Democracy Now!

We go to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, where activists are shining a light on Morocco's brutal occupation of Western Sahara and its Indigenous people, the Sahrawi. The Sahrawi journalist and activist Asria Mohamed speaks with Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman about Jaimitna," an art installation that evokes the tents of Sahrawi people living in refugee camps. The installation features various melhfas, traditional clothing worn by Sahrawi women, and includes their stories. These women, they spent years and years in prison. They have been tortured. They have been beaten up. They have been raped," Mohamed says. We also speak with Maria Carrion, executive director of FiSahara, the Sahara International Film Festival, who says the story of the Sahrawi must be better known. Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. The first Trump administration recognized Moroccan sovereignty in 2020 as part of a larger effort to normalize relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

The Supreme Court's term ended Friday with a decision that promises to further expand the power of the president. Conservative justices argued lower federal courts cannot issue nationwide injunctions - a decision that limits judicial checks on presidential power. We have an imperial court that has created an imperial presidency," says Dahlia Lithwick, writer and host of the legal podcast Amicus. The 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines, could dramatically reshape legal citizenship in the United States and clears the path for many other Trump orders to potentially go into effect. The court also ruled on a case that will allow parents to pull their children from classes including LGBTQ+ books. The conservative justices cast these books as coercive simply because they have LGBT characters," says Chase Strangio, lawyer and co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project.

Senate lawmakers are debating President Trump's 940-page so-called big, beautiful bill as Republicans race to meet a Trump-imposed July 4 deadline and are set to vote on key amendments. Senate Republicans have deepened the cuts to Medicaid while cutting taxes for the wealthy and increasing the national deficit. Basically, you have Republicans taking food and medicine and other things away from vulnerable people in order to finance tax cuts for the rich," says David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect.Dr. Adam Gaffney, a critical care physician and professor at Harvard Medical School, co-authored a report that found the bill could lead to 1.3 million Americans going without medications, 1.2 million Americans being saddled with medical debt, 380,000 women going without mammograms, and over 16,500 deaths annually. I work in the ICU. I see patients with life-threatening complications of untreated illness because they didn't get care because they couldn't afford it. What happens when we add to that number massively?" says Gaffney.

Tens of Thousands Flee Gaza City as Israel Issues New Forced Evacuation Orders, Haaretz: Israeli Forces Ordered to Fire on Unarmed Crowds Seeking Food, Netanyahu Corruption Trial Further Delayed as Trump Calls for Charges to Be Thrown Out, Russia Launches Largest Aerial Assault" on Ukraine Since Full-Scale Invasion, Ukraine Withdraws from Landmine Ban Treaty, Following Poland, Finland and Baltic States, Supreme Court Strips Lower Courts of Power to Issue Nationwide Injunctions, Senators Debate GOP Budget Bill in All-Night Session Ahead of Trump-Imposed Deadline, Under Fire for Opposing Medicaid Cuts, Sen. Thom Tillis Says He Won't Seek Reelection, Trump Administration Ends Protected Status for Over 500,000 Haitian Immigrants, Judge Rules Trump Administration Breached 2023 Settlement over Family Separations, University of Virginia President Resigns Amid Trump Administration Attacks over DEI, Trump Administration to End Conservation Rule Protecting Nearly 60 Million Acres of Forests, Canada Scraps Tax on Big Tech Companies After Trump Threatens Tariff Increase, Istanbul Police Arrest Dozens Ahead of Pride Parade; 100,000 March in Hungary Despite LGBTQ+ Ban

The legendary journalist Bill Moyers has died at the age of 91. Moyers, whose long career included helping found the Peace Corps and serving as press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson, was an award-winning champion of public television and independent media. We feature one of his numerous interviews on Democracy Now! where we discussed the history of public broadcasting in the United States and the powerful role of money in corporate media. The power of money trumps the power of democracy today, and I'm very worried about it," he said in a 2011 interview. His comments hold particular resonance as the Trump administration moves to strip federal funding from PBS and NPR today.

Democrat Pramila Jayapal is holding a series of shadow hearings" in Congress on Trump's immigration actions. Jayapal, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security and Enforcement, explains how Trump's immigration crackdown has created a Catch-22" for asylum seekers, who are being targeted for expedited removal" at their own immigration hearings. If you show up, you could get detained and deported. ... If you don't show up, then you are now in violation of the immigration regulations, and you're deemed as an absconder." Jayapal also comments on Trump's big, beautiful budget bill," which she calls the big, bad, betrayal bill" for its cuts to Medicaid and other social services.

