Democracy Now!

Trump Accused of Backing Ethnic Cleansing After Calling for Clean Out" of Gaza, Tens of Thousands of Palestinians Head Home to North Gaza, Hamas Releases 4 More Israeli Soldiers as Israel Frees 200 Palestinian Prisoners, Israeli Soldiers Shoot and Kill 2-Year-Old Palestinian Laila Muhammad Ayman al-Khatib in West Bank, Israel Fires on Displaced Lebanese Returning to Their Homes as It Continues to Violate Truce, U.S. Freezes All International Aid, Except Military Funding to Israel and Egypt, JD Vance Breaks Senate Tie to Confirm Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, Trump Fires Slew of Independent Federal Watchdogs in Likely Unlawful Move, Colombia, U.S. Agree to Deal on Tariffs and Immigration After Rapid Series of Tit-for-Tat Moves, Chicago School Bars Gov't Agents from Entry as Feds Escalate Immigration Crackdown Nationwide, DOJ to Stop Prosecuting Most People Who Unlawfully Block and Harass Abortion Clinics and Patients, Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Charged with Insurrection, DRC Urges UNSC to Intervene After M23 Rebels Seize Goma in Eastern Congo, Drone Strike on North Darfur Kills 70 Patients; Sudanese Army Blames Paramilitary RSF, Elon Musk Hypes Up Germany's Neo-Nazi AfD Party Ahead of February Election, U.S. Air Force to Continue Teaching Tuskegee Airmen History After Pulling Videos Amid Trump DEI Ban, Swiss Authorities Arrest Ali Abunimah, Journalist and Founder of Electronic Intifada News Site

The prominent British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah remains imprisoned in Cairo even after he completed his five-year sentence last September. Fattah came to prominence during the Egyptian revolution as a blogger and political activist, and he has been jailed multiple times by the authoritarian government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for his advocacy. His family and supporters continue to demand his freedom and have pressed the U.K. government to pressure Egypt into releasing him. Fattah's mother Laila Soueif is now on her 117th day on hunger strike, standing on Downing Street for at least an hour every workday until her son is released. Now Australian journalist Peter Greste has launched his own hunger strike to pressure the British government, saying he owes his life to the Egyptian activist, who helped him survive when he was imprisoned in Egypt in 2013. I quite literally owe Alaa my life," says Greste. He is the most popular, the most recognized political prisoner in the system, and I think they fear his capacity to mobilize people. They fear his capacity to inspire."

As one of his last acts in office, President Joe Biden issued a posthumous pardon for Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and generations of civil rights leaders. Advocates and congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey for years, with supporters arguing that Garvey's 1923 mail fraud conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the popular leader who spoke of racial pride and self-reliance. This electrified a people around the world that were in the midst of oppression," says Howard University law professor Justin Hansford. Garvey was deported to Jamaica, his birthplace, and died in 1940 in England. Hansford says his story is important to revisit amid Republican attacks on racial justice and Black history, saying the pardon is part of a larger reckoning with U.S. racial injustice. More of our institutions need to look back and acknowledge the harms of the past," he says.

As the Trump administration launches what it touts as the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history, we look at how immigrant communities and advocates are fighting back. The administration already faces some setbacks, including in its attempt to end birthright citizenship, which a federal judge halted Thursday from going into effect because it was blatantly unconstitutional." Thursday's ruling is the first in what's expected to be a long legal battle against Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. We're in a moment where there's a ton of fear in the community," says Harold Solis, legal director at Make the Road New York, which has filed its own lawsuit against the government. We also speak with Columbia University historian Mae Ngai, who says the fight over birthright citizenship is part of the long history of restrictionist immigration policies in the country. What we're seeing this week is shock and awe. It's meant to terrorize," she says. We have to fight on all levels."

