Democracy Now!

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, the landmark government transparency law that has helped reveal and publicize critical information about everything from the Vietnam War to FBI surveillance to CIA torture. For decades, FOIA has played a crucial role in uncovering and rectifying government wrongdoing. Today, however, advocates say that the government's resistance to fulfilling FOIA requests has grown, forcing applicants to file expensive lawsuits to obtain records, while records that are released often take years to receive and are filled with so many redactions as to render them essentially a waste of time."It's gotten extremely bad in this last year and a half under Trump, but this has been going on for decades," says Ian Head, who manages the Open Records Project at the Center for Constitutional Rights. These bureaucratic delay and deferral tactics are extremely concerning, he adds, threatening accountability, transparency and democratic processes. We need to be able to file federal FOIA requests so we can see what this government is doing."

A new investigation from the BBC is accusing Instagram of running paid ads in India promoting child sexual abuse material. BBC senior correspondent Divya Arya explains how Instagram's AI-powered review process frequently fails to flag content suggesting illegal and abusive activity, and how the platform's profit-driven algorithms boost accounts paying to advertise this content. Instagram's parent company Meta has denied culpability, saying that it's absolutely unfair to say that they prioritize revenue over user safety and that they underinvest in safety mechanisms." In response to Arya's findings, the Indian government is now demanding that Meta immediately remove all such ads and child exploitation materials, and submit a detailed explanation on how such advertisements were allowed on its platforms. This illegal content should not be on the internet, and somebody needs to be held accountable for it," says Arya.

As a rose-tinted wave of progressives and democratic socialists win Democratic primaries across the United States, we take a look at two of the organizations behind this recent slate of successful electoral campaigns: the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats.From Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York to Melat Kiros in Colorado to Janeese Lewis George in Washington, D.C., major victories from self-described democratic socialists and DSA-backed candidates show that socialism is losing its scare factor." Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the DSA's National Political Committee, explains that DSA's goal is to reframe politics around class lines in the United States, which is what the ruling class has been doing forever. We want to transfer power from the 1% to the working class, and to replace capitalism with socialism, which means expanding democracy in every part of our lives."By equipping progressives with alternatives to the traditional money streams relied upon by establishment Democrats, like the pro-Israel lobby or Big Tech, DSA and the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats hope to propel genuine advocates for the working class, unbought by corporate funding, into the halls of Congress.We went into this cycle viewing it as an existential one," says Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of Justice Democrats, which recruited candidates like Avila Chevalier and Adam Hamawy in New Jersey. We see fascism here at our doorstep, and this is a now-or-never moment for our party."

U.S. Denies Involvement as Blasts Rock Southern Iran, Eyewitness and Video Evidence Contradicts ICE Claims in Killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Mexico Seeks Criminal Charges in Deaths of Mexicans in ICE Custody, Vigilantes Intensify Attacks on Immigrants in South Africa, Venezuela Faces Public Health Crisis as Earthquake Death Toll Tops 3,800, U.N. Says Russian Attacks Killed at Least 265 Ukrainian Civilians in June, Palestinian Authority Schedules First Elections Since 2006, Israel Continues Deadly Strikes on Gaza, Withholds Bodies of Palestinians, Housing Bill Sidelined by Trump Is Set to Become Law, Barring Last-Minute Veto, With Midterms Looming, Trump Completes Purge of Election Assistance Commission, Justice Department's Civil Rights Division Warns State Election Officials They Could Be Prosecuted, 28 Die as Fire Consumes Shoe Factory in China's Jinjiang, Death Toll from Severe Flooding in China Rises to 39 as Massive Typhoon Approaches Taiwan

Plans for a luxury resort in an ecologically sensitive area have set off more than a month of protests in Albania, where thousands have taken to the streets to oppose the megaproject backed by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. The Flamingo Revolution - named for its feared impact on migratory birds - began as an environmental protest but has now turned into anger at the entire political system, threatening to bring down the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.For more, we speak with two members of the left-wing Levizja Bashke party who call the planned resort a money laundering operation" that exposes a deeper rot in the country.The protests will go on, and the people are very determined," says researcher and labor organizer Bora Mema.