Over 100 days have passed since the Trump administration's unprecedented removal of more than 230 immigrants to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison CECOT. They were removed without any due process in the United States. Democracy Now! spoke with the loved ones of Andry Hernandez Romero, a 33-year-old gay makeup artist and asylum seeker who was told he would be sent home to Venezuela, according to his mother. But instead, he was sent to CECOT, where reports of torture and abuse are rampant. His mother Alexis Romero and his best friend Reina Cardenas have not seen or heard from him in three months. He has been identified in photos taken at CECOT by a photojournalist. Hernandez Romero was detained from the moment he showed up for his asylum appointment," says Cardenas. He never had due process." Adds Margaret Cargioli, a lawyer for the family, He sought asylum because he was persecuted due to his political opinion and because he's LGBTQ. ... It is quite astonishing that in the United States, people are being disappeared in this manner."

The Supreme Court has sided with South Carolina's efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. Lower court rulings allowed Medicaid patients to sue over the state's restrictions on Medicaid funding for their healthcare clinics, which the Supreme Court overturned in a 6-3 decision on Thursday. Rebecca Grant, who writes about reproductive rights, says South Carolina's restrictions will likely be taken up by other states and could result in the closure of potentially hundreds of reproductive healthcare clinics. Grant outlines the alternative healthcare methods that many are forced to turn to in the face of dangerous and, since the fall of Roe v. Wade, increasingly draconian abortion restrictions. We know throughout history that making abortion illegal or trying to ban it does not make it go away," she says. This underground network of abortion access in the United States is the subject of Grant's new book, Access: Inside the Abortion Underground and the Sixty-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom.

Israel Continues Deadly Attacks on Gaza Aid Sites as 17,000 Palestinian Children Suffer Malnutrition, Senate Democrats Question Trump's Claim of Obliterated" Iran Nuclear Sites, U.S. and China Agree to Framework" for Trade Deal, Senate Parliamentarian Deals Major Blow to Trump's Big Beautiful Bill", Supreme Court Sides with South Carolina in Campaign to Defund Planned Parenthood, Supreme Court Grants Reprieve to Condemned Texas Prisoner Minutes Before Lethal Injection, Masked ICE Agents Arrest L.A. Resident and U.S. Citizen Andrea Velez on Her Way to Work, Walmart Worker and U.S. Citizen Is Released from Detention After Violent Arrest by Federal Agents, Attorney General Pam Bondi Denies Knowledge of Masked and Hooded ICE Agents, Federal Judge Will Allow ICE to Force-Feed Hunger Striking Asylum Seeker, Canadian Citizen and Mexican Immigrant Become the Latest to Die in ICE Custody, Advisory Panel Stacked With RFK Jr. Appointees Recommends Against Flu Vaccinations, NYC Mayor Adams Announces Reelection Bid as Independent; Cuomo to Remain on the Ballot, Legendary Television Journalist Bill Moyers Dies at 91

President Donald Trump has returned to Washington after a NATO summit where leaders agreed to increase their military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, more than doubling the current target of 2%. The increase comes after years of pressure from Trump, who accuses other countries in the military alliance of not spending enough. What he is interested in is catering to the military-industrial complex of the United States," says Gilbert Achcar, emeritus professor of development studies and international relations at SOAS, University of London. When he asks these NATO countries to increase their military expenditure, he means 'buy more U.S. weapons.' That's what he is doing. He's a salesperson for the military-industrial complex."

The Trump administration is intensifying its campaign against vaccinations, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrawing U.S. funding for the world's preeminent international vaccine organization. The group - known as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance - is the world's largest funder of life-saving vaccinations and says it has helped vaccinate more than 1.1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, preventing nearly 19 million future deaths. Kennedy also recently stacked an important vaccine advisory panel with unqualified appointees, many of them holding anti-vaccine views.Anti-vaccine activists have been shouting from the sidelines for decades. Now they're making policy," says Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

We speak with former Labor Secretary Robert Reich about the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic primary for New York mayor, the rise of Donald Trump, and the role of big money in politics. This is the one thing that I agree with Donald Trump about: The economy is rigged - but it's rigged against working-class people. And I think Mamdani understood that. He understood that people have got to want a change, but also they want affordability. They want an economy that is working for them."We also speak with him about his decades-long career as a teacher and The Last Class, a new documentary that follows Reich over his last semester at the University of California, Berkeley. The class, and much of Reich's career, has focused on rising inequality and its impact on society. Most Americans feel powerless," says Reich. This is a crisis right now."

