Democracy Now!

Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards, we're joined by James Wilson, producer of the Oscar-nominated film The Zone of Interest, who raised Israel's assault on Gaza in his BAFTA Award acceptance speech last month. The film follows the fictionalized family of real-life Nazi commandant Rudolf Hoss as they live idyllically next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Wilson says the film serves as a metaphor for the occlusion of systemic violence, injustice, oppression, from our lives," and challenges audiences' complicity by asking them to identify with Hoss and his wife Hedwig. The idea of this film was to look for the similarities, rather than the differences, between us and the perpetrator," says Wilson.

Federal prosecutors in New York have rested their case against former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is accused of turning the Central American country into a narco-state. Hernandez is on trial for cocaine trafficking and weapons charges and is the first former head of state to stand trial in the United States since Panamanian dictator and U.S. ally Manuel Noriega was also tried on drug charges after a U.S.-led ouster. Prosecutors accuse Hernandez, a longtime U.S. ally accused of human rights violations throughout his presidency, of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from cocaine traffickers in exchange for protection and turning Honduras into a drug trafficking narco-state. If convicted, Hernandez could join his brother Juan Antonio in serving a life sentence in the U.S. We speak to two writers who have been attending the trial in New York: historian Dana Frank and author and Honduran screenwriter Oscar Estrada. There's a narrative here that ... the Honduran people can't govern themselves, and then suddenly the U.S. is coming in and heroically imposing the rule of law," says Frank about U.S. public perception of the trial. However, she continues, It's the opposite. It's the United States that helped destroy the criminal justice system in Honduras."

Haiti is under a state of emergency after the country's gangs freed thousands of people from the country's largest prisons and are reportedly uniting to bring down Haiti's de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has yet to return to the country since he traveled to Kenya last week to discuss a deal to bring a U.N. force of 1,000 Kenyan police to the island. It is a desolation that we are feeling. It is a terror that we are living," says Haitian pro-democracy advocate Monique Clesca about escalating gang violence that has already displaced thousands of Haitians. We have been terrorized for the last 30 months of Ariel Henry's government," she says, emphasizing the Biden administration has its hands in the bloodshed." We are also joined by researcher Jake Johnston, who traces the relationship between U.S. intervention and Haiti's unrest, a process stoked and perpetuated by the international community, and namely the United States," and we speak with Kenyan MP Otiende Amollo, who opposes the plan to send Kenyan peacekeepers" to Haiti, calling it a move that flies in the face of the rule of law."

Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Trump Can't Be Barred from Ballot over Jan. 6, Super Tuesday: Millions Head to Polls in 15 States, from California to Alabama, Minnesota Activists Urge Voters to Select Uncommitted" to Protest Biden's Backing of Israel, Look at Yazan": Palestinian Diplomat Decries Death of Palestinian Boy Who Starved to Death, U.N. Experts Weigh In on Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 & Inside Israeli Jails, Ukraine Sinks Russian Warship in the Black Sea, 20,000 Soldiers Take Part in NATO War Exercise in Finland, Norway and Sweden, Chad: Head of Military Junta Announces Presidential Run Days After Killing of Opposition Leader, South Korea Moves to Suspend Licenses of Striking Doctors, Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Posting Classified Intelligence Documents Online, Five Catholic Worker Activists Arrested Outside General Dynamics Plant

Reproductive health and medical groups are asking the Alabama Supreme Court to rehear the case in which the justices ruled frozen embryos should be considered children. The decision sent shockwaves through the world of reproductive medicine regarding potential effects on access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. We speak with Abbey Crain, a journalist and artist who had been undergoing IVF treatments for nearly two years when the court made its ruling. She says her clinic has paused fertility treatments after the decision. My first reaction was just sheer rage. I was extremely angry and, honestly, fell apart for a little bit," says Crain, who describes the impacts of this decision on patients and the politics of reproductive health in the state today. These men down the street from me who serve on the Alabama Supreme Court have more say over when I choose to become a mother right now than me."

Thousands gathered Friday in Moscow for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on February 16. The funeral was live-streamed on Navalny's YouTube channel to millions of his supporters, who suspect President Vladimir Putin is behind the dissident's death. We live in an open dictatorship where any forms of public disobedience are forbidden," says Russian historian and political theorist Ilya Budraitskis, who says Navalny's death has galvanized public opposition for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. With the war enabling the Kremlin to suppress political freedom, Budraitskis says Russian leaders are ready to continue" their invasion and are openly advocating for the dismantling of Ukraine. If Ukraine will be not supported from the West, Russia will continue its offensive and realize its final goal: the elimination of Ukraine as a state."

The death toll from Israel's assault on Gaza has surpassed 30,000 as health officials say at least 16 Palestinian children have died in recent days from starvation and dehydration. UNICEF is warning the number of child deaths will likely rapidly increase" unless the war ends. As Palestinians desperately seek aid being withheld by Israel, officials have accused Israeli forces of attacking crowds gathered to retrieve the little humanitarian supplies entering the besieged territory. Live from Rafah, Gaza-based journalist Akram al-Satarri shares his brother's account of surviving an Israeli attack while attempting to secure food for his kids. It looks like the objective is to continue the starvation of the people of Gaza and to kill them when they dare to think that they can secure something to feed their children," says al-Satarri, who reports that U.S. airdrops of aid are doing little to relieve the suffering of millions in Gaza while U.S. military aid supports Israeli attacks. In one hand, they are providing people with food, and in the other hand, they are providing people with death."

