump working to build his own personal army? Investigative reporter Radley Balko responds to Trump's new executive order for a standing National Guard quick reaction force" that the president can deploy at will. Trump has always expressed envy for dictators and authoritarians overseas who have forces that they can deploy to do their own sort of personal bidding, whether it's putting down protests or going after political opponents," says Balko, who calls the order a really dangerous development."

The conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of right-wing student organization Turning Point USA, was assassinated Wednesday as he spoke before a crowd at Utah Valley University as part of a fall campus tour. Kirk was 31 years old and founded Turning Point when he was just 18. A major cheerleader for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, he was killed by a single shot fired from a roof as he was responding to a question from an audience member about mass shootings. No suspect has been identified. Kirk transformed politics in the U.S., says journalist Jeff Sharlet, by organizing conservative youth around cultural issues including opposition to immigration and civil rights for LGBTQ people, people of color and women. Sharlet, who has written extensively about right-wing and white nationalist movements in the United States, says Kirk's big issue was singular: It was whiteness." He discusses Kirk's legacy and the implications of this latest high-profile instance of political violence.

Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Assassinated in Utah, Two Students Injured in Attack at Colorado High School, Israeli Airstrikes Hit Yemen, Killing 35 People and Injuring 131, Qatar's Prime Minister Says Israeli Strike on Doha Killed Any Hope" for Hostages, Families of Hostages March on Israeli Military HQ to Demand End to Gaza Assault, Israeli Forces Killed 22 Palestinians in Gaza Since Dawn, Global Sumud Flotilla Vows to Break Israel's Siege of Gaza, Israeli President Herzog Receives Tough Reception in U.K., Poland Invokes NATO Article 4 After Russian Drones Fly Deep into Polish Territory, Trump Administration Reportedly Considers Military Strikes on Venezuela, U.K. Ambassador Peter Mandelson Fired over Epstein Ties, House Oversight Chair Rejects Call for Analysis of Trump's Signature on Epstein Letter, Fired FBI Officials Sue Director Kash Patel, Alleging Campaign of Retribution" by White House, El Paso DACA Recipient Remains in ICE Jail After Judge Ends Deportation Proceedings, Workers Arrested by ICE at Georgia Hyundai Plant Depart for South Korea, Game Over Greed": NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Calls on FIFA to Abandon Price Gouging

As the Trump administration grows increasingly hostile to renewable energy, we speak with acclaimed environmentalist Bill McKibben about his new book, Here Comes the Sun, in which he lays out a hopeful vision for the future that includes avoiding climate catastrophe, reshaping the economy and saving democracy. He says the key to unlock that future is fully embracing renewable energy over the fierce opposition of the fossil fuel industry and its political enablers. He notes that solar and wind are already the cheapest and fastest-growing power sources in history, with more green energy coming online every year.It's not that we're going to stop global warming. It's too late for that. It's that we really have a chance to reboot the way the world and its economy and its geopolitics works right now," says McKibben.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reportedly ordered authorities to reexamine the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah and six others on humanitarian grounds. Abd El-Fattah, who came to national prominence during the so-called Arab Spring protests of 2011, has been imprisoned for years on charges of spreading false news," but his family and supporters say he has been targeted for his pro-democracy activism.The attempt to crush the spirit of Alaa Abd El-Fattah has failed," says journalist Jeremy Scahill. All people who believe in the struggle for liberation, not just in Egypt but that whole region, hold Alaa Abd El-Fattah close to their hearts and hope for the moment that they see him walk out of that prison cell."

Global condemnation is mounting after Israel bombed Qatar's capital Doha, attempting to take out senior Hamas leaders who had gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. Hamas leadership survived the strike, which killed six. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of Drop Site News, who has reported extensively on Gaza ceasefire negotiations and is one of the few Western journalists to be in regular contact with senior members of Hamas. He reacts to Tuesday's unprecedented strike.The very Palestinians who are trying to negotiate some form of a truce with Israel, Israel then targets them and kills them," says Scahill, who also questions claims by the Trump administration that it was uninvolved in the planning of the bombing. At the end of the day, Americans should be asking themselves: Is all of this worth the cost, that America is bankrolling this, arming this, supporting this, encouraging this?"

