Democracy Now!

On Tuesday, speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump railed against the Cuban government and said the U.S. would not lift its sanctions against Cuba. Trump has moved to reverse the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba and reimpose travel and trade restrictions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also said the U.S. may close the embassy over a host of unexplained health problems that embassy workers are suffering, including hearing loss and brain injury. The health problems appear to be caused by some form of sonic attack. Cuban officials deny any involvement in the apparent sonic attack and are cooperating with U.S. officials to investigate the incidents. We speak with José Pertierra, a Cuban attorney who represented the Venezuelan government in its efforts to extradite Luis Posada Carriles. We also speak with Jeri Rice, director of the film "Embargo," a new documentary about U.S.-Cuba relations premiering this week in New York.

A humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Burma, where more than 400,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority have fled the country to escape a brutal Burmese military operation. According to Human Rights Watch, tens of thousands of Rohingya homes have been burned to the ground. Some 214 Rohingya villages in Burma have been destroyed. Before-and-after satellite photos distributed by Human Rights Watch reveal that wide swaths of Rakhine state have been destroyed in recent weeks. Last week, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein accused the Burmese government of waging a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the Burmese military operation. Meanwhile, Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now Burma's de facto president, is facing mounting criticism for her handling of the violence. Last year, she attended the United Nations General Assembly as Burma's much-esteemed new civilian leader. This year, she has refrained from attending the gathering, choosing to avoid questions about the Burmese military's crackdown on the Rohingya. During a nationally televised speech on Tuesday, Suu Kyi refused to blame the military or address the U.N.'s accusation of ethnic cleansing. We speak with Azeem Ibrahim, author of the book "The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar's Hidden Genocide." He's a senior fellow at the Center for Global Policy.

Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill lobbying Republican senators to support the latest healthcare plan, known as the Graham-Cassidy bill, named after its main architects, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The last-ditch effort by Senate Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has to be done by September 30, when a deadline allowing the Senate to pass the legislation by a simple majority expires. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says the bill would cause many millions of people to lose coverage, gut Medicaid, eliminate or weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions and increase out-of-pocket healthcare costs to individuals, all while showering tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans. The New York Times editorial board wrote on Tuesday, "It is hard to overstate the cruelty of the Graham-Cassidy bill." We speak with Alice Ollstein, a politics reporter at Talking Points Memo focusing on healthcare. Her recent piece is titled "Where Things Stand with the Senate's Last-Ditch Obamacare Repeal Push."

In the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico this morning as a major Category 4 storm—the most powerful hurricane to make landfall there since 1928. The landfall on Puerto Rico came after Maria lashed the U.S. Virgin Islands and devastated the island of Dominica, causing what the country's prime minister called "mind-boggling" devastation. For more, we speak with Democracy Now! co-host Juan González.

In Mexico, a massive 7.1-magnitude quake struck 100 miles southeast of Mexico City Tuesday, collapsing dozens of buildings around the capital city and trapping schoolchildren, workers and residents beneath the rubble. At least 217 people are dead, and hundreds more are missing. Among the dead are least 21 students at a primary school in Mexico City and 15 worshipers who died during a Catholic mass when the earthquake triggered an eruption at a volcano southeast of the city. The disaster struck just hours after residents participated in an earthquake preparedness drill marking the 32nd anniversary of a 1985 earthquake that killed 5,000 people. Tuesday's quake follows another earthquake less than two weeks ago, which killed at least 90 people and leveled thousands of homes after it struck near the coast of the southern state of Oaxaca. We speak with Laura Carlsen, director of the Mexico City-based Americas Program of the Center for International Policy.

Massive Earthquake Rattles Mexico City, Killing at Least 217, Hurricane Maria Strikes Puerto Rico as Dangerous Category 4 Storm, In U.N. Speech, President Trump Threatens North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, Senate Approves Record-Shattering $700 Billion Pentagon Spending Bill, Syria: Hospitals Bombed in Idlib; Mosque Destroyed in Raqqa, Nigeria Cholera Epidemic Adds to Global Spread of the Disease, Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Reported Ethnic Cleansing, Turkish President: Trump Apologized for Indictments Against Guards Who Beat Protesters, Equifax Confirms Another Data Breach Exposed Employee Tax Information, Three Lawmakers Among 10 Arrested at DACA Protest Outside Trump Tower

This past weekend, a surprising gathering took place at President Trump's childhood home in Queens, New York. The home is now an Airbnb. On Saturday, the international humanitarian and development organization Oxfam America rented out the home for refugees to spend the day there sharing their stories of home, resistance and life in the United States. This comes as The New York Times reports that President Trump is now considering whether to further reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States to fewer than 50,000. For more, we speak with Eiman Ali, a refugee whose family fled Somalia in the 1990s and eventually settled in the United States. She spent this weekend inside Trump's childhood home in Queens. We also speak with Isra Chaker, the refugee campaign leader for Oxfam America.