16 Children Starve to Death in Gaza as UNICEF Warns Child Deaths Will Rapidly Increase", Kamala Harris Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza as U.S. Begins Airdrops of Food Aid into Gaza, In Global Day of Action on Gaza, Protesters Condemn U.S. Arming of Israel, Israel Boycotts Ceasefire Talks in Cairo; Protesters in Tel Aviv Criticize Netanyahu, Benny Gantz's Unauthorized" Trip to D.C. Highlights Rift Within Israeli War Cabinet, Israeli Attacks Kill Seven Members of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Environmental Crisis Feared in Red Sea as U.K. Ship Carrying Fertilizer Sinks After Houthi Attack, Haley Beats Trump in D.C. After Ex-President Wins in Michigan, Missouri & Idaho, Ukraine: 12 Killed in Russian Drone Strike on Apartment Building in Odesa, Leaked Audio: Germany Discussed Supplying Ukraine Long-Range Missiles to Attack Crimean Bridge, Thousands of Russians Pay Tribute to Alexei Navalny, U.N. Warns Blocking of Aid Access in Sudan May Be a War Crime, Shehbaz Sharif Elected as Pakistani PM Amid Protests by Imran Khan Supporters, Haiti Declares State of Emergency After Thousands of Prisoners Escape in Jailbreak, Largest Wildfire in Texas History Continues to Expand, CDC Drops 5-Day Isolation Guidance for COVID-19, U.S. Education Department Probes Death of Nonbinary Student Nex Benedict in Oklahoma, Paramedic Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Role in Death of Elijah McClain

We speak with Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim of The Intercept about their expose of a major New York Times piece into alleged mass rapes committed by Hamas militants on October 7 that raises serious questions about the accuracy of the story. The Times article was headlined 'Screams Without Words': How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7," and its release in late December helped the Israeli government to justify the ongoing war on Gaza and to paint pro-Palestine supporters abroad as not caring about sexual violence. One of the reporters of the Times piece, Israeli freelancer Anat Schwartz, is being investigated by the Times for her social media activity, which included dehumanizing language and endorsements of violence against Palestinians in Gaza. "The New York Times has grave, grave mischaracterizations, sins of omission, reliance on people who have no forensic or criminology credentials to be asserting that there was a systematic rape campaign put in place here," says Scahill, who criticizes the newspaper for not issuing any corrections for their flawed reporting. We also hear from Ryan Grim about how the flawed Times article touched off extremely intense debate" inside the newsroom. They're used to external criticism, but the amount of internal criticism they're getting has them on the back foot," he says.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump both visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday, where the two leading presidential candidates each pitched anti-immigration measures to further militarize the border and restrict asylum. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked a new Texas law set to go into effect that would give police the power to arrest migrants they suspect of entering the U.S. without authorization.For more, we speak with Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, one of the groups challenging this Texas law. Clearly, Texas has become a battleground for the soul of this nation," she says, adding that regardless of which party is in power, immigrant communities come under attack.

Israeli Attacks Continue Unabated After Gaza Food Aid Massacre, 4 More Children Starve to Death, Defense Sec. Austin Refuses to Draw Line in Sand for Israel After Food Aid Massacre in Gaza, Washington's Largest Union Backs Democratic Vote for Uncommitted" Ahead of Primary, Lebanese PM Says Gaza Ceasefire Would End Conflict on Its Border with Israel, New Jersey Community Members Warn Against Synagogue's Plan to Host Israeli Real Estate Event, Texas Judge Halts Draconian Immigration Law as Biden and Trump Make Dueling Trips to Border, Human Rights Panel Holds First U.S. Hearing on Climate Crisis-Driven Migration in the Americas, Smokehouse Creek Fire Kills 2 as It Grows to Texas's Largest Wildfire, U.S.'s 2nd Largest, Pakistan Swears In New Parliament as Imran Khan's Allies Protest Alleged Vote Rigging, Iran Holds First Elections Since 2022 Uprising; Low Turnout Expected, Alleged Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira to Plead Guilty, The Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet Sue OpenAI and Microsoft, Ghana's Parliament Passes Bill Further Persecuting LGBTQ+ Communities, Thousands Gather at Alexei Navalny Funeral Amid Heavy Police Presence

In Gaza City, at least 104 Palestinian refugees were killed Thursday when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd waiting for food aid. This isn't the first time people have been shot at by Israeli forces while people have been trying to access food," says the U.N.'s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, who accuses Israel of the war crime of intentional starvation. This comes as reports grow of Palestinians resorting to animal feed and cactus leaves for sustenance and as experts warn of imminent agricultural collapse. Every single person in Gaza is hungry," says Fakhri, who emphasizes that famine in the modern context is a human-made catastrophe. At this point I'm running out of words to be able to describe the horror of what's happening and how vile the actions have been by Israel against the Palestinian civilians."

As Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announces he will step down as the Senate's Republican leader after 17 years - the longest term in Senate history - we speak with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, who says, McConnell's legacy has been one of obstruction." He describes McConnell's aggressive" use of the filibuster, the topic of Merkley's new book, Filibustered!: How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America, as having broken the cycle in which government can function." Merkley also discusses Republican manipulation of judicial appointments and the cloture motion in pushing the legislature further right.

As over 100 Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces while gathering for food aid in Gaza City, we speak to Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who in November became the second of only five U.S. senators to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. In January, he traveled to the Rafah border crossing in Egypt to witness the system of humanitarian aid deliveries, which he described on the Senate floor as a complicated, bizarre inspection process." Merkley is now calling for the U.S. to bypass Israel in order to directly send aid to Gaza. Because of the United States' relationship to Israel - more closely tied than any situation in the world" - Merkley says, It's the United States that has leverage to address this situation, and the world expects us to take the lead."

Israeli Forces Fire at Gazans Waiting for Food Aid, Killing at Least 100, Injuring Over 760 Others, New Yorkers Hold Vigil and Reading of the Names of 30,000 Gazans Killed by Israel Since Oct. 7, Missouri Girl Scout Troop Leaves Organization After Scout Leadership Banned Their Gaza Fundraiser, McConnell to Exit GOP Leadership, Leaving Behind Legacy of Obstruction, Far-Right Judicial Takeover, SCOTUS to Hear Trump Immunity Case as IL Judge Orders Trump Removed from State Ballot, Marianne Williamson Unsuspends" Her Campaign, SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Bump Stock Ban, Enacted Under Trump, Congress Announces Bipartisan Deal to Extend Gov't Funding Another Few Weeks, We've Lost Everything": Texas Wildfire Grows to 900,000 Acres, Razing Entire Neighborhoods, Texas Executes Man Despite Doubts over Guilty Conviction; Idaho Calls Off Botched Execution, Guinean Trade Unions Suspend Strike After Labor Leader Released from Detention, Nigerian Workers Launch Strike Amid Soaring Cost of Living, ICC Awards $56 Million to Survivors of LRA Commander Dominic Ongwen, GOP Blocks Senate Measure Protecting IVF Access Nationwide, DOJ Launches Boeing Probe as FAA Gives Co. 3 Months to Submit Safety Plan

In an act that has captured the attention of the world, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington Sunday to protest Israel's assault on Gaza and U.S. support for the military campaign. Bushnell, who live-streamed the action, said, I will no longer be complicit in genocide," before lighting himself on fire and repeatedly shouted Free Palestine" as he was engulfed in the flames. He was pronounced dead in the hospital later that day. Democracy Now! speaks with Bushnell's friend and conscientious objector Levi Pierpont, who says his friend's death was not a suicide but was about using his life to send a message for justice. We have to honor the message that he left," says Pierpont, who says Bushnell died to get people's attention about the genocide that's happening in Palestine." Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat, lays out the history of self-immolation to protest war and how Bushnell's act could impact U.S. policy for the war on Gaza. It was an act of courage, an act of bravery, to call attention to U.S. policies," says Wright, who offers support to Pierpont and other veterans advocating for peace live on air.

President Joe Biden won the Michigan Democratic primary on Tuesday, but over 100,000 voters cast their ballots for uncommitted" in an organized campaign protesting U.S. support for Israel's assault on Gaza. The major battleground state is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, but the movement to vote uncommitted" is now expected to spread to other states, including Minnesota and Washington. I've rarely seen such an organic and authentic movement come together," says former Democratic congressmember from Michigan Andy Levin. We really need actual change in policy, and I think we sent that message strongly last night." President of the Arab American Institute James Zogby says that Democratic voters need a reason to come out to the polls. We gave them a reason with 'uncommitted.' Joe Biden's got to give them a reason in November," says Zogby. There is genocide unfolding. People want it to end. The president either is going to have to act decisively to end it, or it's going to have an impact in November."

Biden Wins in Michigan, But 100,000+ Vote Uncommitted" in Gaza Protest, Haley Warns a Trump Victory in November Would Be Suicide for Our Country", U.N. Special Rapporteur Accuses Israel of War Crimes By Depriving Food to Gaza, Hamas and Fatah to Hold Talks in Moscow on Forming Palestinian Unified Gov't, 50+ Broadcast Journalists Call on Israel & Egypt for Access to Gaza, Netanyahu: Strong U.S. Public Support Helps Perpetuate War on Gaza, Biden Holds Talks with Congressional Leaders over Shutdown & Military Aid Package, Massive Texas Wildfire Forces Closure of Nuclear Weapons Facility, Brazilian Climate Head Warns Climate Change Will Lead to Great Global Instability, Russian Court Jails Campaigner from Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Organization Memorial, Alexei Navalny Funeral to Be Held in Moscow on Friday, Two Protesters Killed in Guinea After Union Called for General Strike, Two Mayoral Candidates Murdered in Mexican City of Maravatio, San Francisco Issues Formal Apology to Black Residents, Mercedes-Benz Workers in Alabama Back Union Drive

On his 90th birthday, the legendary consumer advocate, corporate critic and four-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader joins Democracy Now! for an in-depth conversation about U.S. democracy and why Congress is a weapon of mass destruction." He says lawmakers have shredded the country's social safety net, refused to rein in the U.S. war machine, allowed white-collar crime to go unpunished, failed to enforce tax fairness and more. All of these are very unpopular with the American people," Nader says. He also discusses the 2024 presidential race and encourages people to vote their conscience" and find some way out of this two-party duopoly gulag." Nader, who publishes the monthly print-only newspaper the Capitol Hill Citizen, was recently profiled in The Washington Post for his ongoing advocacy.