Newark Mayor Vows to Fight Back After ICE Raid as Feds Launch Nationwide Deportation Operation, Blatantly Unconstitutional": U.S. Judge Blocks Trump Order Ending Birthright Citizenship, State Dept. Halts Passport Applications with Gender Nonbinary X" Sex Marker, Senators Confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA Head and Advance Trump's Energy & Environment Nominees, More Damning Info on Pete Hegseth Surfaces as Senate GOP Poised to Confirm Him as Pentagon Chief, Trump Ultimatum to World Economic Forum: Invest in U.S. or Face Tariffs, Bitcoin Surges After Trump Discusses Cryptocurrency Plans with El Salvador's Bukele, Ongoing Israeli Attacks on West Bank Have Killed 34 Since January 1, Gaza Faces Fresh Hunger Crisis as Israel Readies Ban on U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Iraq Approves Child Marriages for Girls as Young as 9, ICC Seeks Arrest of Taliban Leaders for Gender-Based Crimes Against Women and Girls, Amazon Closes Warehouses in Quebec and Lays Off 1,700 After Workers Unionize, Serbian Students and Workers Launch General Strike Against Government Corruption, Sackler Family Increases Opioid Settlement Offer with New Conditions, Northwestern Won't Discipline Professor Steven Thrasher over Gaza Protest, Palestinian-Israeli Film No Other Land" Nominated for Oscar Despite Snubs by U.S. Distributors

While a ceasefire is largely holding in Gaza, Israel is intensifying attacks on the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has killed at least 13 people in a major military operation targeting Jenin that began on Tuesday when Israeli troops raided the city, backed by airstrikes, drones and U.S.-made Apache helicopters, following a six-week siege. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have been emboldened" by Trump's lifting of sanctions on far-right Israeli settler groups. Further violence is increasingly likely, says Mariam Barghouti, a Palestinian writer and journalist based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. We're seeing Israel wage a war that very much resembles the practices they have committed in Gaza," with Palestinians left completely defenseless," she says. It's a very slow slaughter of Palestinians. If you survive a bullet, you don't know if you're going to survive daily life."

Former FBI special agent Mike German, whose new book Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within chronicles his experience working undercover in far-right, white nationalist militias and warns of the unchecked danger they pose to American society, responds to Trump's mass pardons of January 6 insurrectionists, many of whom were members of or affiliated with far-right militias. The pardons definitely send a message both to the far-right militant movement that political violence against Trump's enemies will be rewarded ... [and] sends a message to law enforcement that there's no value in investigating and prosecuting far-right violence," says German. He also notes that right-wing extremism has already infiltrated much of U.S. law enforcement, making it harder to root out and guard against political violence.

Upon returning to the presidency, Donald Trump has granted presidential pardons to over 1,500 of his supporters involved in the violent January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, including members of far-right, anti-government militias like our guest's father. Guy Wesley Reffitt helped lead the crowd that stormed the Capitol, just weeks after his then-18-year-old son Jackson attempted to warn the FBI about his plans. Jackson Reffitt now believes that Trump's pardons will embolden far-right extremists to commit further political violence, including potential backlash against those close to them. To completely validate actions like that is going to be explosive," says Jackson Reffitt, who is now estranged from his family and fears for his own safety.

In one of his first executive orders after taking office, President Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from the U.N.'s World Health Organization, putting numerous WHO programs at risk, including efforts to tackle tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, says the move is a grave mistake for American national interests and our national security," as well as an attack on science, public health and public health institutions." He warns that the U.S. will likely fall behind on public health innovation and disease prevention, putting the country and the world at greater risk to the next pandemic."

Trump Revokes 6-Decades-Old Ban on Discrimination in Federal Contracting, DOJ Freezes Civil Rights Cases, Orders Prosecution of Local Officials Who Resist Deportation Policy, ACLU Sues Trump over Expedited Deportation Policy as Pentagon Sends Another 1,500 Troops to Border, Trump Health EOs Target Drug Costs, ACA Enrollment, Medicaid Recipients and More, OMB Nominee Russ Vought Defends Social Program Cuts, Welfare Work Requirements, Trump Names Failed 2017 Labor Nominee Andrew Puzder as Ambassador to EU, Palestinians Return to Gaza Neighborhoods Reduced to Rubble by Israel's Bombs, Israeli Troops Surround Hospitals in Jenin, Fire on Medical Workers, U.N. Chief Warns Israeli Leaders Seeking to Fully Annex West Bank, Trump Redesignates Yemen's Houthis as Foreign Terrorist Organization, Thousands Flee M23 Rebels' Advance in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC Files Criminal Complaint Against Apple in Europe over Conflict Minerals in Electronics, Angelenos Warned over Toxic Ashes as Tens of Thousands Evacuate New L.A. Fires, European Regulators Order Dutch Government to Cut Nitrogen Emissions by 2030