On Monday, six recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program sued the Trump administration in a San Francisco federal court over its plans to rescind the program. The lawsuit argues the Trump administration failed to follow proper administrative procedures in rescinding DACA and that revoking the program violates due process laws. DACA was instituted by the Obama administration in 2012 after years of sustained grassroots organizing by young undocumented students. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have also sued the Trump administration over its plans to end DACA. We speak with one of the six plaintiffs, Dulce Garcia, an immigration lawyer who regularly defends other immigrants in court in California. She's been living in the United States since her family immigrated from Mexico when she was four years old.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Trump administration plans to rescind the DACA program—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program. DACA gives nearly 800,000 young people the legal right to live and work in the United States. President Trump and Democratic Party leaders are now attempting to strike a deal to protect DREAMers. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi met with President Trump at the White House for a meeting aimed at enshrining the protections of DACA into law. After the meeting, Trump said any potential deal would rely on also approving "massive border security." On Monday morning, dozens of undocumented activists and their allies shouted down Congressmember Pelosi during her news conference, accusing her of using DREAMers as "bargaining chips" in her meeting with Trump. The protesters demanded protections not only for DREAMers, but for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. We speak with Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez, Democrat of Illinois. He is a member of the Judiciary Committee and the co-chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Category 5 Hurricane Maria Threatens Storm-Ravaged Caribbean, U.N. Leader Gives Climate Warning as U.S. Continues Exit from Paris Agreement, At U.N., President Trump Threatens Venezuela, Plans Military Parade, Sen. John McCain to Support New Republican Obamacare Repeal Effort, DREAMers Sue the Trump Administration in Bid to Save DACA, Immigration Activists Disrupt Event Held by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, CNN: Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Was Wiretapped, Nigeria: Suicide Attack in Borno State Kills 12, Indian Government Moves to Deport Rohingya Refugees Amid Ethnic Cleansing, Interior Department Plans to Shrink 10 National Monuments, Trump Admin Moves to Open Alaskan Refuge to Oil and Gas Drilling, Georgia Tech Students Protest Police Shooting of LGBTQIA Group's President

Last week, Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill that would provide universal healthcare by expanding Medicare to include every American. Sanders introduced the bill flanked by doctors, nurses and some of the bill's 15 Democratic co-sponsors. For more, we're joined by best-selling author Naomi Klein.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has tapped the former head of U.S. operations for oil giant Shell to lead Houston's post-Hurricane Harvey recovery effort. Marvin Odum was the chair of Shell for eight years. He retired in 2016. Hurricane Harvey killed at least 82 people, flooded thousands of homes and destroyed billions of dollars of property. It also caused widespread environmental contamination, triggering a half-million-gallon gasoline spill and the release of up to 5 million pounds of pollutants into the air. For more, we speak with best-selling author and journalist Naomi Klein.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly. Climate change is expected to be high on the agenda at this year's gathering. As the world leaders meet, another major storm—Hurricane Maria—is gaining strength in the Caribbean and following a similar path as Hurricane Irma. The current forecast shows Maria could hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm as early as Wednesday. The U.S. Virgin Islands, which were devastated by Irma, also appear to be in line to be hit by Maria. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the Trump administration is considering staying in the Paris climate agreement, just months after the president vowed to pull out of it. The White House denied the report. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday signaled Trump may stay in the Paris accord, but National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster gave a different message on Fox News Sunday. We speak with best-selling author Naomi Klein, a senior correspondent for The Intercept. Her most recent book, "No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need," has been longlisted for a National Book Award.