The family of Geraldo Lunas Campos is suing over the 55-year-old Cuban immigrant's death at an ICE detention center in Texas earlier this year, with a local coroner ruling his death a homicide from asphyxia. The Department of Homeland Security said Lunas Campos had attempted suicide, but witnesses said he died after being restrained by multiple guards. The family's lawsuit names four guards and multiple private companies overseeing the jail.Perla Trevizo, a reporter with the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit, says Lunas Campos had a history of mental health issues and that he had complained before his death about lack of access to his medication.Witnesses say that they believe he was shackled. There were several guards. They took him down," Trevizo says.

Immigration and civil rights advocacy groups are demanding an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant and father of three who was killed by ICE agents in Houston on Tuesday morning. Salgado Araujo, who had been living in the United States for nearly 35 years, worked in construction and was starting his day by picking up other workers in Magnolia Park, a historically Latino neighborhood, when ICE agents targeted him. The Department of Homeland Security says Salgado Araujo weaponized his vehicle" and attempted to ram agents, a claim made in previous ICE killings that has fallen apart under scrutiny. This latest death comes exactly six months after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis under similar circumstances.We speak with Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the Houston-based civil rights organization FIEL, Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight. He says the community is demanding answers, including the release of any available video of the incident.Everything is hush-hush," he says of the Homeland Security response. They don't want to release anything. We don't even know if there's bodycam footage."

We speak with political analyst Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the latest events in the Middle East. The United States has bombed Iran for multiple days after President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire between the countries to be over." Iran says it has retaliated by attacking U.S. military bases and other strategic sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.Parsi says the renewal of fighting is a disastrous development" for chances of a long-term peace and a reset in the U.S.-Iran relationship. Both countries are in dire need of an end to this war."

Trump Renews Threat to Commit War Crimes as U.S. Bombs Iran for Second Day, Assassinated Supreme Leader Khamenei to Be Laid to Rest in Iran After Multiday Funeral, Israel Kills School Principal, Her Mother and Two Other Civilians in Lebanon Strike, Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 9, Including Driver Delivering Food for U.S. Charity, Israeli Soldier Shares Evidence of Torture on Social Media, Amnesty Asks U.S. to Secure Release of Gaza Doctor Following Reports of Torture in Israeli Jails, Trump Says Ukraine Can Manufacture Its Own Patriot Missiles, Maine Democrats Plan Nominating Convention as Graham Platner Suspends Senate Campaign, Kentucky Governor Demands Update on Sen. Mitch McConnell's Health, Judge Orders Release of Trump's $5M Payment to E. Jean Carroll for Sexual Abuse and Defamation, He Did Not Deserve to Die": Family Demands Justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Shot Dead by ICE, Man Shot in Memphis Is Fourth to Be Killed by Federal Task Force Agents, Former Wisconsin Judge Is Spared Prison Time for Obstructing" ICE Agents at Her Courthouse

A new investigation has uncovered how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supports a secret network of military training camps for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that enables them to continue their deadly war in Sudan.This war, which is often categorized in international media as a civil war, is really a proxy war," says award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Julia Steers. We're talking about a really extensive network of logistics and training and financial backing from the UAE."The investigation is a collaboration between Lighthouse Reports, Evident and Sudan War Monitor.Meanwhile, as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warns another humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding the North Kordofan state capital of El Obeid, where the RSF and the Sudanese army are fighting for control. There's no question that the RSF would not be able to have gotten as far as they have, to have claimed nearly as much territory as they have, without the really robust support of the UAE," says Steers.

Trump announced on Tuesday at the NATO summit in Ankara that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey and is considering selling the country F-35 fighter jets. Trump made the comment following a lavish state dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, whom he praised as a great leader." The mayor of Istanbul and other Turkish politicians, civil society figures and journalists remain jailed on politically motivated charges.Here in Ankara, and in Turkey more broadly, this NATO summit is not taking place in a climate of freedom. We saw, in the two weeks leading up to this summit happening, authorities in Ankara arrested over 200 people in dawn raids," says Ruth Michaelson, a journalist based in Istanbul. There has also been a protest ban enforced in Ankara, and that is a protest ban that extends even to leafleting."Repression from the Turkish state has not been addressed during the summit; instead, something that we've been hearing throughout the summit is that Turkey has this indispensable place in NATO," says Michaelson.