Israel Strikes Qatar, Targeting Senior Hamas Leadership, Killing 6 People, Israel Continues to Bombard Gaza City, Ordering Full Evacuation, Israel Orders Demolition of the Homes of Two Palestinian Gunmen Responsible for Jerusalem Shooting, Organizers of Global Sumud Flotilla Say Another Ship Was Attacked by a Suspected Drone, CodePink Disrupts Trump's Visit to a D.C. Restaurant, At Least 22 People Dead in Nepal as Anti-Government Protests Continue, More Than 250 People Arrested in French Anti-Government Protests, Poland Says It Shot Down Russian Drones Entering Its Airspace, Calling It an Act of Aggression", Opposition Lawmakers in Turkey Block Police from Entering Party Headquarters, DRC Military Opens Fire on Protesters, Killing Three People, SCOTUS Allows Trump Admin to Withhold Over $4 Billion in Foreign Aid, SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Case on Trump's Tariffs, Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Georgia Judge Throws Out Racketeering Charges Against All 61 Defendants Accused of Blocking Cop City", ICE Agents Halt Raid After Local Residents Protest in Rochester, New York

Just days after President Trump threatened to wage war on the city of Chicago, ICE launched what it called Operation Midway Blitz," and President Trump claimed the city was about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR" - a reference to his order to rename the Department of Defense. On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to resume indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles. Donald Trump is targeting Los Angeles and California because this is a city and a state in which multiculturalism and ethnic diversity have worked," says Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He also discusses Trump's use of the term Chipocalypse Now," a reference to the epic Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now, and discusses how his Vietnamese heritage led him to support Palestinian liberation. I identified strongly with the plight of Palestinians, because one of the first things that one of the Israeli ministers said after October 7 was that they were fighting human animals - by which he meant Palestinians - and that idea of reducing other people to being less than human is one of the key narrative acts that justifies genocide," he says.

Amid growing pressure for the Trump administration to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files, a New York Times investigation reveals how the country's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, enabled Epstein's sex-trafficking operation and profited from its ties to him. The expose is based on more than 13,000 pages of legal and financial records. The Times reports JPMorgan processed more than 4,700 transactions for Epstein totaling more than $1.1 billion, including payments to some of the women who were sexually trafficked. The bank arranged for Epstein to be able to pay those victims, both in the U.S. and in Eastern European countries and in Russia," says David Enrich, deputy investigations editor for The New York Times. Epstein operated in large part because he had unfettered access to the global financial system. And for many years, it was JPMorgan that was providing him with that access."

Israeli PM Warns Nearly 1 Million Palestinians in Gaza City to Leave Now", Israeli Forces Kill Two 14-Year-Old Palestinians Amid Stepped-Up Raids Across West Bank, Gaza Flotilla Activists Blame Israel for Apparent Drone Strike on Aid Vessel in Tunisian Port, Activists Sabotage Equipment in German Weapons Factory That Supplies Arms to Israel, Israel Attacks Lebanon and Syria; Yemen's Houthis Strike Israeli Airport, Nepal's Prime Minister Steps Down as 19 Are Killed in Crackdown on Anti-Corruption Protests, Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow It to Freeze $4 Billion in Foreign Aid, SCOTUS Allows Federal Agents to Make Immigration Stops in Los Angeles, ICE Launches Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago to Ramp Up Mass Deportations, Prominent Sahrawi Activist Jamal Fadel Detained by ICE, Trump Downplays Domestic Violence During Remarks at the Museum of the Bible, House Oversight Committee Releases Trump's Sexually Suggestive Birthday Note to Epstein, Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Attempt to Overturn $83.3 Million E. Jean Carroll Verdict

The celebrated psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton has died at the age of 99. His studies on the effects of nuclear war, terrorism and genocide, including the books Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima and The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide, shaped psychological understandings of the effects of mass violence. He appeared on Democracy Now! several times, including in 2017 to discuss Trump during his first term. With Trump, of course, malignant normality becomes the rule," says Lifton, because he's president, and what a president does tends to normalize potentially bad, evil or destructive behavior."