Trump Pushes Back Over Leaked Report Finding US Bombs Failed to Destroy Iran's Nuclear Program, Iran's Supreme Leader Claims Victory over Israel in First Public Remarks Since Ceasefire, Israeli Continues Deadly Attacks on Palestinians Seeking Food at Aid Sites, Israeli Soldiers Kill 3 Palestinians as Dozens of Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Village, Some Republican Senators Balk at Medicaid Cuts in Trump's Budget Reconciliation Bill, Forced to Choose Between Rent and Food": Protesters Decry Cuts to Social Programs in GOP Bill, Trump Moves Housing Department Offices to Virginia, Displacing National Science Foundation, CDC Workers Hold Protest in Atlanta as RFK Jr. Pulls Funding from Global Vaccine Group, CNN: Trump Plans to Reject Hundreds of Thousands of Asylum Claims to Speed Deportations, All About Political Intimidation": Rep. LaMonica McIver Pleads Not Guilty to Assault at ICE Jail, Whistleblower Alleges Trump Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Sought to Ignore Court Orders, Protests Erupt as Billionaire Jeff Bezos Takes Over Venice for Lavish Wedding Celebration

As ICE increases its raids on immigrant communities, footage of the arrest of one man, Narciso Barranco, shows seven federal agents - all masked - pinning the 48-year-old gardener to the ground and repeatedly punching him in the head before pushing him into an unmarked vehicle. His son, Marine veteran Alejandro Barranco, recently visited him in an ICE detention center. He looked beat up, he looked rough, he looked defeated. He was sad. It's just not right," he says.Barranco, whose three children have all served in the U.S. military, was arrested while working as a landscaper at an IHOP restaurant in Santa Ana. We are seeing an extreme abuse of power on the screens of our phones," says Santa Ana councilmember John Hernandez, who adds that Barranco is a hardworking Santa Ana resident of over three decades, who has raised three children who have all decided to sacrifice their freedom for this country that we love."

At the NATO summit in the Hague, almost all European nations reached an agreement to raise military spending to 5% of each county's GDP. This comes as President Trump said the U.S. would not come to the defense of other NATO nations unless they hit 5% in military spending. Trump wants to move towards a much, much more instrumental and crudely material, transactional politics," says Richard Seymour, writer, broadcaster and activist. I think this is a version of imperial decline that Trump is trying to manage."

In Gaza, at least 41 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since midnight, including more Palestinians targeted by Israeli forces while seeking food and humanitarian aid. This comes as UNICEF is warning Gaza is facing what amounts to a man-made drought" with children at risk of dying from thirst due to Israel's blockade. We go to Dr. Mark Brauner, an emergency medicine physician who is currently volunteering at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. He describes execution-style" killings of Palestinians at food distribution sites and the desperate lack of baby formula leading to the deaths of children suffering from malnutrition and starvation.

History was made Tuesday night as democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani carried out a stunning upset and defeated Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. As the results became clear Tuesday night, Cuomo conceded and called Mamdani to congratulate him. The New York state assemblymember will now be the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in November's general election. Tonight we made history," Mamdani told supporters. In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done. My friends, we have done it."Moe Mitchell, national director for the Working Families Party, says Mamdani's campaign helped create a multiracial working class alignment against authoritarianism [and] for a type of politics that is hopeful, that is visionary, that says we want something, we don't simply want to fight against something."

Trump Rejects Pentagon Assessment That U.S. Strikes Failed to Obliterate" Iran's Nuclear Program, Israeli Attacks on Gaza Kill Dozens, Including Palestinians Seeking Humanitarian Aid, Russian Missile Attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Region Kills 19, Wounds Hundreds, Leaders of NATO Member Nations Agree to Boost Military Spending to 5% of GDP, Protesters Reject NATO's Call to Vastly Boost Military Spending, Zohran Mamdani Claims Historic Victory Over Andrew Cuomo in NYC Democratic Mayoral Primary, Court Orders Return of Salvadoran Immigrant Deported Due to Administrative Errors", Trump Adviser Stephen Miller Holds Six-Figure Investment in Tech Firm Profiting from Deportations, Senate Health Committee Chair Criticizes Unqualified" Vaccine Advisory Panel Named by RFK Jr., Kenyans Mark One-Year Anniversary of Youth-Led Uprising That Was Violently Suppressed, Nigeria Posthumously Pardons the Ogoni Nine," Including Slain Environmental Activist Ken Saro-Wiwa

You can't, as the president, engage in strikes on a foreign country when there's no imminent threat, without coming to Congress for authorization," says Ro Khanna, Democratic congressmember and member of the House Armed Services Committee, criticizing President Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear sites as blatantly unconstitutional" and a clear instance of executive overreach. Khanna and Republican congressmember Thomas Massie recently introduced a bipartisan Iran War Powers resolution in a bid to prevent further U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict. Khanna shares how anti-war voices in U.S. politics are too often silenced by powerful and wealthy interest groups and urges the Democratic Party to harness widespread anti-war sentiment in opposition to Trump's increasingly authoritarian foreign policy.