U.N. General Assembly Opens This Week in New York City, Trump Admin Issues Conflicting Information About Paris Climate Deal, Ex-Head of U.S. Operations for Shell to Lead Houston's Harvey Recovery, U.S. to Expand Green Zone in Kabul—and U.S. War in Afghanistan, Yemen: Residents Say 12 Civilians Killed in U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Strike, Trump Admin Considering Closing U.S. Embassy in Cuba, St. Louis: Massive Protests Erupt over Acquittal of White Ex-Cop for Murder of Anthony Lamar Smith, Trump Retweets Doctored Video of Him Hitting Hillary Clinton with Golf Ball, Spanish Authorities Seize 1M Fliers in Crackdown Against Catalan Referendum, Bangladesh: Authorities Restrict Rohingya Refugees' Movements, Mexico: Thousands Protest Femicide After Young Woman's Murder, ISIS Claims Responsibility for London Subway Bombing, Facebook Turns Over Info on Russian Election Ads to Special Counsel Mueller, Trump Mocked at Emmys as Donald Glover, Riz Ahmed & Lena Waithe Make History

We turn to the devastating floods in South Asia, where more than 41 million people have been battling floods and displacement. More than 1,300 people have died in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in recent months, after the region was hit by the worst flooding in at least 40 years. Some 40 million more people have seen their homes, businesses or crops destroyed. In the coming decade, devastating floods are expected to increase as changing weather patterns worsen risks in the region, climate researchers say. Flooding accounted for 47 percent of all weather-related global disasters between 1995 and 2015, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction said in a report. Of the 2.3 billion people affected, 95 percent were in Asia. We speak with David Molden, the director general of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, Nepal. The group works in eight countries across South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan

Hurricane Irma made landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm just over one week ago, knocking out electricity and running water, and cutting off communications with the outside world. Now, Governor Kenneth Mapp says the islands of Saint John and Saint Thomas are still nearly entirely without power. The hurricane also destroyed schools and the main hospital on Saint Thomas. The devastation was so extensive, it can be seen from space. Earlier this week, a U.S. military amphibious ship arrived on Saint Thomas ladened with equipment and supplies. The islands have also received emergency aid from residents of the nearby island of Puerto Rico, where volunteers banded together to collect supplies and transport them on dozens of ships. But while Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands days before it made landfall on the Florida Keys, the Virgin Islands have been largely forgotten in the wall-to-wall U.S. media coverage of the storm. And that omission is even more striking given that the U.S. Virgin Islands are in the midst of celebrating their centennial as U.S. territory. We speak with Saint Thomas native Tiphanie Yanique, award-winning poet and novelist. She's an associate professor in the English Department at Wesleyan University and the author of the poetry collection "Wife" and the novel "Land of Love and Drowning."

Authorities in Florida have obtained a search warrant to investigate the deaths of eight elderly residents at a nursing home in Hollywood in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The victims ranged in age from 71 to 99 years old. They died in the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills after a transformer was knocked out following the hurricane, causing the nursing home's air conditioning unit to shut down. Authorities say that the administrators of the nursing home were aware that the air conditioning unit had failed, and that they installed fans and portable air coolers inside the facility. But the remedies did little to protect the residents from the sweltering heat. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, one nursing home resident was rushed to the emergency room of Memorial Regional Hospital, a Level I trauma center just down the street. By 5 a.m., when the hospital received a third rescue call, some hospital workers went down the street to check on the nursing home. They found a situation so critical, the hospital sent in more than 50 medical workers under a mass casualty protocol. At least 150 people were evacuated, many with severe dehydration and other heat-related symptoms. We speak with Dale Ewart, vice president of 1199SEIU, the United Healthcare Workers East union. We also speak with Stephen Hobbs, a reporter for the Sun Sentinel who has been covering the eight deaths.

North Korea Fires Missile Over Japan, Prompting New Sanctions Threats, London: At Least 22 Injured by Bomb Left in Subway, Iraq: ISIS Claims Attacks in Nasiriyah That Kill 84, Injure Nearly 100, Trump Sows Confusion over Agreement on Young Undocumented Immigrants, Arizona: Motel 6 Workers Gave Guest Names to Immigration Agents, Indian Widow of Hate Crime Victim Loses U.S. Visa, ICE Agents Make Arrests at Brooklyn Courthouse, Trump Again Claims Both Sides to Blame for Charlottesville Violence, Trump Exempts Iran from Nuclear-Related Sanctions—For Now, Mexico: 2.5 Million in Need of Aid Due to Massive Earthquake, Following Hurricane, Barbuda Uninhabited for First Time in 3 Centuries, U.S. Virgin Islands at Risk of Bankruptcy Amid Hurricane Devastation, Amnesty: Burma Behind "Scorched Earth" Campaign Against Rohingya, Senate Leader McConnell Opposes Resolution to Shield Rohingya, Brazilian President Michel Temer Faces New Corruption Charges, Greece: Sunken Tanker Leaks Oil into Sea and onto Beaches Near Athens, Harvard Rescinds Chelsea Manning's Fellowship After CIA Director Protests, North Carolina: Derricka Banner Becomes 20th Trans Person Murdered in 2017

Last week, Roger Waters wrote a piece in The New York Times titled "Congress Shouldn't Silence Human Rights Advocates." In the op-ed, Waters criticized a bill being considered in the Senate to silence supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel. The bill seeks to criminalize individuals who participate in the BDS effort. We speak to Waters and Sut Jhally of the Media Education Foundation. We also discuss criticism of the BDS movement and ask Waters about his public spat with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, whose band has rejected calls to join BDS.