This weekend marked the first anniversary of the killing of Turkish American activist Ayenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli forces as she took part in a weekly nonviolent protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Her death is being investigated by the Turkish government, but despite requests from Eygi's family, the U.S. has refused to conduct its own independent investigation. Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 10 U.S. citizens since 2022, including at least two in the year since Eygi's death. No criminal charges have been brought in any of the cases. There has been no forward motion, really no communication, no political will, ... no meaningful pursuit of justice and accountability for my sister," says Eygi's sister Ozden Bennett. She calls her sister's killing easily the most horrible, unbelievable moment of my life."

There's no real safe zone in Gaza [City] and all of the Gaza Strip," says Eyad Amawi, who joins us for an update from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces move deeper into Gaza City to forcibly evict 1 million residents. The local aid coordinator describes relentless bombardment, water shortages, infectious diseases and worsening famine. All of these things must end now. As a human being, the most priority is the life of the civilians here."

We get an update on the largest-ever single-site immigration raid in U.S. history that unfolded Thursday when federal agents arrested nearly 500 workers at a Hyundai facility in Georgia. Most workers were Korean nationals who were building an electric vehicle battery plant. Hyundai is investing over $12 billion in a record-setting economic development deal with the state, and the South Korean government recently agreed to invest hundreds of billions more in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs. The two countries' relationship is now uncertain, as South Korean politicians lambasted the raid and sent a charter plane to repatriate the Korean workers who are being detained at a GEO Group-run Georgia ICE jail that ICE recently found in violation of federal safety standards. None of the detained workers have been charged; many reportedly hold valid U.S. work permits.The circumstances of the raid were just absolutely abusive, not only in their scope and just the sheer size of it, but the way that the folks at the Hyundai plant were treated by law enforcement," says Meredyth Yoon of the Atlanta chapter of the civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Witnesses describe heavily armed federal agents who threatened and even tear-gassed workers. It is disturbing to see hundreds of people arrested, shackled at their waist and ankles, and loaded into buses and taken to an abusive detention center."

Israeli Military Blows Up Three High-Rise Residential Buildings in Gaza City, Save the Children: Israel Has Killed on Average a Child Every Hour for Past 23 Months, Six People Killed in Shooting in Occupied East Jerusalem, Nearly 900 Arrested at Palestine Action Protest in the U.K., Thousands Greet Gaza Protest Flotilla in Tunisia, Chipocalypse Now": Trump Threatens Again to Send Troops to Chicago, Thousands March in Washington, D.C., Against Trump's Deployment of National Guard Troops, South Korea Negotiates Release of Its Citizens Detained in ICE Raid at Hyundai Plant, Trump Admin Threatens to Send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini, Federal Immigration Board Rules Millions of Undocumented Immigrants Ineligible for Bond Hearings, Russia Launches Largest Drone Strike Against Ukraine, Hitting Government Building, Trump Admin Orders Deployment of F-35 Fighter Jets to Puerto Rico, NYT: U.S. Navy SEALs Killed Civilians in Botched 2019 North Korean Raid, U.S. Added Just 22,000 Jobs in August, Bernie Sanders Campaigns with Zohran Mamdani in NYC, Civil Rights Activist Joseph McNeil, 83, Dies; Took Part in Greensboro Sit-in in 1960, Acclaimed Psychiatrist and Author Robert Jay Lifton Dead at 99

Authorities in Indonesia have launched a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests, sparked by outrage over generous housing allowances and other perks for politicians amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis. The protests were further inflamed after video showed a police vehicle running over a motorcycle taxi gig worker, who later died from his injuries. Security forces have detained more than 3,000 people since late August.The underlying issue is economic inequality," Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, says of the protests. The taxi driver's killing in particular symbolized the difficulties that many Indonesians had faced" as many people have been forced to take on gig work for extra income.

Acclaimed historian Greg Grandin joins Democracy Now! to discuss the Trump administration's attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in international waters, which killed 11 people earlier this week. President Trump and other senior officials have claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the United States and was operated by the gang Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. It was pure murder," says Grandin. In many ways, it's bringing the logic of Gaza into the Caribbean, in terms of unaccountability, impunity and an expansive notion of national defense to justify what is, in effect, just extrajudicial killing."