Tuesday's New York City mayoral primary could determine the future of the most populous city in the United States. We speak to John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of the The Indypendent, about the race, which pits the young, progressive socialist Zohran Mamdani against Andrew Cuomo, an establishment Democrat and the former state governor who resigned in 2020 amid an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. Tarleton discusses Mamdani's unique grassroots campaign, the influence of the powerful real-estate industry and why everything may come down to New York City's ranked-choice voting system.

Today's mayoral primary in New York City features two very different frontrunners, the scandal-ridden former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, and the young Democratic Socialist state assemblymember, Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani's ascendant grassroots campaign has taken the Democratic establishment by surprise. He last appeared on Democracy Now! in October, as he launched his campaign centered on bringing down the high cost-of-living for working-class New Yorkers. On the campaign trail today, he joins us again as polls place him neck-and-neck with Cuomo, to share why his campaign and candidacy has resonated with so many. This race is one way in which we can show that we can actually deliver a city that New Yorkers can afford, and we can do so by building a movement the city has never seen before."

U.S. President Donald Trump is touting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, despite what he said were violations of the deal by both sides shortly after he announced it. Trump said he was especially angry with Israel and urged the country to stand down as he faces mounting criticism over the prospect of another U.S. war in the Middle East. Part of the reason why Trump also was quite eager to get to a ceasefire, why he's so frustrated with what the Israelis are doing right now, is precisely because he's very much aware of the strain that all of this has caused within his own support base," says political analyst Trita Parsi. Parsi says the breakdown of the global Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons could lead to dangerous consequences, as countries like Iran see incentive to build their own nuclear deterrence.

Trump Lashes Out After Israel Violates Fragile Truce with Iran, Nuclear Watchdog Warns of Significant Damage" to Iran's Fordow Site After U.S. Bombing, Israel Kills More Palestinians at Aid" Sites as Blockade Starves Another Child to Death , Danish Shipping Giant Maersk to Divest from Firms Linked to Israeli Settlements, UK Government Uses Anti-Terrorism Law to Ban the Protest Group Palestine Action, Supreme Court Will Allow Trump to Transfer Immigrants to Third Countries, At Least for Now, Lawyers and Advocates Warn of ICE Disappearances" Amid Ongoing Raids, ICE Separates Mother from Breastfeeding Baby After Arrest at Routine Green Card Appointment, Alligator Alcatraz": Florida Plans to Build $450 Million Immigration Prison in Everglades, Senate Confirms Rodney Scott as CBP Chief, Despite Role in Cover-Up of 2010 Killing, Indigenous Groups Warn Against More Border Wall Construction in Arizona, Attack on Hospital in Sudan Kills More Than 40 People, Six Die in Clashes Between Bolivian Police, Supporters of Former President Evo Morales, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Plans New Nuclear Plant to Replace Indian Point, Family of Queens Teen Shot Dead by Police Sues NYPD and New York City, Final Poll Shows Mamdani With an Edge Over Cuomo as New Yorkers Hold Mayoral Primary

Democracy Now! was there when Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil reunited with his family over the weekend after being released on bail by a federal judge Friday, ending his detention in a Louisiana ICE jail after more than 100 days. Khalil was seized by federal agents at his home in New York on March 8, with the Trump administration seeking to deport him even though he is a legal permanent resident with a green card and married to a U.S. citizen. Khalil's wife Noor Abdalla was eight months pregnant at the time of the arrest and gave birth to their son while he was jailed. I just want to go back and continue the work I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights," says Khalil, who played a prominent role in the Palestine solidarity protests at Columbia University last spring. He addressed over 1,000 supporters at a rally Sunday before leading a march to the gates of the school. We feature part of Khalil's comments and also hear from Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and members of Khalil's legal team.