Maine's Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner has yet to drop out of the race despite losing all major endorsements after a rape allegation by an ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, who says Platner assaulted her in 2021. Platner has denied the claim.There's no way to force Platner off the ballot; he has to make the decision," says Amy Fried, professor emerita of political science at the University of Maine. Platner would have to drop out of the race by Monday, and then there's two weeks for the Maine Democratic Party to pick someone else."Fried discusses potential Democratic candidates to replace Platner and the legacy of Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins, against whom they would be running in November.

U.S. Renews Attacks on Iran and Reimposes Oil Sanctions, Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire Over," Blasts NATO Allies and Praises Turkish President, Israel's Netanyahu Criticizes Trump's Embrace of Turkish President Erdoan, Pentagon Considers Relocating Gulf Bases to Israel, Israeli Strike Kills Gaza Aid Official Who Organized World Cup Screening, Protesters Outside U.N. Celebrate as Israel's Ben-Gvir Cancels Visit to Policing Summit, ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Mexican Father During Houston Traffic Stop, 85-Year-Old German National Becomes 21st to Die in ICE Custody This Year, French Court Clears Path for Far-Right Politician Marine Le Pen to Run for President, Colombian President-elect Suspends Transition as Outgoing Leader Alleges Fraud, Extreme Weather Rocks China, Europe and U.S. Amid Searing July Heat Wave, Senior ExxonMobil Lawyer Retires, Joins Trump Administration

As part of the U.S.-backed Board of Peace" 20-point plan to end Israel's military assault on Gaza, Hamas is dissolving its civilian governing body in the Gaza Strip. Hamas's head of administration, Mohammed al-Farra, resigned from his position on Monday. Hamas, which has controlled the territory for nearly two decades, has said that its ministries and staff will stay in place, and that it will still oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control.The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, NCAG, was formed in January 2026 and is meant to take transitional control. In practice," says Amjad Iraqi, senior Israel-Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group, Hamas is still the de facto governing authority on the Palestinian-populated side of Gaza. The NCAG, the Palestinian technocratic committee that's supposed to take over those governing duties, is still basically stuck in Cairo and not allowed to enter into Gaza to assume those duties."Since the deal was signed in October, Israel has continued to uphold its blockade of Gaza, preventing people and aid from traveling through its heavily policed borders. It has also violated the deal's ceasefire provisions on a near-daily basis, killing nearly 1,100 Palestinians, including women, children and other unarmed civilians. Very little of this, if any, is actually being called out either by [Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov] or by the U.S. officials, and what they're actually doing is allowing Israel to keep bending the terms of the ceasefire, if not openly violating it," says Iraqi.

Israel continues to ignore international calls to free the director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, from over 18 months of Israeli detention without charge. After seeing Dr. Abu Safiya on July 2, his attorney Nasser Odeh says the doctor faces tangible danger to his life" from torture and medical neglect. For more, we speak to Tirza Leibowitz, the deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights Israel, about Abu Safiya's case and efforts to secure his release. The group has filed an appeal in the Israeli courts requesting the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors who were captured in Gaza and imprisoned by the Israeli military.We also hear from Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Chicago-based emergency room physician and former colleague of Hussam Abu Safiya. Ahmad volunteered as a medical practitioner in Gaza in 2024. He says Abu Safiya has become a symbol of Palestinian resilience" and, in particular, Israel's systematic targeting of Gaza's healthcare system, which continues to this day. The necessary aid is not entering, the bombing still persists, people are still dying on a regular basis, and these hospitals don't have the supplies that they need to be able to treat their patients," says Ahmad.

Millions of people are estimated to be participating in the multiday state funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran this week. After ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran for over three dozen years, Khamenei was killed by a joint Israeli-U.S. airstrike on February 28. Now viewed as a martyr by both his religious base and the wider Iranian public, Khamenei has taken on a new identity" as the leader of the resistance movement, the leader in the fight against U.S. imperialism," says Tehran-based journalist Reza Sayah, who has been reporting on the funeral proceedings. Sayah also discusses the absence of Khamenei's son and chosen successor Mojtaba Khamenei from the public eye, the Iranian government's position on the thousands of protesters killed by security forces in the early months of 2026 and more.