It has been two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking a brutal war in which tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died. With Ukraine running low on both weapons and new recruits, and with more U.S. funding stalled in Congress, we host a discussion on the future of the conflict with peace activist Medea Benjamin of CodePink and Oberlin professor Stephen Crowley, an expert on Russian and Eastern European politics. While both agree on the need to end the war, Crowley says the $60 billion U.S. funding package should be passed in order to give Ukraine a stronger negotiating position. The only reason to fund Ukraine right now is to get both sides to the negotiating table to end this war," he says. Benjamin, however, says more funding will inevitably be used to continue the fighting. It will only give the impetus for Zelensky to keep trying to fight a war that is not winnable," she says, adding that progressives are making a mistake to cede the antiwar position to the extreme right of the Republican Party."

Biden Says He Is Hoping for New Ceasefire Deal by Monday as Talks in Qatar Continue, Israel Targets Gazans Seeking Food Aid as Besieged Strip Continues to Face Severe Food Shortages, Palestinian Artist Fathi Ghaben Dies After Israel Denies Permission to Leave Gaza for Treatment, World Court Concludes Hearings on Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Territories, Rights Groups Say Israel Has Failed to Comply with ICJ Order to Prevent Genocide in Gaza, Vigils Held for Aaron Bushnell After Self-Immolation Death to Protest Gaza Genocide, Pentagon Skirts Question About Military Members' Sentiments on U.S. Complicity in Gaza War, JVP Leads Protest Against Biden at 30 Rock Ahead of Late Night" Appearance, Irish Senate Votes to Impose Sanctions on Israel, Prevent U.S. Arms from Crossing Its Airspace, Israeli Airstrikes Kill 2 in Lebanon; U.S. Launches Preemptive Strikes in Yemen, Michigan Voters Head to Polls as Activists Urge Dems to Vote Uncommitted" to Protest Gaza Genocide, Navalny Aide Says Putin Foe Was on Verge of Being Released Before His Death, Denmark Finds Deliberate Sabotage" in Nord Stream Blasts But Drops Probe, Macron Does Not Rule Out Deploying Troops to Ukraine as He Rallies Support for Kyiv, Hungary Ratifies Sweden's NATO Bid, Ending 200 Years of Swedish Neutrality, Attack on Mosque in Burkina Faso Kills Dozens, Within Hours of Deadly Church Attack, Former Professor Donates $1 Billion to Albert Einstein College to Cover All Future Med School Tuition

As Israel continues to massacre Palestinians in Gaza with U.S. military and political support, Palestinians in the United States are increasingly being targeted by anti-terrorism laws in an attempt to silence their pro-Palestine activism. Anti-Palestinian animus is one of the most enduring areas of bipartisan appeal in Washington," says Darryl Li, an anthropologist and lawyer teaching at the University of Chicago. Li shares the history of U.S. anti-terrorism law, which dates back to the 1990s and the Anti-Defamation League-supported passage of a law banning material support" to U.S.-designated terror" groups. The very foundations of terrorism law in the United States, at key moments of their development, were crafted with the agenda of opposing or crushing Palestinian liberation in mind," he says. We also speak with Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal, an organization that provides legal assistance to people who have been targeted by and face prosecution under these laws, which not only have a huge chilling effect on people, on First Amendment rights," but that also provide cover for this genocide."

A new report on Gaza's escalating health crisis projects that due to the extent of destruction wrought upon the region's infrastructure since October, thousands of Palestinians will continue to die from disease, malnutrition, dehydration and starvation, regardless of whether Israel continues to pursue its military assault. In case of an escalation, we'd see around 85,000 deaths," warns Zeina Jamaluddine, a nutritionist and epidemiologist who is one of the lead authors of Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections" from the London School of Hygiene and Johns Hopkins University. Jamaluddine also says it is not too late to stop the bulk of these forecasted deaths, should a ceasefire be immediately put into place and aid deliveries resumed. In case of a ceasefire now, we would be saving around 75,000 lives."

A famine is unfolding in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have resorted to consuming animal feed amid soaring prices and dwindling supplies of food. The United Nations has already begun reporting deaths from starvation and malnutrition, while aid agencies have been forced to pause deliveries. Israel is not allowing food into the northern part of Gaza so people would regret not having left," says Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha, who fled Gaza for Cairo in November and has been attempting since then to secure safe passage for his extended family members, including his sister-in-law who has just given birth. He writes about his experiences in a New Yorker piece, My Family's Daily Struggle to Find Food in Gaza." Abu Toha urges international actors to take action and end Israel's siege of Gaza. They are killing us every day," he says. Where is the mind of the people in the world? How could you let this happen?"