Netanyahu's purpose was to drag Trump in," Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, says of the U.S. attack on Iran. Over the weekend, the U.S. directly joined the war between Israel and Iran when it bombed three nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, though it's unclear how far the strikes have set back the Iranian nuclear program. Israel and the United States accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its program is for civilian use. United Nations inspectors and U.S. intelligence assessments have said Iran is not building weapons. The danger now is that, having brought the U.S. into this, Israel will seek to go further up the escalatory ladder," says Levy. It wants the chaos."

After President Trump's attack on Iran over the weekend, civil society leaders are organizing to demand an end to the violence. We speak with Iranian American scholar Kaveh Ehsani, associate professor of international studies at DePaul University in Chicago, who helped organize a petition against the war signed by more than 1,000 academics in the United States, Europe and Iran. What this is doing is immiserating further the lives of ordinary people," says Ehsani.

Israel and Iran continue to exchange fire, just days after the United States entered the war by bombing three key nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday. President Trump ordered the attack on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities without seeking congressional approval, in a move that could spread further violence across the Middle East. We speak with two Iranian scholars who have taken part in the country's previous nuclear negotiations. Iranians see the United States as the aggressor, as helping the Israeli regime slaughter Iranians," says University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi. There's anger across the board." The U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran are an obvious" and clear violation of international law and regulations," says Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a visiting researcher at Princeton University who served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union from 2003 to 2005.

U.N. Warns of Spiral of Chaos" After U.S. Strikes Iran, Israel Continues Its Attacks, Protesters Decry U.S. Attack on Iran Amid Fears of All-Out War, Mahmoud Khalil Released From ICE Jail, Returns to New York, Amnesty Finds Israel Completely Razed Southern Gaza Town in More Evidence of Israel's Genocide", U.K. Gov't to Ban Activist Group Palestine Action After Air Force Base Breach, Suicide Bomb Kills 22 At Orthodox Church in Damascus, Border Patrol Agents Brutally Beat and Detain SoCal Immigrant Worker Amid Ongoing Raids, U.S. Judge Orders Release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia But He Faces Likely Detainment by ICE, Russian Air Attacks Kills at Least 10 in Kyiv, Belarus Opposition Leader Sergei Tikhanovsky Vows to Continue Fight After Release from Prison, Panama Declares State of Emergency Over Worker Rebellion, Texas to Display Ten Commandments in Public School Classrooms

As New Yorkers head to the polls in the primaries for upcoming local elections, voters will have the chance to vote for not one, but up to five of their preferred candidates for mayor and other races. Ranked-choice voting is a relatively new system - introduced in New York following a referendum in 2019 - that has grown in popularity across the U.S. It gives voters more choices and more power in determining the ultimate winner of an election," says John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, which is closely following the New York mayoral election.Election day is June 24 with early voting already underway in New York.

A Columbia University graduate has been denied entry into the United States and deported following 12 hours of detention at the Los Angeles International Airport. Australian writer Alistair Kitchen says agents questioned him about his views on Israel and Palestine and downloaded the contents of his phone. They were waiting for me when I got off the plane. I didn't even make it into the queue for passport processing," says Kitchen. Customs and Border Protection are using the immense power and discretion that they have to search and then to deny entry... because they disagree with some people's speech."

In a 6-3 decision on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth, paving the way for other bans on trans healthcare to remain in effect in 24 other states. According to the ACLU, over 100,000 transgender people under the age of 18 now live in a state with a ban on their healthcare. This is a fight that extends back 100 years, and we will keep fighting for 100 more years," says Chase Strangio, the first openly transgender attorney to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court and the co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project.

As Israeli warplanes continue to pummel Tehran and other parts of the country, President Trump has given mixed messages on whether the U.S. will join Israel's war on Iran. Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a message on Thursday that Trump will decide on direct U.S. involvement in the next two weeks. Leavitt delivered the message shortly after Trump met with his former advisor Steve Bannon, who has publicly warned against war with Iran. The U.S. is reportedly considering dropping bunker buster" bombs on underground Iranian nuclear facilities. It's reminiscent of the beginning of the Iraq War, when they said it's going to be a cakewalk," says William Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.A U.S.-based Iranian human rights group reports that the Israeli attacks have killed at least 639 people in Iran, while Iran's retaliatory strikes in Israel have killed an estimated two dozen.