Iran Fires on Two Ships in Strait of Hormuz as Trump Threatens to Finish the Job", Hamas to Cede Control of Gaza to Technocratic Governing Body, Palestinian Baby Dies as Israeli Forces Block Ambulance at Checkpoint, Maine Democratic Senate Candidate Graham Platner Faces Calls to Resign over Rape Allegation, Progressive Abdul El-Sayed Faces Centrist Haley Stevens as Challenger Exits Michigan Senate Race, Sen. Mitch McConnell is Continuing His Recovery" Weeks After Apparent Cardiac Arrest, GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Says Clinical Depression Led to 117-Day Absence from Congress, Trump Heads to NATO Summit with Plans to Allow Turkey's Purchase of F-35 Jets, Human Rights Expert Says U.K. Government Suppressed Genocide Warnings in Sudan over UAE Ties, U.S. Surges Troops to Venezuela in Wake of Devastating Earthquakes, Family of Cuban Who Died of Likely Homicide" at Texas ICE Jail Sues for Wrongful Death, 18 Injured in Damascus Explosions as France's Emmanuel Macron Meets Syrian Leader

A New York City Council employee who was detained at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, New Jersey, for more than five months was released from custody in June. Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez was taken by federal immigration officers in January during a routine asylum interview. Rubio Bohorquez, who is from Venezuela, was detained despite holding temporary protected status that should have shielded him from deportation.People are sad; detainees are sad. It's people that try to build a future in this country, people that have complied with the law," says Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez of detained immigrants he met while being held in multiple ICE jails. They have paid their taxes. They are raising families."Rubio Bohorquez says he fears being detained again, even though his attorney Gwyneth Hesser says that would be in violation of a court order. But it seems right now that's not that much solace, because sometimes things are happening that are outside of the law," says Hesser.

A massive heat dome settled above the eastern half of the United States over the Fourth of July weekend, bringing triple-digit temperatures, disrupting travel and prompting emergency measures for millions of people. At least 25 people died in New Jersey due to extreme heat and humidity, and more than 185 million people - over half of U.S. residents - were under heat alerts over the weekend. This follows a record-shattering European heat wave that's been blamed for thousands of deaths across Spain, France and Germany. Climate scientists say the burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of global warming and the reason why heat waves are becoming longer, hotter and more frequent.Global warming is accelerating past thresholds that we used to consider unacceptable," says climate journalist David Wallace-Wells. There are a lot of questions about why we haven't prepared adequately for these heat waves," says Wallace-Wells, but he argues that it is still possible to retrofit the planet to mitigate the climate catastrophe.

A grand jury in Washington, D.C., has indicted former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Davey" Hearn on a felony charge for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19. He is facing a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Hearn, who denies the accusations, says he had noticed a partly detached piece of the Reflecting Pool's blue liner and reached into the water to see what it felt like, when he was quickly arrested and subsequently held in jail for five hours. He is one of at least six people who have been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, which has turned green due to algae blooms despite being painted American-flag blue" at the behest of President Trump.We do think that Davey is being scapegoated for the failures of the White House with respect to the Reflecting Pool, that the blame is being shifted," says Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. He's innocent, and we intend to vigorously defend the matter."Eisen speaks about some of the other 300 cases Democracy Defenders Fund is involved in, including legal fights against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and the Trump administration's executive order that attempted to end birthright citizenship. He also comments on President Trump having made $2.2 billion last year, mostly fueled by cryptocurrency profits. It's corruption on a scale we've never seen in American history, and, frankly, seldom in world history," says Eisen.

Millions Join Funeral Procession for Iranian Supreme Leader Assassinated in U.S. Strike, Israel Continues Attacks on Lebanon Despite U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire, Dozens Killed in Yemen as Houthis Launch Hodeidah Offensive, Israel Approves New West Bank Settlements and Continues Attacks on Gaza, Family Says Palestinian Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya Was Left Disfigured by Israeli Torture, Thessaloniki Shrouded in Toxic Smoke as Wildfires Follow Record European Heat Wave, At Least 25 Die from Record U.S. Heat Wave Over Fourth of July Weekend, Trump Attacks Opponents as Communists" in Independence Day Speech Marred by Storms, U.S. to Prosecute Former Olympian for Damaging" Lincoln Reflecting Pool, Thousands Remain Missing as Death Toll from Venezuelan Quakes Tops 3,300, Russian Attacks on Kyiv Kill at Least 11 After Ukrainian Drones Strike St. Petersburg, Turkey Cracks Down on Dissent as Trump Heads to NATO Summit in Ankara, Pope Visits Lampedusa, Urging Humane Treatment of Migrants and Refugees, Trump Pardons Clean Air Act Violators and Ex-Partner of Jack Abramoff, FIFA Lifts Suspension of U.S. Striker After Trump Intervenes, Amnesty International Says Chinese Ethnic Unity" Law Would Accelerate Forced Assimilation, Activist Self-Immolates Outside U.N. to Demand Tibet's Independence from China