Both Democratic and Republican senators grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday in a contentious hearing on his policies and anti-vaccine misinformation. RFK fired the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, causing turmoil at the agency, and this week 1,000 current and former HHS employees sent a letter to Congress demanding his resignation. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a 20-year history of being an anti-vaccine propagandist, science denialist and conspiracy theorist," says Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and a physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit was removed from the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee last week without explanation and says Kennedy's undermining of public health is causing children to die unnecessarily."

Israeli Attacks Kill Dozens of Palestinians as Army Claims to Control 40% of Gaza City, Hamas Releases Video Showing Two Israeli Hostages in Gaza City, U.S. Sanctions Palestinian Human Rights Groups for Backing ICC War Crimes Probe, Third Earthquake Strikes Afghanistan as Death Toll Passes 2,200, Indonesian Officer Fired over Killing of Delivery Driver as Anti-Government Protests Spread, Senators Grill HHS Secretary RFK Jr. over Vaccines and Turmoil at Public Health Agencies, Federal Reserve Nominee Plans to Keep His Job as White House Adviser, DOJ Launches Mortgage Fraud Probe of Federal Reserve Governor Targeted by Trump, Justice Department Considers Banning Transgender Americans from Owning Guns, Washington, D.C., Sues Trump Admin for Deploying National Guard, Northwestern University President Resigns After Trump Administration Freezes Research Funds, Federal Appeals Court Rules Alligator Alcatraz" Can Continue Operating, Trump to Sign Executive Order Renaming Department of Defense as Department of War, Pentagon Says Two Venezuelan Fighter Jets Buzzed U.S. Navy Vessel, Eric Adams Considers Dropping Out of NYC Mayoral Race After Meeting with Trump Adviser

The Trump administration is facing growing criticism for suspending visas for Palestinian passport holders, including for Palestinian officials set to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly this month. When the U.S. denied a visa to Yasser Arafat to address the U.N. in 1988, the General Assembly was moved to Geneva - the U.N. faces similar calls now. The move by the U.S. is an indication of the unprecedented degree to which the U.S. government has handed the levers of its foreign policy over to the Israeli regime," says Craig Mokhiber, an international human rights lawyer who formerly served as the director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He resigned in October 2023 over the U.N.'s failure to adequately address large-scale atrocities in Palestine and Israel.Mokhiber also says there is more the U.N. could do to stop the genocide in Gaza. The General Assembly has the ability to circumvent the Security Council with a United for Peace" resolution that could force concrete action" in Gaza.

As Congress returned to Washington Tuesday, the controversy over files related to convicted serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has picked back up, with bipartisan pressure to make files related to the federal investigation into Epstein public. Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California has co-authored a bipartisan measure that could compel the Justice Department to release the files. The measure was filed by Congressmember Thomas Massie, a conservative who has clashed with President Trump, and lawmakers will begin collecting signatures for their Epstein resolution starting Tuesday. We need 218 signatures," says Khanna. We have 216. We have to get two more Republicans on the bill, and we're in talks with at least 10 who are strongly considering it."Khanna also discusses attempts by congressmembers to recognize a Palestinian state and enact an arms embargo on Israel. Military support for Israel is a moral stain on the United States because of our complicity," says Khanna.

Jeffrey Epstein survivors rallied in front of Congress on Wednesday, detailing their experiences of abuse and calling for the release of all Epstein files. We cannot heal without justice," says one Epstein survivor, Chauntae Davies. We cannot protect the future if we refuse to confront the past." Survivors also announced that some victims would work to confidentially compile their own list of individuals implicated in Epstein's crimes. This comes as lawmakers seek to force a House floor vote compelling the Justice Department to release all the files from the Jeffrey Epstein case.Lauren Hersh, the national director of the anti-trafficking organization World Without Exploitation, is a former sex-trafficking prosecutor in New York who joined survivors for their press conference just steps from the Capitol on Wednesday. Courage is contagious," says Hersh, adding that we were approached by several other Epstein survivors who we didn't even know."