Mass Protests in Tehran as Iranian FM Meets Counterparts, Trump Says He'll Decide on Strike in 2 Weeks", Israeli Strikes Kill Hundreds in Iran as Thousands Flee Violence, Israel Says 24 Killed in Iranian Attacks, Deplores Targeting of Hospital After Decimating Gaza Health System, Israel's Genocidal Attacks Continue in Gaza As Seeking Aid Remains a Deadly Pursuit, U.N. Condemns Israel's Grave Violations Against Children in Gaza Genocide, West Bank Attacks, SCOTUS Upholds Tennessee's Ban on Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth, HHS Shutters National Suicide Hotline for LGBTQ+ Youth, New Rules Will Further Restrict Lawmakers' Ability to Inspect ICE Jails, Dodgers Reportedly Block ICE From Stadium Amid Criticisms They've Failed Immigrant Community, Miami Herald: U.S. Detains at Least 20 Haitians At Guantanamo, DRC and Rwanda Reach Provisional Peace Agreement , Symbolically, We Went Far Beyond Rafah": Global March to Gaza Ends, Judge Blocks EPA From Withdrawing Environmental Justice Grants Worth $600 Million, 1,000 Safeway Workers Strike in Colorado as SoCal Grocery Workers Authorize Their Own Strike, Trump's Pardons Have Cost Victims $1.3 Billion in Fines and Restitution

Another Wasted Life." That's the name of a remarkable new song by the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens. She released a video of the song on October 2 to mark International Wrongful Conviction Day. The song was inspired by Kalief Browder, a Bronx resident who died by suicide in 2015 at the age of 22 after being detained at Rikers Island jail for nearly three years, after being falsely accused at the age of 16 of stealing a backpack. He was held in solitary confinement for two years and was repeatedly assaulted by guards and other prisoners.In the video for Another Wasted Life," Rhiannon Giddens features 22 people who were wrongly incarcerated. Together, they collectively served more than 500 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit. The video includes two men, David Bryant and Tyrone Jones, who each spent 40 years in prison. Another seven of the men each spent over 25 years locked up after wrongful convictions. Rhiannon Giddens made the video in partnership with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

As part of our Juneteenth special broadcast, we feature our interview with pioneering musical artist Rhiannon Giddens, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her opera Omar, about Omar ibn Said, a Muslim scholar in Africa who was sold into slavery in the 1800s.

We feature a special broadcast marking the Juneteenth federal holiday that commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. We begin with our 2021 interview with historian Clint Smith, originally aired a day after President Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth the first new federal holiday since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Smith is the author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. When I think of Juneteenth, part of what I think about is the both/andedness of it," Smith says, that it is this moment in which we mourn the fact that freedom was kept from hundreds of thousands of enslaved people for years and for months after it had been attained by them, and then, at the same time, celebrating the end of one of the most egregious things that this country has ever done." Smith says he recognizes the federal holiday marking Juneteenth as a symbol, but it is clearly not enough."

New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested outside an immigration courtroom Tuesday. Lander has been volunteering as an observer and escort for people with immigration hearings in recent weeks. In this case, while accompanying a man named Edgardo, a group of ICE agents approached the two men, who were walking arm in arm. Lander asked repeatedly to see a judicial warrant before being handcuffed and detained. Lander was later released after New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the arrest and visited New York City to lobby for his release. Five other mayoral candidates also condemned Lander's arrest, although current Mayor Eric Adams has stayed silent. Adams has sold this city out to Donald Trump to try to get his own pardon," says Lander. Let's be clear: It's only himself he cares about, and he is putting New York's immigrants in harm's way."

As Israel's attack on Iran overshadows Israel's ongoing assault on the region, we speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha on the deepening crisis in his home of the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of starving, desperate civilians have been killed and wounded while attempting to access critical aid. Witnesses have described massacres committed by Israeli soldiers and U.S. security contractors at U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid sites that are the only officially sanctioned sources of food, water and medicine entering the Gaza Strip. People have to go to these so-called distribution sites, and they know they will be killed," says Abu Toha. Israel is not letting anyone survive, not in Gaza, not in Iran, not in Syria, not in Lebanon."

We're at a moment of immense danger," warns HuffPost correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed, as the Trump administration appears increasingly amenable to escalating conflict with Iran. Ahmed shares what we know about the U.S. military buildup and the magical thinking" of regime change rhetoric among Washington, D.C., policymakers that could turn into a hugely devastating" war with Iran. Above all, says Ahmed, Trump's boasts about being an antiwar leader have not come true: We haven't seen him solve any of the wars that he said he would address."