As part of our July Fourth special broadcast, we continue our extended interview with Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. The book documents the rise of OpenAI and how the AI industry is leading to a new form of colonialism. One of the things that you really have to understand about AI development today is that there are what I call quasi-religious movements that have developed within Silicon Valley," says Hao. The concept of artificial general intelligence is not one that's scientifically grounded."

In our July Fourth special broadcast, we revisit our interview with longtime technology reporter Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, which unveils the accruing political and economic power of artificial intelligence companies - especially Sam Altman's OpenAI. Her reporting uncovered the exploitation of workers in Kenya, attempts to take massive amounts of freshwater from communities in Chile, along with numerous accounts of the technology's detrimental impact on the environment. This is an extraordinary type of AI development that is causing a lot of social, labor and environmental harms," says Hao in an extended interview.

We begin our July Fourth special broadcast with the words of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, Douglass gave one of his most famous speeches, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" He was addressing the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. The late actor James Earl Jones read the historic address during a performance of Voices of a People's History of the United States, which was co-edited by Howard Zinn.

Ahead of the July Fourth holiday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we speak with the acclaimed scholar Robin D. G. Kelley, who examines how Black radicals have interpreted the document throughout U.S. history in a new essay for Hammer & Hope. Although the declaration famously asserts that all men are created equal," Kelley says that clearly did not extend to Indigenous or enslaved Black people. When the drafters developed this declaration, they assumed that human beings were basically white men," he says. But despite the hypocrisy" of the declaration, many Black radicals still found value in its words, including a justification for rebellion," says Kelley.

In a 6-3 ruling this week that overturned nine decades of precedent, the Supreme Court granted President Donald Trump the power to fire and replace officials at independent government agencies like the Federal Trade Commission. But in a separate 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can stay in her job as she challenges Trump's efforts to fire her.The seemingly contradictory rulings suggest a two-tier system of regulation, says Alvaro Bedoya, a former FTC commissioner who was fired by Trump last year. The independence and stability of the Federal Reserve is important to billionaire Wall Street Bankers," and therefore remains protected, says Bedoya. But then you have this whole series of other agencies that keep your toys safe, that keep health insurers from robbing people blind, that keep supermarkets from merging to make milk, eggs and beef ... even more expensive. The court said that all those regulators can report directly to the president and be entirely beholden to his whims."

New financial disclosures by President Donald Trump show that he made more than $1.4 billion from his family's various cryptocurrency ventures last year, reaping a windfall after pulling back on regulation of the industry and promoting the United States as the crypto capital of the world." Other Trump businesses, like his resorts and golf courses, have also flourished since his return to the White House, while the Trump Organization has also licensed the family name to properties in countries that are crucial to U.S. foreign policy interests, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.It's been an incredibly successful period for the Trump family," says Reuters investigative reporter Tom Bergin.

Trump Defends Financial Report Showing His Personal Income Soared to $2.2 Billion in 2025, Sons of Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick Profit from U.S.-Backed Kazakhstan Mining Deal, Rights Groups Demand End to Venezuela Sanctions as Earthquake Death Toll Passes 2,000, Texas Lawmaker Condemns ICE for Attempting to Deport Families to Venezuela After Massive Quakes, Sudan's Currency Plummets as Paramilitaries Besiege City of El Obeid, Russian Drones and Missiles Rain Down on Kyiv, Killing at Least 20, Palestinians Mark 1,000 Days Since Israel Began Full-Scale Assault on Gaza, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Declares Israel's Assault on Gaza a Genocide, Urges Arms Embargo, World's Oceans Experienced Record Heat Wave in June, U.S. Faces Record Heat Over 4th of July Holiday, as Spain Says June Heat Wave Killed 1,000+, ICE Arrests 10,000 Immigrants in Under a Week as White House Demands Speedier Deportations, Seven More Receive Harsh Sentences for Terrorism" After Attending Protest at Texas ICE Jail, Speaker Mike Johnson Says Trump Won't Veto Housing Bill He Called A Big Yawn", House Votes to Disclose Lawmakers Behind Taxpayer-Funded Sexual Misconduct Payouts, Actor and Activist Danny Glover Reveals Alzheimer's Diagnosis