We continue our conversation with legendary British musician Roger Waters, founding member of the iconic rock band Pink Floyd. Waters is the narrator of a recent documentary titled "The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel's Public Relations War in the United States." We air clips from the film and speak to Roger Waters and Sut Jhally, professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts and founder and executive director of the Media Education Foundation, which produced the documentary.

Today we spend the hour with the world-famous British musician Roger Waters, founding member of the iconic rock band Pink Floyd. In recent years, he has become one of the most prominent musicians supporting BDS, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. Waters is scheduled to play Friday and Saturday in Long Island, despite attempts by Nassau County officials to shut down the concerts citing a local anti-BDS bill. Despite this, Roger Waters has continued to speak out. Last week, he wrote a piece in The New York Times titled "Congress Shouldn't Silence Human Rights Advocates." In the op-ed, he criticized a bill being considered in the Senate to silence supporters of BDS. Roger Waters joined us in the studio on Wednesday.

Democrats Claim Breakthrough Deal with Trump over Young Immigrants, Caribbean Hurricane Damage is So Severe, It's Visible from Space, U.S. Hurricane Death Toll Rises as 8 Found Dead in Sweltering Nursing Home, Western U.S. Wildfires Scorch 8 Million Acres, Stevie Wonder Calls Climate Deniers Either "Blind or Unintelligent", Sen. Bernie Sanders and 15 Co-Sponsors Introduce Medicare-for-All Bill, White House Asks ESPN to Fire Anchor Who Called Trump a White Supremacist, Congress Sends Trump Resolution Condemning White Supremacist Violence, Trump Meets Only Black Republican Senator over Charlottesville Comments, Anti-Racist Protesters Unveil Banner at Boston Red Sox Game, Afghanistan: ISIS Claims Suicide Attack Killing 3 Near Cricket Match, U.N. Security Council Condemns Burmese Violence Against Rohingya

As the nation marks the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, questions still swirl about the role of Saudi Arabia in the attacks. The 9/11 attack was carried out by 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia. Sixteen years after the attacks, 9/11 families and survivors are continuing their efforts to take Saudi Arabia to trial. Just this week, the New York Post reported new evidence presented in the case alleging the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., funded a "dry run" of 9/11 two years before the attacks. The families' lawyers say the new allegations offer "a pattern of both financial and operational support" by the Saudi government. We speak with Andrew Cockburn, whose latest piece is headlined "Crime and Punishment: Will the 9/11 case finally go to trial?"

President Donald Trump's so-called election integrity commission held its second meeting on Tuesday in Manchester, New Hampshire, even as it faces a series of lawsuits and calls for the resignation of its vice chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. President Trump convened the commission to look into his allegations of voter fraud during the 2016 presidential election. But many voting rights advocates worry that the commission aims to lay the groundwork for a nationwide voter suppression effort. At Tuesday's contentious meeting, the witness list was comprised of 100 percent white men, including the far-right pro-gun activist John Lott Jr., who proposed requiring voters to first pass a background check. We speak with Ari Berman, senior reporter at Mother Jones. His recent article is titled "Lawsuits, Falsehoods, and a Lot of White Men: Trump's Election Commission Meets Amid Growing Controversy." We also speak with Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The organization has filed a complaint against Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is slated to introduce universal healthcare legislation today, aimed at expanding Medicare coverage to include every American. In a New York Times op-ed published today, Sanders wrote, "This is a pivotal moment in American history. Do we, as a nation, join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee comprehensive health care to every person as a human right? Or do we maintain a system that is enormously expensive, wasteful and bureaucratic, and is designed to maximize profits for big insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, Wall Street and medical equipment suppliers?" Fifteen senators have already signed on as co-sponsors. The introduction of the Medicare for All Act comes after Republicans repeatedly failed to push through their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans' efforts sparked sustained grassroots protests, led by disability activists and healthcare professionals. We speak with Michael Lighty, director of public policy for National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association. National Nurses United has long advocated for a Medicare-for-all system.