Donald Trump has threatened to directly target Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and may be moving closer to ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iran. Meanwhile, Khamenei has rejected Trump's calls for unconditional surrender," warning that Iran will meet any U.S. military action in Iran with irreparable harm." In Tehran, many civilians have already evacuated after multiple Israeli strikes killed hundreds. There's nothing sophisticated about slaughtering everyone in an apartment building to murder one or two people," says Mohammad Marandi about the strikes. Marandi, who has remained in Tehran, was part of the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations in 2015. He calls Trump's threat an act of terror" but emphasizes that U.S. and Israeli vilification of Iran has united the country more than ever before."

Iran's Supreme Leader Warns U.S. Military Attack Will Be Met with Irreparable Harm", Trump Dismisses U.S. Intelligence Findings That Iran Is Not Building a Nuclear Weapon, Sen. Tim Kaine: U.S. Attack on Iran Would Be Catastrophic Blunder", Tucker Carlson vs. Ted Cruz Highlights MAGA Split on Trump Attacking Iran, Death Toll from Israeli Tank Attack on Gaza Aid Seekers Reaches 70, U.N. Experts: Israel Is Committing the Crime Against Humanity of Extermination in Gaza, ICE Agents Arrest NYC Comptroller Brad Lander at Immigration Courthouse, Sen. Alex Padilla Recounts Being Handcuffed at Kristi Noem Press Conference, Armed ICE Raids Continue Around Los Angeles, Democratic Lawmakers Probe How Palantir Is Helping Trump Build Nationwide Database of Americans, Judge Orders NIH Grants Restored: I've Never Seen Government Racial Discrimination Like This", Senate Republicans Propose Expanding House Cuts to Medicaid, CNN: EPA Weakens Fossil Fuel Industry Violations in Midwest, NAACP to Sue over Elon Musk's xAI Data Center in Memphis, Big Banks Financed $7.9 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Funding Since Paris Climate Deal Signed, Brain-Dead Georgia Woman Taken Off Life Support After Baby Was Delivered, Saudi Arabia Executes Journalist Turki al-Jasser

We speak with Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba's deputy foreign minister, about the Trump administration's tightening restrictions on the country. Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has reinstated Cuba's designation as a so-called state sponsor of terrorism, recommitted to upholding the decadeslong economic embargo and targeted Cuban immigrants for deportation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now going after Cuba's medical program that sends Cuban doctors and healthcare workers to assist other countries. The island nation was also among the countries on Trump's travel ban that went into effect last week, severely limiting Cuban nationals from entering the U.S. This all comes as the Trump administration is reportedly planning to transfer thousands of immigrants to be detained at Guantanamo Bay. Fernandez de Cossio says the influence of anti-Cuban politicians in the U.S. is greater than any previous moment," which allows them to push this narrow approach, which is not relevant to the interests of most Americans."

Federal and state officials in Minnesota have announced murder and stalking charges against Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home, as well as for shooting state Senator John Hoffman and his wife. Authorities say Boelter visited the homes of two other lawmakers on the night of the killings and had a hit list that included Planned Parenthood centers and the names of more Democratic politicians. One of the names on that list was Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who joins Democracy Now! to discuss how the shootings have shaken his state, the risk of spreading political violence, and his own friendship with Hortman. Right up until we lost her, she was fiercely fighting for people," says Ellison, who faults President Trump for exacerbating political tensions. We must stop political violence."

Israel is intensifying its war on Iran, bombing the headquarters of the country's national TV network on Monday and assassinating another top military leader. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also suggested killing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has responded with barrages of long-range missiles targeting Israel. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has shown little interest in containing Israel's assault, posting on social media that everyone should immediately evacuate" the capital Tehran.How can a city, a metropolis of 10 million people, suddenly evacuate? And to where?" says Iranian American journalist Negar Mortazavi. She notes that while Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is civilian in nature, these attacks could push the leadership into militarizing it and pursuing nuclear weapons.We also speak with Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg, who says the war on Iran has allowed Israel's establishment to draw the world's attention away from Gaza," countering rising domestic and international criticism. Netanyahu felt the global sentiment shifting ... and because of that, he attacked Iran."