2-Month-Old Infant Dies of Starvation as Israel Blocks Aid, Gazans Face Famine, Netanyahu Reaffirms Plan to Take Control of Gaza; Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh Resigns, Biden Administration Condemns Israeli Plans for Settlement Expansion in Occupied West Bank, I Will No Longer Be Complicit in Genocide": U.S. Military Member Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in Protest, NYT Investigating Israeli Freelancer's Anti-Palestinian Social Media History, U.S. and U.K. Air Forces Attack Houthi Targets as Yemenis Take to Street in Solidarity with Gaza, Trump Beats Nikki Haley on Her Home Turf of South Carolina, Winning 60% of GOP Primary Votes, Trump: Black People Like Me Because I Have Been Indicted Multiple Times, Ukraine Marks 2nd Anniversary of War with Russia, Which Has Killed 31,000+ Ukrainian Soldiers, Burkina Faso Church Attack Kills at Least 15 People, South Korea Gives Striking Doctors Until End of February to Return to Work, Protesters in the Philippines Condemn President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Plans to Change Constitution, New York Jury Finds Ex-NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Used Group's Money to Fund Lavish Lifestyle, Man Convicted of Murdering Trans Woman Dime Doe in First Such Federal Hate Crime Trial, Vigils Held for Late Gender-Nonconforming Teenager Nex Benedict, The Apartheid Has to End": Director Yuval Abraham Highlights Palestinian Plight in Berlinale Speech, Johan Galtung, Father of Peace and Conflict Studies," Dies at 93

A federal court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of racial discrimination and rights violations of Haitian asylum seekers. The suit was brought on behalf of 11 Haitian asylum seekers who were abused by U.S. border agents as more than 15,000 people, mostly from Haiti, were forced to stay in a makeshift border encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna-Del Rio International Bridge in Texas. One of the plaintiffs is Mirard Joseph, the asylum seeker whose image went viral after being photographed while a Border Patrol agent on horseback lashed him with split reins, grabbed his neck and gripped Joseph by the shirt collar. This is a critical junction in our country here in the United States as we make sure to uphold human rights and understanding seeking asylum is a human right," says Guerline Jozef, executive director of immigrant advocacy organization Haitian Bridge Alliance, which helped bring the case on behalf of asylum seekers. We will continue to push forward and make sure that accountability is served but also we have systematic change in the way that we receive people in the United States."

As Julian Assange awaits a decision from a British court on his possible extradition to the United States, Democracy Now! speaks with Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, who worked with Assange to publish hundreds of thousands of classified records from the U.S. acquired by WikiLeaks that document war crimes in the Middle East. What the governments are now trying to do is to frighten journalists off," says Rusbridger. I think the world should wake up as to what the nature of the threat is going to be to mainstream journalism if this extradition is successful."

At a critical hearing this week in London, lawyers for imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asked the British High Court of Justice to grant him a new appeal in what is likely his last chance to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces a 175-year prison sentence for publishing classified documents that exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, says the judges were receptive to their arguments that Assange could face the death penalty in the U.S. and that an extradition would set a dangerous precedent for press freedom. If Julian is extradited and goes on trial under the Espionage Act, this is a case which is going to set precedent which criminalizes journalistic activity and will be used against the rest of the media." A ruling in the case is not expected until next month at the earliest.

We Are on the Edge of a Monumental Disaster": UNRWA Says It's Reached a Breaking Point, Israeli Attack on Homes in Deir al-Balah Kill at Least 40 Palestinians, Incl. Infants, MSF: Traumatized Gazan Children Tell Aid Workers They'd Prefer to Die, Norwegian Pension Fund Divests from Israeli War Machine; UC Davis Students Pass BDS Resolution, Zionism Misrepresents Judaism": Jewish American Activists Protest AIPAC, NY Politicians, Alexei Navalny's Mother Sees Son's Body, Says She Is Being Blackmailed into Having Private Burial, The Era of Peace in Europe Is Over": Ukraine Issues Dire Warning as War Grinds into 3rd Year, New York Judge Rejects Trump Attempt to Delay Payment of $455 Million Fine, Third Alabama Clinic Stops IVF Program After Court Ruled Frozen Embryos Have Same Rights as Humans, Indian Farmers Escalate Protests After Death of Young Farmworker, Social Media Censorship, Senegalese President Macky Sall Agrees to Leave Office at End of Term with No Date for New Election, Kenya's Ogiek Fight to Halt Evictions from Mau Forest, Indigenous Guna to Leave Disappearing Island, But Panamanian Gov't Has Not Prepared Relocation Site

On the 59th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, two former security guards are speaking out for the first time about how they were falsely arrested by the New York Police Department as part of a conspiracy to remove his protection before he was killed. We hear from Khaleel Sayyed, 81, who says he was detained on trumped-up charges just days before Malcolm X was fatally shot, and we speak with Ben Crump and Flint Taylor, two civil rights attorneys who are working with the family. They are calling on New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, to support the release of key evidence in the case. We are trying to peel back the layers to finally, after 59 years, get some measure of justice for Malcolm X's family," says Crump. Taylor also places the assassination in the context of police and the FBI targeting Black civil rights leaders through COINTELPRO, such as Fred Hampton, which he helped expose in a landmark case in Chicago.

