Democracy Now!

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.

Ceasefire Mediators Say Deal Is Closer Than Ever as Israel Continues Its Genocidal Campaign in Gaza, Reporter Ahlam Al Nafed, Who Reported from Gaza's Besieged Indonesian Hospital, Is Killed by Israel, ICJ President Nawaf Salam Named New Lebanese Prime Minister, L.A. Could See Explosive Fire Growth" as High Winds Return, Jack Smith: Enough Evidence to Convict Trump for Election Subversion If He Weren't Reelected, Senate Committee Holds Hearing for Trump Defense Nom, Accused Rapist Pete Hegseth, Steve Bannon Brands Elon Musk an Evil Guy" as NYT Reports Trump Will Give Musk a White House Office, Judge Orders Patriot Front to Pay Black Musician $2.8 Million After Racist Attack in Boston, Climate Activists Spray-Paint Darwin's Grave in London to Draw Attention to Climate Disaster, Biden Cancels More Student Debt as Activists Urge Outgoing President to Do More in Final Days, Charles Person, Youngest of the Original Freedom Riders, Has Died at 82

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.

L.A. Wildfires Death Toll Rises to 24 as Health Officials Declare Emergency over Air Quality, Mexico Sends Firefighters to Help L.A. Wildfire Effort; 1,000 Incarcerated Firefighters Battling Blazes, Israel Killed Over 5,000 Palestinians in North Gaza Since Start of Siege, Another Palestinian Journalist, Saed Abu Nabhan, Killed by Israeli Forces in Gaza, Poland Paves Way for Netanyahu to Attend Auschwitz Commemoration Without Risking Arrest, Trump Sentenced to Unconditional Discharge, Avoiding Prison in 2016 NY Hush Money Case, Senate Begins Confirmation Hearing for Trump Noms Incl. Defense Pick Pete Hegseth, Accused of Rape, SCOTUS Likely to Allow TikTok Ban as Justices Hear Arguments Ahead of Jan. 19 Deadline, Sudan Says It's Retaken Key City of Wad Madani from RSF as Brutal War Nears 2-Year Mark, Greenland Will Decide Its Future": Greenland PM Shuts Down Trump's Threats to Take Arctic Territory, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro Sworn In for Third Presidential Term After Contested Election, Biden Admin Extends TPS for Recipients from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan, Check-in for Ravi Ragbir, Immigration Activist Fighting Deportation, Postponed Until March, DOJ Finds 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Was a Systematic, Military-Style Attack, Longtime Columbia Law Professor Terminated After Defending Student Gaza Protests, Free Speech, Jose Cha Cha" Jimenez, Founder of the Young Lords, Dies at 76

Immigrant rights activists are urging the Biden administration to pardon longtime activist Ravi Ragbir, who has been targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for potential detention and deportation since 2001. Ragbir has been subject to regular ICE check-ins for over two decades, each time facing the possibility of being taken into custody by the agency. Once you go into that building, your family, your friends, your community don't know if you'll walk back out," says Ragbir. We speak to Ragbir, his wife Amy Gottlieb and his lawyer Alina Das about his case and why they are calling on Biden to take action before the new Trump administration, with its promises to carry out mass deportations, has the opportunity to pose an even bigger threat to immigrants like Ragbir. A presidential pardon will ensure that as a green card holder, Ravi will be able to remain here in the U.S.," says Das.

We continue to reflect on Jimmy Carter's foreign policy with history professor Brad Simpson. Despite presiding over an administration that stood out for its successful championing of human rights elsewhere in the world, in Southeast Asia, Carter really continued the policies of the Nixon and Ford administration," particularly in Indonesia, which was at the time occupying and carrying out a genocide in East Timor. Simpson founded the Indonesia/East Timor Documentation Project at the National Security Archive, which provided thousands of U.S. documents to East Timor's Truth Commission in the aftermath of the Indonesian military's mass killings of tens of thousands of Timorese civilians with U.S. arms under the dictatorial regime of President Suharto.