Israel Bombs Iranian State TV Headquarters, Killing 3 in Latest Attack on Press, Tehran Faces Ongoing Attacks as Netanyahu Refuses to Rule Out Assassinating Supreme Leader, Trump Leaves G7 Early, Says He Is Not Seeking Ceasefire in Iran, Israeli Tank Fire Kills Dozens of Palestinian Aid Seekers in Latest Gaza Massacre, European Parliamentarian Rima Hassan Speaks Out After Being Abducted by Israel Aboard Aid Boat, Russian Missile & Drone Attack on Kyiv Kills 14, Injures 100+, Murder & Stalking Charges Filed Against Suspect in Minnesota Lawmaker Assassinations, ICE to Resume Raids on Farms, Hotels & Restaurants, Reversing Trump Pledge, Journalist in Georgia Faces Deportation After Arrest While Reporting on No Kings Protest, Judge Blocks NYC Mayor's Plan to Let ICE Reopen Office Inside Rikers Jail, Indigenous Lawyer Elected to Head Mexico's Supreme Court, Report: New Rules Allow VA Doctors to Refuse to Treat Democrats, Unmarried Veterans, States Agree to $7.4B Settlement with Purdue Pharma to Settle OxyContin Lawsuits, NAACP Breaks with 116-Year Tradition by Not Inviting Trump to Address Convention

After the biggest manhunt in Minnesota history, authorities have detained 57-year-old Vance Boelter, who is accused of fatally shooting Democratic lawmaker and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their Minnesota home early on Saturday in what authorities say were politically motivated assassinations. He is also accused of wounding state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in a separate shooting.Melissa Hortman was an outstanding leader that was very loved and respected by many people, and what this means for us is that we lost a leader that was very important to us," says Patricia Torres Ray, a former Minnesota state senator and a former colleague of both Hortman and Hoffman.Police say they found three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9mm handgun and a hit list written by the gunman that contained the names of about 70 people, including prominent Democratic lawmakers and abortion providers and advocates. Flyers for Saturday's No Kings rallies were also found, prompting many organizers in Minnesota to cancel their protests.

More than 5 million people joined No Kings Day protests Saturday in the largest day of action against President Trump since his return to office. Protests were held in over 2,100 cities and towns across the country. The protests coincided with a poorly attended, multimillion-dollar military parade on President Trump's birthday, June 14. Democracy Now! spoke with anti-Trump protesters at the Washington, D.C., military parade and at New York City's No Kings protest.

Fighting between Israel and Iran has entered a fourth day, after Israel launched a sweeping, unprovoked attack. Iran's Health Ministry reports a total of 224 people have been killed, with 1,277 people hospitalized, by Israeli attacks. Iran has responded by launching a wave of missile attacks on Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 500.We speak with Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, who says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basically bombed away President Trump's only possibility for a diplomatic win early on in his second term." Vaez also argues President Trump is the only world leader with the ability to stop this cycle of escalation from expanding into a much more disastrous regional conflagration."Iranian-born Israeli political activist Orly Noy says Netanyau launched strikes on Iran to salvage his dwindling political popularity. The Israeli people are very susceptible to believing the imaginary threats that Netanyahu uses," says Noy.

Tehran Accuses U.S. and Israel of Coordinated Attack as Conflict Between Israel and Iran Continues, Suspect Detained in Assassination of Minnesota Dem. Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband, No Kings Day Protests Draw Over 5 Million Across the U.S., Salt Lake City Fashion Designer Shot Dead at No Kings Protest, Trump's $45 Million Birthday & Military Parade Draws Small Crowd Amid Massive Nationwide Protests, Israel Has Killed Over 300 Palestinians Seeking Aid in Gaza, Egypt Arrests, Deports and Attacks Global March for Gaza Convoy, U.S. Judge Keeps Mahmoud Khalil Behind Bars over Trump Immigration Fraud" Accusation, Trump Threatens to Expand Mass Deportation and Immigration Raids in U.S. Cities, Immigrant Justice Leaders Violently Arrested and Detained in Vermont, Trump Admin Could Expand Travel Ban to Another 3 Dozen Countries Incl. Egypt and the DRC, Early Voting Underway in NYC Mayoral Primary with Progressive Mamdani Pitted Against Disgraced Cuomo

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the termination of all remaining overseas employees of USAID to complete the dismantling of the six-decade-old agency. USAID was an early target of Elon Musk and DOGE. We look at the dismantling of USAID and what it means for people around the world to lose this lifeline, as detailed in a new Amnesty International report. We talked to somebody who actually saw IVs being ripped out of arms when the stop-work order came down," says Amnesty's Amanda Klasing, who describes the consequences of the U.S.'s retraction of critical aid to countries in the Global South and refutes the Trump administration's claims that no deaths can be traced to the cuts. Now, lacking funding from the wealthiest country in the world, aid workers like Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council are turning to other countries' governments to bridge the gap. The U.S. is leaving international solidarity and compassion completely," Egeland says, even though it's been the leader of humanitarian aid, and it should remain so."