The Trump administration has begun its crackdown on immigrant communities in the United States, with the Department of Homeland Security announcing Tuesday it will allow federal agents to conduct raids at schools, houses of worship and hospitals, ending a yearslong policy that banned Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from arresting people at these sensitive locations. This comes a day after President Trump signed a series of executive orders that included declaring a national emergency" at the southern border, launching mass raids and deportations, restricting federal funds from sanctuary cities, and claiming to end birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. For more on the fight for immigrant rights, we speak with immigrant rights activists Ravi Ragbir and Amy Gottlieb and lawyer Alina Das. Ragbir received a last-minute pardon from outgoing President Joe Biden that removed the threat of deportation that he has faced for about two decades. I feel so light and so free," Ragbir says, vowing to continue his advocacy for other people facing arrest and deportation.

Many Silicon Valley companies and their billionaire owners have formed a symbiotic relationship" with Donald Trump, showering the president and his administration with money and adulation in exchange for friendly policies, according to researcher Becca Lewis. She says that while Silicon Valley has always had reactionary currents, the Biden administration's stricter regulation of the industry led to a decisive break with Democrats, who had previously benefited from Big Tech's cash and influence. Now you see a wholehearted embrace of Trump with the hopes of deregulation," says Lewis.

President Donald Trump's return to the White House comes almost exactly 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Citizens United ruling, which opened the floodgates for corporations and billionaires to pour unlimited money into elections. At Trump's inauguration on Monday, the front row included several of the world's richest and most powerful men, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai. Their collective net worth is over $1 trillion. For more on money in politics and the legacy of Citizens United, we speak with Brendan Fischer, the deputy executive director at Documented, an investigative watchdog and journalism project. Democrats and Republicans have both embraced super PACs and embraced the megadonors that fund them, but Trump is taking this to another level," says Fischer, who notes that about 44% of Trump's election was funded by just 10 megadonors.

The Trump administration is facing four lawsuits over the formation of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a new government advisory committee headed by the world's richest man, Elon Musk. One of these lawsuits is being brought by the watchdog organization Public Citizen, which says DOGE fails to comply with laws on the composition and reporting duties of such bodies. Musk's role in this government is part of a broader convergence of corporate and government power ... that doesn't really have a parallel in American history," says Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman, who calls it profoundly dangerous."

On Tuesday, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde gave the sermon at the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington. Directly addressing President Trump in the front row, she urged him to have mercy" on immigrants and LGBTQ people targeted by his policies. We play an excerpt from her sermon.

Trump Takes Steps to Weaponize Justice Department, Reassigning Key Prosecutors, 22 States Sue to Block Trump's Attempt to End Birthright Citizenship, Trump Administration to Allow ICE Raids at Churches, Hospitals and Schools, Israeli Forces Raid Jenin, Killing 10 Palestinians, Newly Freed Palestinians Describe Torture and Ill-Treatment in Israeli Jails, Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Child in Southern Gaza Despite Ceasefire, Four Injured in Tel Aviv Stabbing Attack, Israeli General Who Led Campaign That Devastated Gaza to Resign over October 7 Failures, Trump's U.N. Ambassador Pick Elise Stefanik Says Israel Has a Biblical Right" to West Bank, Google Provided AI Tech to Israel Despite Public Pronouncements, Panama's President Rejects Trump's Threats to Retake Panama Canal, Former Sister-in-Law Describes Violent and Threatening Behavior by Pete Hegseth, Leaders of Capitol Insurrection Freed from Prison After Trump's Pardons and Commutations, Costco Union Members Authorize Strike by 18,000 Workers at 56 Warehouses

Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier is coming home after nearly half a century behind bars. Just minutes before leaving office, former President Joe Biden granted Peltier clemency and ordered his release from prison to serve the remainder of his life sentence in home confinement. In a statement, Peltier said, It's finally over - I'm going home. I want to show the world I'm a good person with a good heart. I want to help the people, just like my grandmother taught me." Biden's historic decision came after mounting calls by tribal leaders and supporters, and a community-led campaign that fought for Peltier's freedom for decades. We speak with the NDN Collective's Nick Tilsen, who just visited Leonard Peltier in prison after news of his sentence commutation, about fighting for Peltier's freedom, his health and Trump's executive orders attacking environmental rights and Indigenous sovereignty. Indigenous people, we're going to be on the frontlines fighting this administration."