The Alabama Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through the world of reproductive healthcare, relying on anti-abortion language inserted into the state Constitution in 2018 about rights of the unborn child" to rule that frozen embryos are children. Now Alabama's largest hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as it studies the impact of the ruling, which could set a template for other states to restrict IVF and other medical care. It was just very shocking," says Angela Granger, an IVF patient who previously received treatment in Alabama and who had been considering returning to the state for future rounds of IVF to get pregnant again. I just don't trust what's going on to be able to go back at this point." We also speak with Barbara Collura, president of the infertility patient advocacy group RESOLVE, who says the Alabama ruling will have far-reaching implications. It's going to terrify people all across the country that this might happen in their state," says Collura, who describes embryos as a microscopic group of cells" not even visible to the human eye. We do not look at that as a person, as a child or as a baby."

Gaza Has Become a Death Zone" Amid Soaring Hunger, Death and Illness, Itamar Ben-Gvir Calls for More Weapons for Civilians After West Bank Shooting Kills One Israeli, U.S. Addresses ICJ in Lonely, Unconvincing Defense of Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Lands, Biden Weighing Executive Action to Bar Asylum Seekers Who Enter Through Unofficial Ports of Entry, Texas Sues Shelter for Assisting Migrants in Need, Haitian Asylum Seekers Go to Court over Abuse by Federal Agents at U.S.-Mexico Border, Drug Trafficking Trial of Ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez Starts in New York, New Evidence of NYPD Plot to Assassinate Malcolm X Unveiled on 59th Anniversary of Death, Biden Cancels Additional $1.2 Billion in Student Loans, NYC Trans Leaders Respond After Catholic Church Condemns Funeral of Trans Icon Cecilia Gentili, Chicago Sues Big Oil over Climate Crisis, We Deserve a Livable Future": Climate Defiance Disrupts Event with Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Fire Burns Down Mississippi John Hurt Museum

Leaders at this year's African Union summit have condemned Israel's assault on Gaza and called for its immediate end. Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola explains the long history of African solidarity with Palestine, continuing with today's efforts to end the destruction of Gaza. African countries see really an identical experience between Palestinian occupation and what they have endured under colonization," says Nyabola. It's a question of history. It's a question of solidarity. It's a question of shared experiences of all of these systemic types of violence."

As the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel's assault on Gaza approaches 30,000 and the United States vetoes a ceasefire resolution at the U.N. Security Council for the third time, the Biden administration's support for Israel has come under fierce criticism both around the world and in the U.S. In Michigan, which is a key battleground state and home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, a campaign is growing to vote uncommitted" in next week's Democratic primary in protest of Biden's policies backing Israel. We're not standing against anyone, but we're simply reaffirming our stance for humanity and for the basic tenets of human rights," says Democratic state Representative Abraham Aiyash, Michigan's highest-ranking Arab and Muslim leader. The administration needs to change course in foreign policy in the Middle East in order to gain the trust of people who we have lost," says California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says the U.S. must call for an immediate ceasefire and place conditions on aid to Israel.

The final day of a critical appeal for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is underway today at the British High Court of Justice, in what could be Assange's last chance to stop his extradition to the United States. Assange faces a 175-year prison sentence for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the WikiLeaks founder's health is reportedly deteriorating rapidly, his lawyers are arguing the case is politically motivated to target Assange for exposing state-level crimes." Meanwhile, U.S. lawyers are attempting to portray Assange as a hacker rather than a journalist. It's clear to everyone that Assange is a journalist. He revealed more criminality by the world's most powerful country than anyone's ever done in history," says Matt Kennard, head of investigations at Declassified UK, who lays out the proceedings so far, what to expect from the British justice system and the precedent an Assange extradition would set for global journalism. It will be a huge nail in the coffin for investigative journalism, for any kind of publishing of information that state powers don't like, and it will be used by repressive regimes all around the world."

U.S. Vetoes UNSC Gaza Ceasefire Resolution for Third Time, WFP Pauses Life-Sustaining Food Delivery in Northern Gaza Amid Worsening Hunger, Yemen's Houthis Escalate Attacks Against U.S. and Israeli Targets over Gaza Assault, Biden to Issue New Russia Sanctions over Nalvany Death Amid Widespread Accusations of Assasination, Russian Defector Maxim Kuzminov Killed in Spain, U.K. High Court Hears U.S.'s Extradition Case Against Julian Assange in 2nd Day of Pivotal Appeal, Coalition Gov't Announced in Pakistan as Top Official Makes Stunning Admission of Election Tampering, U.S. Airstrike in Somalia Killed Two Cuban Doctors, Hunger and Violence Grips Democratic Republic of Congo as Tensions Mount with Rwanda, SCOTUS Turns Down Case on VA High School Admissions Policy Which Increases Diversity, Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are People, Nonbinary Oklahoma Teen Dies After Being Assaulted by Fellow Students, Ex-FBI Informant Who Lied About Bidens' Ties to Ukrainian Co. Says Russia Gave Him False Info

We speak with an American doctor just back from Gaza about the unimaginable scale" of its humanitarian crisis. Irfan Galaria, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, recently wrote an op-ed for the L.A. Times describing Israel's assault on Gaza's civilians as annihilation." Dr. Galaria, who has worked in conflict zones around the world, says he and his team witnessed a collateral humanitarian crisis of an unimaginable scale," involving the deliberate attempt" to both target civilians with military assault and to deprive them of aid. I thought I was going to be prepared, but I was not prepared for what I saw," he says.