Sen. Bernie Sanders to Introduce "Medicare for All" Healthcare Bill, Caribbean Hurricane Survivors: "We're Running Out of Water", 90 Percent of Florida Keys Buildings Damaged by Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Harvey "Toxic Soup" Contains E. Coli, Heavy Metals, China to Evacuate Hundreds of Thousands as Twin Typhoons Approach, Trump Adviser Says Climate Change is Real, Won't State Its Cause, NYT: Trump Admin Might Lower Refugee Quota Below 50,000, Hope Hicks Named White House Communications Director, Hong Kong Protesters to Steve Bannon: "Nazis are Not Welcome Here", Saudi Arabia: Death Sentence Imminent for Man Tortured over Protests, Saudi Arabia Clears Itself over Yemen Civilian Deaths, Rohingya Refugees Warn of Shortages as U.N. Says 370,000 Have Fled Burma, Trump Admin Won't Charge Baltimore Officers over Freddie Gray's Death, Seattle Mayor Resigns Amid Child Molestation Accusations, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Wins Democratic Primary, Marriage Equality Activist Edie Windsor Dies at 88

We end today's show in Houston, Texas, two weeks after Hurricane Harvey caused historic flooding and left residents to coordinate with each other to rescue thousands of people who were left stranded when officials were overwhelmed. Now that volunteer spirit of mutual aid has continued in the storm's aftermath. We air a report from Renée Feltz on how many Houstonians have formed decentralized networks to clean out flooded homes, feed thousands who lost everything, and offer much-needed counseling.

"A Storm of Silence." That's the title of a new report by the watchdog group Public Citizen that looks at the media's failure to discuss climate change in its wall-to-wall hurricane coverage. While all the television networks commented on the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey and "extreme weather," virtually none explained how warmer ocean temperatures lead to heavier winds, warmer air causes more precipitation, and higher sea levels exacerbate storm surges. The report examined 18 media sources' coverage of Hurricane Harvey—looking at 10 major newspapers, three weekly news magazines and national programming from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News over the course of eight days' worth of Hurricane Harvey coverage. The report concludes, "Many failed to discuss the issue [of climate change] much or failed to cover important aspects of it. ... Two of the three major broadcast networks, ABC and NBC, did not mention climate change at all in the context of Hurricane Harvey." We speak to David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen's Climate Program.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long is traveling today to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to see firsthand the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. In Puerto Rico, 300,000 remain without power—despite the fact that the island was barely hit by the storm. Authorities have warned parts of Puerto Rico could be without electricity for up to six months, in part due to the island's economic crisis. We speak with Juan González about how U.S.-imposed austerity and divestment are contributing to the electricity crisis after Irma.

One of the Caribbean islands hardest hit by Hurricane Irma was Cuba, where 10 people died. Irma hit Cuba's northern coast as a Category 5 storm. It was the deadliest hurricane in Cuba since 2005, when 16 people died in Hurricane Dennis. Cuba has long been viewed as a world leader in hurricane preparedness and recovery. According to the Center for International Policy, a person is 15 times as likely to be killed by a hurricane in the United States as in Cuba. Meanwhile, Cuba has already sent more than 750 health workers to Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Dominica and Haiti. For more, we speak with Elizabeth Newhouse, director of the Center for International Policy's Cuba Project. She has taken numerous delegations from the U.S. to Cuba to see how the Cubans manage disaster preparedness.

13 Million Remain Without Power in Florida as Residents Survey Irma Damage, Texas: Harvey Triggered Spill of a Half-Million Gallons of Gasoline, "Man is Stupid": Pope Francis Slams Climate Change Deniers, U.N. Security Council Imposes New Sanctions on North Korea, Tillerson Moves to Eliminate Job of Envoy Tasked with Closing Guantánamo, Bannon: Trump's Decision to Fire Comey was Biggest Political Mistake in Modern History, WSJ: Trump Lawyers Recommended Kushner Step Down over Russia Ties, One Million March in Barcelona to Demand Independence for Catalonia, France: Nationwide Protests over Macron's Plans to Roll Back Labor Protections, Brazil: Gold Miners Reportedly Murdered & Dismembered Members of Indigenous Tribe, India: Month-Long Caravan Highlights Rise of Lynchings of Muslims and Dalits, Egypt: 18 Police Officers Killed in ISIS Attack in Sinai Peninsula, Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Trump's Travel Ban, Affecting 24,000 Refugees, NH: Family Says 8-Year-Old Biracial Boy Survived Being Hung from Tree in Attempted Lynching, Plano, TX: 8 Dead in Deadliest Incident of Domestic Violence in Town's History

In Mexico, the death toll from Thursday's devastating 8.2-magnitude earthquake has risen to 90 people as rescue teams continue to search through the rubble in parts of the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Over the weekend, journalist Andalusia Knoll spoke to survivors from the earthquake in Juchitán, Oaxaca, which was the city hardest hit by the earthquake.