On his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump moved to roll back protections for transgender people. In his inaugural address, Trump declared the U.S. government's policy is there are only two genders: male and female." Chase Strangio, co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project, describes Trump's executive orders aimed at pushing a slew of policies that just seek to both eradicate trans people from civic and public life and also push trans people out of federal government." Trans people are bracing themselves for a lot of negative outcomes here, not just symbolic, but really material ones," says Strangio. I know the community is scared. I know people are confused. And in this chaos, we just have to come together and build all the forms of resistance we know how to."

As immigrant communities are bracing for raids and mass deportations promised by Donald Trump, the future for thousands of asylum seekers is also uncertain. As Trump took office, his administration immediately shut down the Biden-era CBP One mobile app, used by Customs and Border Protection to manage asylum requests at ports of entry. Thousands of asylum seekers lost their appointments scheduled for Trump's first day in office, January 20. People are afraid. Their lives are uncertain, especially those who have children, those who have fled extreme conditions. Now their lives are once again at risk," says Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, who describes how immigrant communities are preparing to resist Trump's agenda. We stand ready, committed to push back against the policies that are being created to criminalize people of color and people of immigrant backgrounds."

During Donald Trump's inaugural address on Monday, he declared a national emergency at the southern border. On the first day back in office, Trump signed a number of executive orders on immigration that seek to end birthright citizenship and use military resources for Trump's border policies. This is a massive abuse of emergency power," says Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. These emergency powers are intended to address sudden, unexpected crises ... that are moving too quickly for Congress to be able to address. That is not unlawful immigration at the border. It is not sudden or unexpected, and it is something that Congress can and should be addressing through comprehensive immigration reform."

During Monday's inauguration, Donald Trump repeated his threat to retake the Panama Canal. The United States controlled the waterway since the early 20th century, but in 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed a landmark treaty to give Panama control of the canal. Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez debunks Trump's grossly false" claims about the canal's history. The Panama Canal was created at gunpoint by the United States," says Juan Gonzalez. The entire myth that Trump has created is entirely false and needs to be challenged."

President Donald Trump was sworn in Monday as the nation's 47th president. The inauguration took place inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the same spot where Trump's supporters staged an insurrection on January 6, 2021, in a violent attempt to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 race. Hours after Monday's inauguration, Trump granted full, complete and unconditional" presidential pardons for about 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection. He also commuted the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, many of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy. The expansiveness of the pardon, the glee with which the pardon was issued, is striking," says Jeff Sharlet, an expert on the far right, who describes the overtures Trump and his close allies made to white supremacists and antisemites during the first day of Trump's presidency.

Tech Billionaires Share Stage as Donald Trump Takes Oath of Office as 47th U.S. President, Trump Declares Emergency at Southern Border, Promising Millions and Millions" of Deportations, Trump Pardons 1,500 Capitol Rioters Including Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Biden Grants Clemency to Indigenous Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier, Trump Withdraws U.S. from Paris Climate Agreement, Trump Withdraws from WHO, Rolls Back LGBTQ Rights and Puts Cuba Back on Terrorism List, Senate Votes 99-0 to Confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Senate Armed Services Committee Advances Pete Hegseth's Nomination to Lead the Pentagon, Gaza Authorities Say 10,000 Bodies Could Be Uncovered from Rubble After 15 Months of Genocide, Trump Lifts U.S. Sanctions on Far-Right Illegal Israeli Settlers, Threatens to Develop" Post-War Gaza, Vivek Ramaswamy Departs DOGE to Launch Campaign for Ohio Governor, Elon Musk Appears to Make Nazi Seig Heil" Gesture Twice During Trump Inauguration, Cecile Richards, 67, Longtime Former President of Planned Parenthood, Dies of Brain Cancer

Today is the federal holiday that honors civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929, and was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis at just 39 years old. We play an excerpt from King's last speech, I Have Been to the Mountaintop," in which he spoke of the ongoing struggle for equal rights that he said would continue even without him. I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land," King said. He was killed one day later.