Arguments are underway at the International Court of Justice, where more than 50 countries are asking the World Court to issue a nonbinding legal opinion against Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967. The request is separate from South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Israel has been instrumentalizing the rules of international humanitarian law ... to further its settler-colonial project in Palestine," says Ahmed Abofoul of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, which submitted an advisory opinion on the case. I have no doubt that the court will decide that Israel's occupation is illegal," he says. We also discuss what comes after the ruling and Israeli society's reaction to the war.

The legal setbacks facing leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are piling up. He now has 30 days to pay $450 million in fines and penalties from a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. His two eldest sons face a two-year ban and were each ordered to pay $4 million. Trump says he plans to appeal the ruling, which he described as a complete and total sham." But the appeal is unlikely to succeed, says Russ Buettner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist whose reporting for The New York Times led to the state's case. He lays out how records showed an overwhelming pattern" of Trump's businesses lying to their lenders." Buettner, who describes Trump as cash-poor, says the penalties will result in a blow to his personal finances and his business finances that he really can't handle at this point."

U.S. for the First Time Calls for Temporary Ceasefire" in Draft U.N. Security Council Resolution, UNICEF Warns of Explosion in Preventable Child Deaths" in Gaza, U.N. Experts Report Sexual Assault, Executions and Other Abuses Against Palestinian Women and Girls, ICJ Continues Hearing on Israel's Occupation of Palestine, 50+ Countries to Testify, Israeli Knesset Fails to Oust Liberal Lawmaker Ofer Cassif; Brazil and Israel Deepen Diplomatic Rift, British High Court Hears Appeal in Julian Assange's Likely Last Chance to Avoid Extradition, Haiti Judge Indicts Former First Lady in 2021 Assassination of Her Husband, Pres. Jovenel Moise, Indian Farmers Resume March Toward New Delhi After Rejecting Gov't Proposal on Crop Prices, Wisconsin Enacts New Congressional Maps After More Than a Decade of GOP-Gerrymandered Districts, Capital One Announces $35B Merger with Discover; Colorado Sues over Kroger-Albertsons Merger, Immigrants Rights Activists Demand Closure of Tacoma ICE Center, Camp Amache, Former Japanese American Internment Camp, Opens as New National Park in Colorado

More than 400 people have reportedly been detained in Russia for publicly mourning the death of Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on Friday at age 47. He was the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin in Russia and was serving a 19-year sentence at the time of his death on extremism" charges. U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders directly have blamed Putin for Navalny's death. Prison authorities say Navalny died of sudden death syndrome," but his family has not yet been given access to his body to allow for an independent autopsy. For more, we speak with Russian American writer Masha Gessen, who charts Navalny's political evolution from an ethnonationalist libertarian tapping into xenophobic discontent" to an anti-corruption activist promoting a vision of civic nationalism. I have no doubt ... that he was killed," says Gessen. Putin was determined to see Navalny die in prison."

As Israeli forces raid Nasser Hospital in Gaza, trapping hundreds of patients there and arresting medical staff, we speak with emergency room physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who just recently returned to the United States after three weeks volunteering at the hospital. We're just asking that hospitals not be targeted, that they not be bombed, and that doctors and nurses can provide for their patients without being worried that they may be killed, that they may be abducted or arrested," says Ahmad. We need a ceasefire now. Hospitals need to be protected and functioning." He also criticizes the American Medical Association for speaking out against Russian attacks on hospitals in Ukraine but staying silent on much more widespread attacks on medical facilities and personnel in Gaza.

As the death toll in Gaza tops 29,000, we get an update on one of the largest hospitals in southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which is no longer functional amid a dayslong raid on the facility by Israeli forces. About 200 patients remain trapped there, with Israel preventing the WHO and the U.N. from delivering aid or evacuating the patients. The Gaza Health Ministry says at least eight people died in the hospital after Israel cut off electricity and oxygen supplies, and that soldiers also arrested many hospital staff. Dr. Ahmed Moghrabi, a surgeon who worked at Nasser, sent Democracy Now! a video on Sunday describing what happened when it was stormed by Israeli troops. They arrested all the medical team who remained at Nasser Hospital. We don't know the fate of my colleagues," said Moghrabi, who had to walk for miles with his family in the night. Nothing remains in Khan Younis. Nothing. It's like horror movies. No streets, no buildings are there. Only dead bodies."