The death toll from Hurricane Irma has reached at least 27 in the Caribbean. The numbers are expected to rise as rescuers reach the hardest-hit areas. Irma destroyed major parts of several Caribbean islands, including Barbuda and Saint Martin. Cuba also suffered major flooding in Havana and other cities, but there were no reported deaths. The entrepreneur Richard Branson has called for a "Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan" for the Caribbean. Cuba has already sent more than 750 health workers to Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Dominica and Haiti. While Haiti avoided a direct hit from Irma, the hurricane still caused substantial damage in a country still recovering from the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew last year. Hurricane Irma displaced more than 100,000 Haitians and destroyed crops in the north of the country. We are joined here in New York by Kim Ives, an editor at Haïti Liberté.

At least four people have died and nearly 6 million people are without power in Florida after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday on the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm also flooded the streets of downtown Miami, turning the city's main strip, Brickell Avenue, into a three-foot high raging river. Its arrival sparked one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history, with nearly 7 million people ordered to leave their homes. We go now to Florida to speak with one of the evacuees - the award winning Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat. She lives in Miami but had to evacuate to Orlando.

As the United States continues to deal with unprecedented floods and hurricanes, a new study has revealed climate change is also driving the mass extinction of parasites that are critical to natural ecosystems, and could add to the planet's sixth great mass extinction event that's currently underway. The report in the journal Science Advances warns that about a third of all parasite species could go extinct by 2070 due to human activity. The loss of species of lice, fleas and worms could have profound ripple effects on the environment and might pave the way for new parasites to colonize humans and other animals with disastrous health outcomes. We speak to Colin Carlson, lead author of the report "Parasite biodiversity faces extinction and redistribution in a changing climate." He's a Ph.D. candidate in environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2011, Business Insider included him in a roundup titled "16 of the Smartest Children in History," alongside Mozart and Picasso. At the time, he was 15 years old. He is now 21.

At least four people have died and nearly 6 million people are without power in Florida, after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday on the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm also flooded the streets of downtown Miami, turning the city's main strip, Brickell Avenue, into a three-foot-high raging river. Its arrival sparked one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history, with nearly 7 million people ordered to leave their homes. We speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert.

Four Dead and Millions Without Power as Irma Sweeps Across Florida, Trump Uses Irma as an Excuse to Push for Tax Cuts for Rich, Mexico: Death Toll from Earthquake Rises to 90, Italy: Unexpected Flooding Kills 6 in Livorno, State Dept. Approves $3.8 Billion Weapons Deal to Bahrain, Syria: U.S. Reportedly Fires White Phosphorus in Raqqa, Kenya to Hold Rerun of Contested Presidential Election, U.N.: Burmese Military Violence Against Rohingya is "Textbook" Ethnic Cleansing, Health Officials Warn of Sharp Rise in Suicide Attempts in Gaza Strip, Kashmir: Hundreds Protest After Indian Troops Kill 4 Suspected Militants, London: Tens of Thousands March to Oppose Brexit, Australia Holds Biggest Demonstration for LGBT Rights in Its History, SF Residents Mourn Death of Transgender Activist & DJ Bubbles Torres, Reports: Imprisoned Black Panther Herman Bell Attacked by Guards, On 1st Anniversary of Largest U.S. Prison Strike, New Interviews Shed Light on Protest & Retaliation

As students return to school across the country, we continue our look at the resegregation of schools—particularly in Alabama. A new article in this week's New York Times Magazine titled "The Resegregation of Jefferson County" by Nikole Hannah-Jones looks at how predominantly white towns in Alabama are increasingly pulling out of regional school districts and creating new schools that are overwhelmingly white. Critics say this is a new form of segregation. For more, we speak with Nikole Hannah-Jones. Her article about choosing a school for her daughter in a segregated school system won a National Magazine Award this year.