Israeli Forces Kill 84 Palestinians in a Day as Troops Push Deeper into Gaza City, Israeli Minister Proposes Annexing 82% of Occupied West Bank, WaPo: White House Plan Envisions U.S. Control of Gaza Strip, Relocation of Entire Population, Scotland Halts Funding to Weapons Makers Who Supply Israel, Army Veterans Disrupt Senate Hearing to Accuse Members of Complicity in Gaza Genocide, Democratic Senators Urge Trump Admin to Reveal Details About GHF Funding, Epstein Survivors Call on Congress to Release More Files as Trump Claims Democrat Hoax", Trump to Ask SCOTUS to Overturn $5 Million Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Sex Abuse Case, Florida Plans to End All Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren, Over 1,000 Current and Former Workers at HHS Call on RFK Jr. to Resign, Federal Judge Rules Trump Admin Illegally Blocked Research Funding from Harvard, Secretary of State Rubio Promises More Strikes on Boats Allegedly Carrying Drugs from Venezuela, The Voice of Hind Rajab" Receives Record 22-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

A 35-year-old former U.S. Army sergeant, Bajun Baji" Mavalwalla II, faces up to six years in prison for protesting against ICE deportations in what legal experts are calling a test case for the Trump administration's attempts to criminalize and punish dissent. Mavalwalla was arrested and charged with conspiracy to impede or injure officers" after he was identified in a video taken at the protest and shared on Instagram. Mavalwalla, who survived a roadside bomb blast while serving in Afghanistan, was also injured by a rubber bullet at the protest. This whole event has been staged by the Trump administration," says Mavalwalla's father, Bajun Ray Mavalwalla, who witnessed and filmed his son's arrest at their home in Spokane, Washington. It's unconscionable." We speak to the elder Mavalwalla, also a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and as part of the National Guard, and to journalist Aaron Glantz, who has been reporting on this story for The Guardian.

We speak to journalist Jean Guerrero about the Trump administration's ongoing anti-immigrant crackdown and the bipartisan roots of anti-immigrant cruelty" in the United States. Guerrero's latest opinion piece in The New York Times is titled The Border Is Invading America" and traces the development of U.S. border policies since the Clinton administration. The brute force that the border once unleashed out of sight, in the desert or behind the locked doors of detention centers, is now erupting on our streets," says Guerrero. We desperately need a reckoning with the structural abuses embedded in our immigration system and with how both parties have played a role in sustaining them, because, otherwise, the border is going to continue to coil inward and to destroy our collective rights."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, recaps and responds to the latest legal news on the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown. We cover judicial decisions that the Trump administration cannot deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process, that it broke the law by sending National Guard troops to put down protests in Los Angeles, as well as its attempts to deport hundreds of Guatemalan children currently in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and deputize military lawyers with no experience in immigration law to serve as immigration judges, and more.

President Trump is preparing to send National Guard troops into Chicago and Baltimore, right after a judge in California ruled that he broke the law by deploying troops to Los Angeles against anti-ICE protesters. This is not about public safety, and it's not about law and order. It's a show of force meant to intimidate, to create fear and send troops to occupy cities, because people in those cities largely and overwhelmingly oppose Donald Trump and his policies," says Jesus Chuy" Garcia, who grew up in Chicago and now represents the Chicagoland area in Congress.

Israel Kills 113 More Palestinians in Gaza, Including 33 People Seeking Aid, Israel Mobilizes 60,000 Reservists for Gaza City Offensive, Belgium to Recognize Palestinian State at the U.N. General Assembly, Maduro Warns U.S. Seeking Regime Change in Venezuela as U.S. Attacks Boat, Killing 11, U.S. Federal Appeals Court Blocks Trump's Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans, Federal Judge Rules Trump Admin Broke the Law When Deploying Troops to Los Angeles, Bloomberg: ICE to Receive Access to Israeli Spyware Program, Pentagon Authorizes 600 Military Lawyers to Serve as Immigration Judges, House Oversight Committee Releases Thousands of Epstein-Related Documents, Chinese President Xi Jinping Hosts Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un at Military Parade, Coup Trial of Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Enters Final Phase, Judge Rules Google Does Not Need to Sell Chrome in Antitrust Case, WaPo: Trump's BLS Nominee Discussed Gender Differences in IQ Scores with Interns

In Gaza, Israeli attacks since dawn have killed at least 54 Palestinians, including people seeking food. The attacks came as Gaza health officials recorded another 13 deaths due to starvation - three of them children. That brings the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza to more than 360. According to a leading global monitor, more than half a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are suffering catastrophic" levels of hunger due to Israel's blockade. This comes as the world's leading genocide scholars' association has approved a resolution establishing that Israel's policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri says the declaration shows even conservative scholars" now consider Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide. But, he adds, the question is, Will any of the major Western powers take action?"