With the U.S. political establishment gathered in Washington for the second inauguration of Donald Trump, the iconic venue Busboys and Poets on Sunday hosted the Peace Ball, an event held around presidential inaugurations since 2009 and featuring voices of resistance to war, racism, poverty and more. This year's Peace Ball featured author Angela Davis, who spoke of the power of infinite hope" to fight against injustice. I want us all to generate the kind of collective hope that will usher us into a better future," said Davis. We air highlights from the event.

Ahead of President elect-Donald Trump's second inauguration, thousands of people rallied in Washington, D.C., on Saturday at the People's March to oppose his policies on immigration, abortion, LGBTQ rights, the climate crisis and more. We air voices of resistance from the protest. All of us deserve to feel like human beings, and all of us deserve to have our rights respected," said Hope Giselle, executive director of the National Trans Visibility March. Without a democracy, without a true democracy, we all fall to the wayside of corruption and a government that does not see us as human beings, and I refuse to allow that to stand."

We continue our coverage of the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire by going to Jerusalem to speak with Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who has experience negotiating with Hamas, including during this latest conflict. Baskin says while it's heartening to see captives returning home, the ceasefire agreement is a bad deal" because of how fragile it is. Hamas would not have agreed to enter into this two- or three-phase deal without having guarantees ... that in fact the war would end," says Baskin. But we don't know that, because Netanyahu has given alternative promises to members of the government that Israel reserves the right to return to war."

As the ceasefire in Gaza has entered its second day and appears to be holding, we begin our coverage in Ramallah. We're hoping that it will continue, the Israelis will continue to release prisoners. And, of course, we have no guarantees they will not be rearrested again," says Tala Nasir, a lawyer with the Palestinian prisoner and human rights organization Addameer. She also notes that many of those released are coming home in poor health. They were starving inside the prisons," Nasir notes.

Palestinians Return to Decimated Homes, Israeli Hostages Released as Ceasefire Takes Effect, Netanyahu Says U.S. Gave Him Green Light to Resume Attacking Gaza Despite Ceasefire, Trump Vows Blitz of EOs Cracking Down on Immigration, Schools, Gov't Agencies Ahead of Swearing-In, Immigrant Communities Brace for Mass Deportations as Trump Returns to Presidency, Literally Cashing In on the Presidency": Donald and Melania Trump Launch Their Own Cryptocurrencies, TikTok Briefly Goes Dark, Then Returns After Trump Says He Will Delay Its Ban, Biden Issues Preemptive Pardons for Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, House Jan. 6 Cmte. Members, Biden Pardons Marcus Garvey, Immigration Activist Ravi Ragbir, Biden Declares ERA Is Law of the Land" But Fails to Back Up Announcement with Executive Action, Biden Admin Reveals U.S. Role in Developing, Funding Kyiv's Drone Program, Tehran Gunman Assassinates Two Top Iranian Judges, 80+ People Killed in Northeast Colombia, Thousands Flee as Peace Talks Collapse, DOJ Sues Walgreens for Role in Opioids Crisis, Atlanta City Workers Kill Unhoused Man as They Bulldozed Encampment Near Ebenezer Baptist Church, American Historical Association Council Rejects Members' Will, Vetoes Scholasticide Resolution

After commuting the sentences of over 2,500 people imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, Joe Biden has set a record for most pardons and commutations by a U.S. president. But Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier remains behind bars. Over 120 tribal leaders are calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier as one of his final acts in office, warning this may be the last opportunity Peltier has for freedom. Peltier is 80 years old and has spent the majority of his life - nearly half a century - in prison despite a conviction riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct. In December, tribal leaders, including the NDN Collective's Nick Tilsen, met with a pardon attorney at the Department of Justice to prepare a recommendation on Peltier's case for Biden. With only a few days left in Biden's term, Native Americans are eagerly anticipating his decision. All of us see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier, and that's why we fight so hard for him," says Tilsen. This is about paving a path forward that gives us the opportunity to have justice and begin to heal the relationship between the United States government and Indian people. And so, this decision is massive."