The late President Jimmy Carter presided over a key landmark in the Arab-Israeli peace process, the 1979 Camp David Accords signed by Egypt and Israel. Carter's lifelong interest in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict is an analog for his complicated legacy in foreign policy and human rights. As Seth Anziska, a professor of Jewish-Muslim relations at University College London, explains, while on one hand Carter believed that Israel's treatment of Palestinians constituted apartheid far worse" than what he had seen in South Africa, on the other, his deep Christian faith made him fundamentally sympathetic to religious beliefs framing Israel as a Jewish homeland. He was the first U.S. president to talk about the idea of a Palestinian homeland alongside his commitment to Israeli security," says Anziska, who argues that the failure of the Camp David Accords in promoting lasting peace lies in their perpetuation of Palestinian statelessness."

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, has been laid to rest in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, following a state funeral held in Washington, D.C. He was the last president to actively encourage participation and involvement in governmental processes by the progressive civil community," remembers the celebrated civil society and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader compares Carter's progressive credentials to President-elect Donald Trump's flouting of the law and embrace of dangerous beliefs like climate denialism. Carter brought the best out of people," Nader says, while Trump brings the worst out of people."

At least 10 people have died in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires as firefighters continue to battle multiple infernos in the area. Thousands of homes and other structures have been destroyed, and some 180,000 people are under evacuation orders. Multiple neighborhoods have been completely burned down, including in the town of Altadena, where our guest, climate scientist and activist Peter Kalmus, lived until two years ago, when increasing heat and dryness pushed Kalmus to leave the Los Angeles area in fear of his safety. I couldn't stay there," he says. It's not a new normal. ... It's a staircase to a hotter, more hellish Earth." Kalmus discusses an op-ed he recently published in The New York Times about the decision, which he says was toned down by the paper's editors when he attempted to explain that fossil fuel companies' investment in climate change denial and normalization has only accelerated the pace of unprecedented large-scale climate disasters. This is going to get worse," he warns, Everything has changed."

Death Toll in Los Angeles Wildfires Reaches 10 as Largest Blazes Remain Uncontained, As Historic Fires Tear Through L.A., Scientists Confirm 2024 Was Hottest Year Ever Recorded, The Lancet Says Gaza Genocide Death Toll Likely 40% Higher Than Official Estimates, House Votes to Sanction International Criminal Court over Arrest Warrants for Israeli Leaders, NYU Suspends 11 Students over Peaceful Antiwar Protest, We Are Documenting Our Genocide": Gaza Journalists Demand Int'l Media Defend Palestinian Colleagues, NYT Chooses Silence Over Accountability" as It Refuses to Run Quaker Ad Condemning Gaza Genocide, Jimmy Carter Buried in Georgia After State Funeral at Washington National Cathedral, M23 Rebels Seize Town in Eastern DRC, Advance on Goma, Elon Musk Accused of Election Meddling over Interview with German Far-Right Leader, Supreme Court Denies Trump's Request to Halt Sentencing in Hush Money Case, Federal Judge Rejects Biden's Expansion of Title IX to Include LGBTQ+ Students

Raging wildfires continue to scorch communities across the Los Angeles area, killing at least five people, displacing about 100,000 more and destroying thousands of structures. With firefighters unable to contain much of the blaze, the toll is expected to rise. The wildfires that started Tuesday caught much of the city by surprise, quickly growing into one of the worst fire disasters in Los Angeles history. Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council have come under criticism for cutting the fire department's budget by around 2% last year while the police department saw a funding increase. Nearly 400 incarcerated firefighters are among those who have been deployed to battle the fires. Journalist Sonali Kolhatkar, who evacuated her home to flee the destruction, says it has been frustrating" to watch the corporate media's coverage of the fires. No one is talking about climate change in the media," she says. We also speak with journalist John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World, who says the L.A. wildfires should be a wake-up call. This blind - frankly, suicidal - loyalty to the status quo of keeping fossil fuels preeminent in our energy system is creating an increasingly difficult situation and unlivable situation," says Vaillant.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced major changes to what content is allowed on his company's social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Threads, scrapping the system of independent fact-checkers in favor of community notes" from volunteer users. Zuckerberg also loosened moderation rules around offensive speech, which will allow hateful content targeting women, LGBTQ people and other groups. Meta's changes have been widely interpreted as a gift to Donald Trump and other Republicans, who have long argued against the policing of hate speech and disinformation online. The company has also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration and recently added Trump ally Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship, to its corporate board - part of a larger shift in Silicon Valley toward Trump and his MAGA movement. For more on these changes, we speak with media scholars Siva Vaidhyanathan and Marc Owen Jones, as well as Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, whose media company Rappler has been at the forefront of battling disinformation and hate speech on social media. As of last year, 71% of the world is under authoritarian rule. We are electing illiberal leaders democratically, partly because our public information ecosystem ... is corrupting our individual communications with each other," says Ressa.