Thousands of mourners attended a funeral for 12 senior Houthi figures in Yemen's capital of Sana'a on Monday after they were killed by Israel in an airstrike last week. The dead included the Houthi prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi. The Houthis have ruled the capital and much of northern Yemen for over a decade. For the last two years, Houthi fighters have regularly launched missiles at Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea in what they described as actions in solidarity with Gaza.The killing of the Houthi leaders is meant to signal to the Yemenis and everybody else in the region that Israel will keep attacking anybody, will kill senior people - they don't care about any laws or reprisals," says Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri, who warns that Israel is fueling an endless war" in the Middle East.

A federal judge stopped the Trump administration from illegally deporting as many as 700 Guatemalan children over the Labor Day weekend, ordering a last-minute block on their removals even as some children had already been boarded onto planes. The National Immigration Law Center filed an emergency request to stop the deportation flights, arguing that the children would face harm and abuse if they were returned to Guatemala. The children arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors, and many are now living in shelters or foster care. The Trump administration insists it is acting at the request of the children's families and the government of Guatemala.There are protections for unaccompanied minors that provide how a child can be released from custody, to whom, and the process if they want to go back to their country," says Efren Olivares, an attorney representing Guatemalan unaccompanied minors. If this were a benign repatriation to send children back to their parents, it wouldn't be happening at midnight on Sunday of Labor Day weekend."

A federal appeals court struck down most of President Trump's sweeping tariffs Friday, saying they have no legal basis. The decision could undo many of Trump's tariffs from Liberation Day" in April, as well as earlier tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. In its ruling, the appeals court called levying tariffs a core Congressional power," but the White House had argued the president has authority to impose tariffs without Congress based on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs will remain in effect until October, giving the Trump administration time to bring the case to the Supreme Court. The decision encompasses two different cases that had challenged the tariffs: one brought by a group of U.S. states, led by Oregon, and the other brought by a group of businesses.It's a sweeping decision that unequivocally rebukes President Trump's idea that he can impose tariffs on American consumers on his own without the approval of the Congress," says attorney Neal Katyal, who represents the businesses that initiated the tariff lawsuit.Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield says his state challenged the tariffs because of their economic impact since about 70% to 80%" of the costs are paid by U.S. consumers. I really think we have to start calling them regressive taxes," Rayfield says.

Appellate Court Rules Most of Trump's Tariffs Were Unlawfully Imposed, Landslide Kills Over 1,000 in Darfur Mountains Where Many Sought Refuge from Civil War, Afghans Appeal for International Help as Earthquake Death Toll Tops 1,400, Amid Famine and Israeli Attacks, Gaza's Children Face Third Consecutive Year Without Education, International Scholars' Association Declares Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza, Dozens of Ships Set Sail for Gaza Carrying Humanitarian Aid, Seeking to Break Israel's Siege, Thousands Gather in Yemen's Capital for Funeral of Houthi Leaders Killed in Israeli Strike, Judge Rules Over 600 Unaccompanied Guatemalan Children Can Stay in the U.S., Texas Governor Greg Abbott Signs New Congressional Map into Law, Xi Jinping Warmly Greets Putin and Modi at Security Summit, Russia Blamed for Jamming Navigation System of Plane Carrying EU Chief, Seven Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Indonesia, Over 1,000 Demonstrations Held Across the U.S. for Labor Day

In 1980, historian Howard Zinn published his classic work, A People's History of the United States. The book would go on to sell over a million copies and change the way many look at history in America. We begin today's special with highlights from a production of Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History of the United States, where Zinn introduced dramatic readings from history. Alfre Woodard reads the words of labor activist Mother Jones; Howard's son Jeff Zinn reads the words of IWW poet and organizer Arturo Giovannitti; Marisa Tomei reads the words of the women's suffrage leader Harriet Hanson; and James Earl Jones reads from Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