The ultra-rich have donated a record-shattering amount of funds to the 2025 Trump-Vance Presidential Inaugural Committee, with contributions from major corporations like Apple, Chevron, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Google, Pfizer, Microsoft and the pharmaceutical lobby. On Monday, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos will attend Trump's inauguration with the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and a slew of other wealthy individuals tapped to join the new White House administration. What's even more concerning than the total amount being spent is the size of the donations that are coming in from corporations and billionaires, all of whom - just about all of whom - want something from the Trump administration," says Craig Holman, Public Citizen's Capitol Hill lobbyist, who is pushing for new legislation to regulate donations to the inauguration ceremony. They are buying influence with the Trump administration, so we're going to see scandal after scandal follow this inauguration. And reform often comes on the heels of scandal."

Israel's security cabinet has approved a long-awaited ceasefire deal with Hamas. If finalized, the ceasefire is expected to go into effect on Sunday. The main challenge will be the second phase, and here there are many, many problems on the horizon," says Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, who stresses the importance of also freeing the thousands of Palestinians held by Israel. Again and again, Israelis always think that they are the only victims." The announcement comes in the final week of U.S. President Joe Biden's term as Israel prepares for the incoming Trump administration. The only reason that Israel did not agree to this text until this week is because it didn't have to worry about U.S. pressure," says Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani, who explains why the limited agreement will not shift politics in Israel and Palestine. I believe Netanyahu will do everything possible, with the collusion of certain Trump officials, to try to scuttle it after the first phase."

Israel Continues to Pound Gaza as Cabinet Votes on Ceasefire Deal, Israeli Forces Continue Raids on Occupied West Bank, Including Hospital in Nablus, How Does It Feel to Have Your Legacy Be Genocide?": Max Blumenthal Confronts Outgoing Blinken, Trump Nominees for Treasury, Interior, EPA Face Senate Hearings, Ron DeSantis Names Trump Loyalist, Florida AG Ashley Moody to Fill Marco Rubio's Senate Seat, Giuliani Holds On to NY, FL Properties as He Settles with Defamed Georgia Election Workers, Death Toll from L.A. Wildfires Hits 27 as Study Says Disaster Could End Up Claiming 1,000s of Lives, Climate Activists Tell Oil Cos to Pay Up" for L.A. Wildfires as Guterres Slams Fossil Fuel Industry, Biden Administration Sanctions Sudan's Army Chief al-Burhan Amid Mounting Humanitarian Disaster, Ohio Woman Sues Ohio City and Hospital After She Was Arrested over Miscarriage, Biden to Commute Sentences of 2,500 Prisoners Convicted of Nonviolent Offenses, JBS and Perdue Farms to Pay $8 Million for Child Labor Violations at Slaughterhouses

In her confirmation hearing Wednesday, Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, refused to answer Democrats' questions about maintaining the Department of Justice's independence from the president and pursuing his personal vendettas. Bondi also avoided directly answering questions about Trump's vow to pardon January 6 defendants and refused to say Trump definitively lost the 2020 election. Bondi clearly has a comfort level with basing her prosecutorial discretion on whether someone has power and influence, and whether they're willing to give her a taste of that," says The American Prospect's David Dayen, who explains how such abuse of power could dangerously expand the ability of the president to go after political enemies.

We host a roundtable on the planned Gaza ceasefire with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project, Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News. We discuss how incoming President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pressured Israel to accept the deal and what it reveals about the outgoing Biden administration's refusal to use its own leverage for the same end. Joe Biden could have ended this long ago," and that he chose not to exposes the utter moral rot that existed within the Biden White House," says Scahill. Still, our guests say it's unlikely that the ceasefire announcement signifies true relief for Palestinians beset by Israel's genocidal violence. Levy says Netanyahu is already working to renege on the deal and continue a war that has helped him retain his political power, while Shehada warns that all signs point to the continued subjugation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in conditions more painful than the war."