As Florida braces for Hurricane Irma, we look at conditions in Texas prisons since Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast two weeks ago with a historic downpour that lasted several days and caused massive flooding. Prisoners were not evacuated from either the federal prison or three Texas prisons in the heavily flooded city of Beaumont, east of Houston, where high water was so destructive that it disabled the city's water supply system. State prison officials say water did not flood prisons there. But a prisoner named named Clifton Cloer, who is housed on the first floor of the Stiles Unit in Beaumont, told his wife that he stood in water up to his kneecaps during the storm and later faced the stench of backed-up toilets. We speak to Rachel Villalobos, who has been in touch with her husband who is held at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont; Lance Lowry, the president of AFSCME Local 3807 of the Texas Correctional Employees; and Democracy Now! correspondent Renée Feltz.

As the National Football League begins its new season, one of its most outspoken players has revealed he was recently detained and assaulted by police in Las Vegas. Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett issued a statement on Twitter Wednesday, writing that an officer threatened to "blow my f****** head off" and that "Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time." The incident took place outside a boxing match last month in Las Vegas while police were responding to reported gunshots. We speak to Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine. He is working on a book with Michael Bennett about Bennett's life, "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable."

Powerful Hurricane Irma Pummels Turks and Caicos, Spares Hispaniola, Florida: More Than a Half-Million Evacuate Ahead of Hurricane Irma Landfall, Florida Nuclear Plants in Path of Hurricane Shut Down, Hurricanes Katia and Jose Threaten Mexico, Eastern Caribbean, Report: Climate Change Driving Mass Extinction of Parasites, Texas First Responders Sue Arkema over Exposure to Chemical Plant Fire, Mexico Rattled by Country's Strongest Earthquake in 100 Years, Syria Condemns Israeli Airstrikes on Alleged Chemical Weapons Site, President Trump Welcomes Kuwaiti Emir, Praises Weapons Sales, Doctors Group Warns EU over Gross Abuses of Migrants in Libya, Federal Court Deals Blow to Trump Travel Ban, Sen. Elizabeth Warren to Co-Sponsor "Medicare for All" Bill, Charges Dropped Against Reporter Who Questioned HHS Secretary Tom Price, Education Secretary DeVos to Scrap Campus Sexual Assault Protections, Equifax Executives Sold $1.8M in Stock Before Disclosing Massive Data Breach, Philippines: Son and Son-in-Law of President Duterte Accused of Drug Smuggling

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the brutal Burmese military operation against Rohingya Muslims is at risk of spiraling into an ethnic cleansing campaign, as the violence against the long-persecuted minority group continues. The U.N. says almost 150,000 Rohingya have fled the predominantly Buddhist country into neighboring Bangladesh in the last 12 days since the military operation began—with up to 15,000 more expected to flee every single day this week. Advocates say as many as 800 Rohingya civilians, including women and children, have been killed in recent days. For more, we speak with Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the U.K. He was born and brought up in Burma's Arakan state. In 1982, he was rendered effectively stateless along with a million other ethnic Rohingya under a new nationality law. And we speak with Richard Weir, a fellow in the Asia Division covering Burma at Human Rights Watch.

South Korea says it expects North Korea to test-launch another intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday. The expected test comes after North Korea carried out its strongest-ever nuclear test Sunday. The underground nuclear blast was many times more powerful than the bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which killed 75,000 people. The North's nuclear test came as U.S. and South Korea wrapped up their massive joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has long objected to the annual drills, which include tens of thousands of troops. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters clashed with police in South Korea's Seongju County on Wednesday over the deployment of more THAAD missile launchers. Dozens of protesters were injured at the overnight standoff when police attempted to disassemble protesters' campsites and forcibly remove road blockades. For more on the escalating tensions and the resistance to militarization, we speak with Wol-san Liem, who has just returned from protesting the THAAD deployment site in Seongju, South Korea. And we speak with Tim Shorrock, an investigative journalist and the author of "Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence." His new piece for The Nation is titled "Diplomacy with North Korea Has Worked Before, and Can Work Again."

In the Caribbean, at least 10 people have died as the historic Category 5 Hurricane Irma barrels across the Atlantic Ocean and toward the U.S. coast. Hurricane Irma is the most powerful storm ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. On Barbuda, 90 percent of all structures were destroyed. The prime minister, Gaston Browne, has declared Barbuda is "practically uninhabitable." This comes as Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S., is beginning to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, one of the most powerful hurricanes in U.S. history. Wide swaths of the Pacific Northwest are also on fire, as uncontrollable wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of acres across Oregon, Montana and Washington state. For more on climate change and extreme weather, we're joined by Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, from his home in Vermont. He's the author of several books, including "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet."