We speak with Rachel Griffin Accurso, the educator known to millions around the world as Ms. Rachel, who has become a leading advocate for children in Gaza. Her YouTube channel for young children became wildly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and today has more than 16 million subscribers. Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, Accurso has used her social media reach to speak out for Palestinian children facing hunger, disease, injury and death. She has been hailed as the heir to Mister Rogers, the legendary PBS children's entertainer who also used his position in families' living rooms to speak out on social issues.I see all children as precious and equal. My deep care for children doesn't stop at any border," Accurso tells Democracy Now! in a wide-ranging interview.We also speak with Tareq Hailat, director of the Treatment Abroad Program for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, who helped connect Accurso with a 3-year-old girl from Gaza named Rahaf, who lost both her legs in an Israeli airstrike. Accurso and Rahaf filmed a video in which they sing and dance together.Hailat describes Accurso as one of the most significant, if not the most significant, voices for Palestinian human rights" in the world. Her advocacy has touched the hearts of people that never would have ever heard about Gaza or the Palestinian children, and that's why her voice is so vital," he says.

Twenty years ago today, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore in southeastern Louisiana, tearing through the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force and gushing winds, driving a massive storm surge toward New Orleans. Thousands were abandoned by state and federal officials, left to fight for survival in the rising floodwaters - many stranded on the rooftops of their sinking homes without water, food or medical care. The storm and its aftermath are the focus of the acclaimed new documentary series, Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time. It offers an historical record of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath and examines how it was a catalyst that revealed preexisting systemic failures. Democracy Now! speaks with the film's Academy Award-nominated director, Traci A. Curry.

A new documentary, Steal This Story, Please!, which tells the personal story of Amy Goodman and her decadeslong career as an independent journalist, is premiering this Sunday at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The film highlights some of the monumental stories Democracy Now! has covered throughout the years and the importance of independent journalism.

As Israel pushes deeper into Gaza City, President Donald Trump met Wednesday to discuss plans for a postwar Gaza with his son-in-law and former Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This comes as Israeli business leaders are reportedly involved in developing a postwar Gaza plan that includes the creation of a Trump Riviera" and a manufacturing zone named after Elon Musk, using financial models developed by the U.S. firm Boston Consulting Group.Former State Department official Josh Paul says the Trump administration, alongside the Israeli government, is attempting to transition from Israeli colonialism to corporate" colonialism. The move would exploit incredible suffering for economic gain," he adds. Paul was director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department and resigned in protest of the push to increase arms sales to Israel amid its assault on Gaza. He's now a director at A New Policy, the lobbying organization he co-founded with fellow resignee Tariq Habash to press for a change in U.S. policy on Palestine and Israel. Paul also worked with Tony Blair when Blair was Quartet special envoy for Middle East peace and Paul was an adviser for the U.S. security coordinator.

Amid Deepening Famine, Israel Declares Gaza City a Dangerous Combat Zone", Palestinian and Israeli Protesters in West Bank Demand End to Gaza Assault, Flooding Displaces More Than 1 Million in Pakistan, Thai Constitutional Court Removes Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Security Council Votes to Wind Down U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon, Democrats Demand Assault Weapons Ban in Wake of Minneapolis School Shooting, RFK Jr. Taps Deputy to Lead CDC After White House Fires Director Who Opposed Anti-Vaccine Moves, Fed Governor Lisa Cook Sues to Keep Her Job After Trump Attempts to Fire Her, White House Seeks to Use Chicago Naval Base for Immigration Crackdown, U.S. Air Force to Offer Full Military Honors to January 6 Rioter, Trump Administration Withdraws U.S. from U.N. Review of Human Rights Record, Texas GOP Lawmakers Advance Bill to Expand Abortion Restrictions, Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Unions at Several Government Agencies, NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Joins Rev. Al Sharpton's March on Wall Street"

Independent journalist Jordan Flaherty was in New Orleans in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina first hit, and both supported and reported on relief efforts in the aftermath of the storm. Flaherty explains how Katrina's devastation to the city's infrastructure accelerated the existing dispossession of its primarily Black residents, how corruption and mismanagement in the years following the storm diverted aid, and how racist media narratives contribute to the ongoing criminalization of Black New Orleanians. It's devastating," says Flaherty, warning that the aftermath of Katrina is not only reverberating, but amplifying, today. The support for the oil and gas industry, the heightened climate change, hurricanes getting bigger, hurricanes getting stronger, less land to protect us in the city, less infrastructure to support us, less of a social safety net ... less ways to afford to live in the city, in this country."