We go first to Gaza for reaction from Palestinians to the long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas announced Wednesday. When implemented, the deal would mark the first pause in Israel's relentless attack on the Gaza Strip in over a year. The ceasefire is expected to go into effect Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a Cabinet vote required to approve it. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to strike civilian-dense areas in Gaza. The bloodshed is not stopping since the announcement," reports journalist Shrouq Aila, on the ground in Deir al-Balah. Nobody knows what the future holds."

Netanyahu Puts Ceasefire on Hold as Gaza Celebrates Possible End to 15 Months of Genocide, Ceasefire Terms Include Prisoner Exchange, Surge of Aid into Gaza, Israeli Withdrawal, Israel Kills at Least 70 More Palestinians in Hours After Ceasefire Deal Announced, Attorney General Nominee Pam Bondi Won't Rule Out Prosecuting Trump's Critics, Secretary of State Nominee Marco Rubio Defends Trump's America First" Foreign Policy, Confirmation Hearings Open for Trump's Picks to Lead Transportation, Energy, CIA and OMB, ExxonMobil Countersues California AG and Environmentalists over Plastic Pollution Claims, Mike Turner Ousted as House Intelligence Committee Chair Following Concerns from Mar-a-Lago", In Final Oval Office Address, President Biden Warns of Growing Tech-Industrial Complex", Ukraine Claims Largest Attacks Yet on Russia Using U.S.- and U.K.-Made Missiles, U.N. Rights Chief Joins Calls for End to Western Sanctions on Syria, Haitian Armed Groups Have Displaced 1 Million from Their Homes

We speak with journalists Steven Thrasher and Afeef Nessouli about their new report for The Intercept, which examines how queer, HIV-positive Palestinians are struggling to survive in Gaza with limited access to medication due to Israel's siege and ongoing attacks on the territory. The report centers on E.S., a young Palestinian man who is HIV-positive and who has been in a race against time," says Nessouli. The genocide is making it impossible to get medication to people like E.S.," adds Thrasher.

The Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary, was repeatedly disrupted Tuesday by protesters who denounced the nominee's history of hateful remarks against women, LGBTQ people and others, as well as to demand an end to U.S. support for Israel's genocide in Gaza. We speak with two of those protesters, military veterans Josephine Guilbeau and Greg Stoker, who say they were motivated to speak out against the war machine" that hurts people who serve in the military as well as people around the world who are victims of U.S. militarism. They use us as pawns to go to these wars and ultimately kill innocent people," says Guilbeau.

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to become defense secretary, appears to be moving toward confirmation after a contentious Senate hearing on Tuesday. He was grilled over his alleged history of sexual misconduct, reports of frequent public drunkenness at work, financial mismanagement at veterans' organizations he led, and statements he has made disparaging women, LGBTQ people and others in the military. Hegseth's confirmation can only be blocked if three or more Republicans join Democrats in opposing the former Fox News host, but so far the party appears aligned behind Trump's nominee. Watch the highlights from Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearing.

Israel Steps Up Attacks on Gaza, Bombing Homes and School-Turned-Shelter Despite Talk of Ceasefire, Six Palestinians, Including Teen and Three Brothers, Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Jenin, Death Toll from L.A. Fires Rises to 25 as Forecasters Warn of 70 Mile-Per-Hour Winds, Billionaires Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk to Share Platform at Trump's Inauguration, Pete Hegseth Wins Backing of GOP Sen. Ernst, Nearing Confirmation, Senate Judiciary Opens Confirmation Hearings for Trump Loyalist Pam Bondi, Bloody Blinken, Secretary of Genocide": Blinken Confronted over Gaza at Farewell Keynote, Biden Lifts State Sponsor of Terrorism" Designation for Cuba, House Approves Ban on Transgender Women and Girls in Public School Sports, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Arrested After Armed Standoff over Martial Law Decree

Around Los Angeles, firefighting crews continue to battle the Palisades and Eaton fires and other smaller blazes. Nearly a thousand of the firefighters deployed to help contain the devastating fires are incarcerated. They have been working around the clock while earning as little as between $5.80 to $10.24 a day. For more on how California's incarcerated firefighting program works, we speak to investigative journalist Keri Blakinger, who is herself formerly incarcerated, and who recently had to evacuate her home in Los Angeles.