Rights Groups Call for Probe into Navalny's Death; Russian Police Arrest Hundreds of Mourners, Nasser Hospital No Longer Functional" After Israeli Raid; U.N. Aid Teams Barred from Entry, Israel Warns of Rafah Invasion Within Weeks as Egypt Builds Enclosed Area Amid Fears of Mass Exodus", World Court Kicks Off Hearings on Israeli Occupation of Palestine, Protest Actions Against Israel's Genocide Continue Around the World, NYC Students Walk Out to Protest Assault on Gaza, Israelis Rally in Tel Aviv to Demand New Elections, Return of Hostages, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Likens Israel's Assault on Gaza to Holocaust, Houthis and U.S. Escalate Attacks on Red Sea Trade Route, NYT: Israel Responsible for Iranian Pipeline Attacks, Russian Forces Seize Avdiivka as Biden Blames Congressional Inaction" for Ukrainian Losses, New York Court Orders Trump to Pay Over $355 Million for Lying About Value of Businesses, Greg Abbott to Build Massive Base in Texas Border City of Eagle Pass

We look at the case of Hind Rajab, the 6-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza whose case reverberated around the world when audio of her pleading for emergency workers to save her was published online. Her body was found two weeks later alongside those of her aunt, uncle and three cousins. The bodies of two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics, also missing since they had been dispatched to rescue her, were located in their ambulance just yards away. All had been killed by Israeli fire. She was killed alone and scared, and our rescue teams were only meters away from her," said Palestine Red Crescent Society spokesperson Nebal Farsakh, who adds that more than a dozen PRCS aid workers have been intentionally targeted during Israel's assault on Gaza. Farsakh also discusses the kidnapping and assault of healthcare workers by Israeli forces laying siege upon Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

Imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to find out next week whether he has exhausted opportunities to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces life in prison for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A two-day hearing before the British High Court of Justice is scheduled to take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has been held in London's infamous Belmarsh Prison since 2019 awaiting his possible extradition. Jennifer Robinson, an Australian human rights attorney and legal adviser to Assange and WikiLeaks, discusses public and governmental support for Assange in Australia, where an unprecedented" parliamentary resolution was passed Wednesday calling for Assange's release. Robinson calls the charges against Assange a dangerous precedent for free speech" and says, It's time that the United States respects our special relationship and listens to the calls of the Australian people and our Parliament and our government and drops this case."

The shooting in Kansas City on Wednesday came on the sixth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school massacre that left 17 dead and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. To mark the anniversary, gun control advocates have launched a project called The Shotline," which calls lawmakers with AI-generated audio messages that feature the voices of gun violence victims, pushing them to pass stricter gun control laws and prevent future tragedies. One of the victims featured is Parkland student Joaquin Oliver, who was just 17 years old when he was killed. We speak to Joaquin's father, Manuel Oliver, a gun reform activist who worked on the Shotline" project. He describes the project as the result of more than six years being ignored" while begging these politicians to pass laws," and reacts to the news of the Super Bowl parade shooting in Kansas City.

In the first 46 days of 2024, there have been 49 mass shootings in the United States - over one per day. In total, almost 5,000 people have died from gun violence this year, including Elizabeth Lisa" Lopez-Galvan, a radio host and mother of two who was shot and killed Wednesday at a rally held after the Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, Missouri. Twenty-two others were wounded, many of them children, when the shooting broke out near the end of the rally. Missouri has some of the weakest gun control laws in the country, with no universal background checks, no assault weapon restrictions, no ban on large-capacity magazines, no waiting periods to purchase a gun and no domestic violence gun laws. This, unfortunately, is not surprising," says Missouri-born activist and host of the Undistracted podcast, Brittany Packnett Cunningham. Last year, Kansas City set a new high for gun violence, and the city has one of the country's highest murder rates. Packnett Cunningham traces this violence to the influence of the powerful gun lobby, and calls on lawmakers to refuse funding from pro-gun groups like the NRA.

Russian Media Reports Alexei Navalny Has Died in Prison, 5 Patients Killed as Israel Attacks Nasser Hospital, Forcing Thousands onto Streets, A Safe Place in Gaza Is an Illusion": U.N. Says There Is No Way to Evacuate Rafah, 75% of All Journalists Killed in 2023 Died Over 3 Months of Israel's War on Gaza, Stanford Students Ends Monthslong Gaza Ceasefire Sit-In, Will Hold Talks with University Officials, NYC Trump Hush-Money Trial Set for March 25 as Verdict Expected in Trump Org. Civil Fraud Case, Fulton County DA Fani Willis Pushes Back Against Defense Lawyers on Stand, Ex-FBI Informant Charged with Fabricating Story About the Bidens Receiving Millions from Burisma, Russian Antiwar Politician Will Not Run Against Putin in March After Losing Legal Challenges, Senegalese Court Rules President Macky Sall's Delay of Presidential Poll Was Unlawful, Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Despite Pushback from Orthodox Church, Epstein Assault Survivors Sue FBI for Failing to Act on Accusations Against Deceased Serial Abuser, Climate Groups Sue Biden over Offshore Drilling Plans in Gulf of Mexico, Red Alert": Half of Amazon Rainforest Could Reach Climate Tipping Point by Mid-Century, Oil and Plastics Industry Duped Consumers and Regulators for Decades in Plastic Recycling Fraud"

The U.S. Senate has approved a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes $14 billion in military funding to Israel, despite the finding by the International Court of Justice that it is plausible Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza. The Senate bill passed on a 70-29 vote, though its fate remains uncertain in the Republican-controlled House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is demanding the inclusion of new anti-immigrant and border enforcement measures before scheduling a vote. William Hartung, a national security and foreign policy expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says the massive spending package's main effect would be to ship weapons overseas into war zones," noting that lawmakers rarely show the same urgency when it comes to issues like poverty or the climate crisis. We're putting the bulk of our resources into implements of war."