Irma, Strongest Atlantic Hurricane on Record, Devastates Caribbean, 100,000+ Evacuate in Florida as Hurricane Irma Takes Aim at Miami, Families Say Texas Prisoners Faced Horrid Conditions Following Hurricane, House Approves $8 Billion Hurricane Harvey Emergency Relief Bill, At ND Refinery, Trump Touts Withdrawal from Climate Accord, Pipelines, Trump Strikes Debt Ceiling Deal with Democrats, Angering Republicans, 15 States Sue Trump Admin over Plans to End DACA Immigration Program, South Korean Police Raid Protest Camp Opposing THAAD Missile System, Afghanistan: Taliban Claims Bagram Attack, Citing U.S. Leaflet Insulting Islam, NYT: 18 CIA Operatives Killed in Afghanistan, Bangladesh Says Burma Laying Land Mines on Border to Halt Rohingya Refugees, Mexican Journalist Juan Carlos Hernández Ríos Assassinated, Facebook Says Russian "Troll Farm" Bought Ads to Polarize U.S. Electorate, Trump Jr. to Testify Privately Amid Warning from Special Counsel, Lawsuit Challenges Law That Could Close Kentucky's Only Abortion Clinic, New York: Charges Dropped for Pedro Hernandez, Held Over 1 Year at Rikers, NFL's Michael Bennett Says Vegas Police Threatened to Shoot Him

The city of New York announced Tuesday it is deploying funding for legal services for DACA recipients across the city, following the Trump administration's decision to rescind the DACA program. In a message posted on Twitter, the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "You are not alone. … If you face legal problems, we'll be right there with you." The fight to save DACA marks just the latest example of cities pushing back against the Trump administration's agenda. From climate change to sanctuary cities to police accountability to affordable housing, cities are increasingly pushing a far more progressive agenda than their counterparts in Washington. This is a central theme in a new book by Democracy Now! co-host Juan González titled "Reclaiming Gotham: Bill de Blasio and the Movement to End America's Tale of Two Cities." For more, we speak with Juan González, longtime staff writer for the New York Daily News, now a professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University.

In a major attack on immigrant communities across the United States, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced the Trump administration is rescinding the DACA program, which gives nearly 800,000 young immigrants permission to live and work in the United States. President Obama implemented DACA in 2012, after nearly a decade of massive grassroots organizing and direct action protests by undocumented youth across the country. Obama called Tuesday's announcement "wrong," "self-defeating" and "cruel." Sessions's announcement Tuesday morning sparked immediate protests across the country, with crowds taking to the streets in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Houston. In New York City, 34 people were arrested during a sit-in at Trump Tower, led by undocumented activists. For more, we go to Houston, Texas, where we're joined by DREAMer Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based nonprofit that helps young undocumented members of the Latino community.

Trump Admin Rescinds DACA Program, Sparking Widespread Protests, Caribbean & Florida Make Emergency Preparations for Category 5 Hurricane Irma, Major Fires Burns Across Washington, Montana and Oregon, Report: 1,100 Children Killed in Yemen, Majority from U.S.-Backed Saudi Airstrikes, 120,000 Rohingya Have Fled Burma's Military Attacks Against Civilians, U.N.: Syrian Gov't Used Chemical Weapons 25+ Times; Syrian Forces Break ISIS Siege in Deir ez-Zor, Indian Journalist & Activist Gauri Lankesh Assassinated Outside Home in Bangalore

Residents across Houston are beginning to return to their communities in the wake of devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Congress is slated to begin debate on how to distribute billions of dollars in aid for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast. To understand who stands to profit from the relief effort, and who may not, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Renée Feltz and Hany Massoud sat down with Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the founder of the environmental justice movement, at his home in Houston over the weekend.

In Texas, the devastation from Hurricane Harvey continues. At least 63 people have died, more than 40,000 homes have been lost, and as many 1 million cars have been destroyed. Meanwhile, the long-term environmental impact of the storm is just beginning to be felt. The Center for Biological Diversity reports flooded oil refineries and chemical plants released as much as 5 million pounds of pollutants into the air during the storm. On Friday night, another large fire broke out at the flooded Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas. Then, on Sunday, authorities set fire to six remaining containers of chemicals in what was described as a controlled burn. The company continues to refuse to inform local residents of what chemicals burned at the site. For more, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Renée Feltz and Hany Massoud take a "toxic tour" of Houston's fenceline communities, led by environmental justice organizer Bryan Parras.