Human rights advocates and healthcare professionals around the world are demanding the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the largest major hospital in northern Gaza, Kamal Adwan Hospital. Abu Safiya disappeared in December after Israeli forces raided and shut down Kamal Adwan. Released Palestinians say they saw him at Sde Teiman Israeli prison, which has been plagued by reports of gruesome abuses including torture and sexual violence against Palestinians in custody. It is now believed he is held at the Ofer Prison. Abu Safiya's friend and former colleague, Dr. John Kahler, a co-founder of the medical humanitarian aid group MedGlobal, speaks to Democracy Now! about Abu Safiya's tireless commitment to his medical work while suffering the pain, trauma and tragedy of Israel's war on Gaza. His bravery is a supreme act of resistance," says Kahler. What no oppressor will tolerate is that level of resistance."

After Biden's major foreign policy address Monday at the State Department, we go to Jerusalem and get an analysis of Biden's foreign policy decisions in Israel and Palestine from Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders. There's simply no question at this point that the laws of war have been egregiously violated," he says of the Israeli military's genocidal conduct against Palestinians in Gaza. When it comes to America's friends and allies, he has a different standard."

The confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, former Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth, begins today amid backlash over his history of sexual assault, misusing funds in his previous positions, and various violations committed while under the influence of alcohol. Hegseth was also one of 12 National Guard members removed as guards for President Biden's 2021 inauguration over possible extremist ties. He has tattoos associated with the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements, including what's known as a Jerusalem cross, a symbol used by Christian nationalists. If Hegseth is confirmed, the Trump administration would stand to gain a loyalist," says reporter Alice Herman, who is covering Hegseth in The Guardian.

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Belgian Lebanese activist Dyab Abou Jahjah, the founder of the Hind Rajab Foundation, discusses how the organization seeks to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for war crimes committed in Gaza. Named after a 6-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza almost a year ago, the Hind Rajab Foundation uses evidence gathered from soldiers' own social media to build cases against them. The group recently filed a complaint against a soldier in Brazil, leading a local judge to issue an arrest warrant for him that he only avoided by fleeing to Argentina. Unfortunately, the Israeli government smuggled the soldier out of Brazil, which is, of course, obstructing justice," Abou Jahjah tells Democracy Now! We are relentless in seeking justice, and we are very convinced that one day justice also will be served in a court of law."

As negotiators from Israel and Hamas continue discussions in Qatar about a possible Gaza ceasefire, we speak with Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed, who spoke at a press conference of Gaza media workers last week urging the international press to speak up for their Palestinian colleagues. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says nearly 200 journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023. The world just keeps turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to what is happening," says Abed from outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. It's completely enraging and unacceptable." His recent article for Drop Site News is headlined What It's Truly Like to Sleep in a Damp, Frigid Tent: A Report From Gaza."

We speak with Leah Stokes, a researcher on climate and energy policy, who says the scale of the Los Angeles wildfires is a result of burning fossil fuels and destabilizing the planet's equilibrium. The ultimate driver here is climate change," says Stokes. She says that as people begin to consider rebuilding their communities, they should think about how to build more resilient homes or whether the risk is simply too great in some areas. Are these places where people really want to be building back at that same density, with that same risk?" she asks. We do have to be asking tough questions because of the climate crisis, because we have not stopped burning fossil fuels, about where it is safer and less safe to be building back."

We continue our coverage of the devastating wildfires in Southern California, which have killed at least 24 people as of Monday. Some 150,000 more have been forced to evacuate their homes and over 40,000 acres have burned up as firefighters struggle to contain the multiple fires still raging in the Los Angeles area.Journalist and activist Sonali Kolhatkar, who recently returned to her home in Pasadena, describes community mutual aid efforts underway and how they stand in stark contrast to the militarized response from police and National Guard forces who are seemingly more interested in protecting property than helping residents. She warns that predatory real estate actors are also looking to profit from the devastation, particularly in the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena. The embers haven't even gone cold. The smoke is still rising, and the developers are circling," she says.