L.A. Wildfires Kill 5; Officials Order 130,000 Residents to Evacuate as Angelenos Brace for More Blazes, Israel Kills 70 Palestinians in Gaza; 15 Incubated Newborns Could Die Unless Hospital Receives Fuel, Let's Call It Mexican America": Pres. Sheinbaum Fires Back After Trump's Gulf of America" Remark, DOJ Plans to Release Findings on Trump's 2020 Election Subversion Efforts, But Not on Classified Docs, Russian Attack Kills 13 in Zaporizhzhia; Biden Admin Sends Final $500M to Ukraine, Chad Says It Fended Off Armed Attack on Presidential Residence, Lebanon Elects Joseph Aoun as President After 2-Year Vacuum, Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Released from Iranian Imprisonment, Longshoremen Reach Tentative Deal, Averting Major Ports Strike, SEIU Rejoins AFL-CIO, Expanding Umbrella Labor Group to 15 Million Workers, North Carolina's GOP Justices Block Certification of Democratic Justice Who Won Nov. Election, Advocates Demand New York Lawmakers Protect Immigrants Ahead of Trump's Inauguration, Washington National Cathedral to Host State Funeral for President Jimmy Carter

Eleven Yemeni men imprisoned without charge or trial at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for more than two decades have just been released to Oman to restart their lives. This latest transfer brings the total number of men detained at Guantanamo down to 15. Civil rights lawyers Ramzi Kassem and Pardiss Kebriaei, who have each represented many Guantanamo detainees, including some of the men just released, say closing the notorious detention center has always been a question of political will," and that the Biden administration must take action to free the remaining prisoners and end of the system of indefinite detention" as soon as possible.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he is stepping down as leader of Canada's Liberal Party, following rising discontent over his leadership and growing dissent within his government. Trudeau had served as Canada's prime minister since 2015. His resignation comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to annex Canada. For more, we speak with Canadian activist and electoral candidate Avi Lewis for the New Democratic Party, who says that, like Joe Biden," Trudeau waited way too long" to step down from candidacy in upcoming national elections. Lewis calls Trump's aggressive rhetoric on Canada a cartoon threat" that comes out of the real estate mogul's long-running use of force" in his personal and business dealings.

Massachusetts Congressmember Jim McGovern calls on President Biden to pardon environmental activist Steven Donziger, who has been targeted for years by oil and gas giant Chevron. Donziger sued Chevron on behalf of farmers and Indigenous peoples who suffered the adverse health effects of oil drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon. I visited Ecuador. I saw what Chevron did. It is disgusting" and grotesque," says McGovern. Donziger stood up for these people who had no voice." In return, Chevron has spent millions prosecuting him instead of holding itself to account, he adds, while a pardon from the president would show that the system can still stand up to corporate greed and excesses."

Calls are growing for President Biden to posthumously exonerate Ethel Rosenberg following newly publicized documents proving that the FBI knew of her innocence long before she was prosecuted by the federal government more than 60 years ago. Rosenberg and her husband Julius were charged with sharing nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union and executed on June 19, 1953. A federal pardon or exoneration would be the right thing to do," says Massachusetts Congressmember Jim McGovern, who is part of an effort led by the Rosenbergs' son Robert Meeropol to get history right." Ethel Rosenberg was framed," says Meeropol. She was not a spy."

At a news conference Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump renewed his threats against Gaza, Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal as he continues to push an agenda of extreme U.S. imperialism. Democratic Congressmember Jim McGovern calls Trump's comments outrageous," ridiculous" and, ultimately, a distraction from his planned abandonment of social services. We also discuss social networking behemoth Meta's announcement that it is ending its fact-checking program, in what's being seen as a capitulation to Trump and conservative media disinformation campaigns, and how President Biden's unqualified support for Israel's assault on Gaza violates multiple U.S. human rights laws.

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