The Department of Justice is attempting to sabotage a reparations initiative that compensates victims of historic housing discrimination in Evanston, Illinois. For decades, Black residents of Evanston were subjected to redlining and other forms of housing discrimination, which prevented them from obtaining bank loans to purchase property. Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century, housing has been the primary way that families have built wealth, and we are in a country where there is 10 times as much wealth in the white community as there is in the Black community. ... [T]hat gap is a result, primarily, of this type of dispossession on the grounds of housing," explains Howard University law professor Justin Hansford.Evanston's reparations program, funded through donations and a local tax on recreational marijuana sales, grants Black residents and their descendants up to $25,000 for property down payments, mortgages, home repairs and other related fees. It is the first of its kind in any U.S. city and seen as a model for similar initiatives across the country and the world.The effort to bring a lawsuit to stop this particular program is meant to send a message to programs in cities and states around the country that this is something that is dangerous or illegal," says Hansford, who is helping Evanston city officials defend their reparations program from the DOJ's claims that its race-based criteria are unconstitutional. We want to make sure that everyone knows that it is constitutional to pursue reparations in the United States."

President Donald Trump has received another setback in his ongoing quest to control U.S. elections. In a 5-4 split, the Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots do not need to be received by Election Day to be counted, as long as they were postmarked by then. Although a rare victory for voting rights," the conservative justices' assertion that voting by mail is prone to fraud - a disproven theory that Trump blames his loss in the 2020 election for - is very disturbing," says Ari Berman, the national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones. My fear is that this is going to embolden Republicans to double down on their efforts to try to get rid of mail voting, including the SAVE America Act, Trump's sweeping voter suppression bill, which he seems desperate to go to any lengths to try to pass," says Berman, who also comments on the court's decision to strike down a federal law limiting campaign spending.

The Supreme Court has ruled that states can prohibit transgender student athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports teams, with the court's conservative justices finding that such bans - currently introduced in Idaho and West Virginia - do not violate the Constitution, and all nine justices agreeing that they do not violate Title IX, the federal anti-sex discrimination statute. These bans are part of an effort that we're seeing escalate to push trans people out of public life," says Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project. They have the ultimate effect of increasing the legitimacy of the Trump administration's authority over every aspect of our bodily autonomy and everyday life."

Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights - to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.' ... We keep that promise today." So concludes the decision of the Supreme Court in the landmark case Trump v. Barbara, affirming the constitutional right to birthright citizenship and rejecting President Trump's attempt to end it. Trump's executive order had aimed to prevent babies born to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign residents from automatically becoming American citizens. We speak to Columbia University historian of immigration Mae Ngai about the case and the white nationalist logic behind Trump's challenge.

Satellite Images Show Over 58,000 Buildings Damaged by Venezuela Earthquakes, Iran's Top Negotiator Rules Out High-Level Talks Until U.S. Abides by MOU, Israel's Netanyahu Visits Troops in Southern Lebanon, Says Occupation Will Continue, 22 House Democrats Join Republicans to Defeat Lebanon War Powers Resolution, Trump's Board of Peace" Plans to Operate Hamas-Free Humanitarian Zones" in Gaza, House Republicans Block Vote on Amendment to Halt U.S.-Israeli Military Integration, Supreme Court Upholds 14th Amendment's Guarantee of Birthright Citizenship in 6-3 Ruling, SCOTUS Rules States Can Ban Trans Athletes from Women's and Girls' Sports, Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Limits on Political Parties' Campaign Spending, Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros Defeats Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado Primary Election, Over 400,000 Children Appeared in U.S. Immigration Courts Without Lawyers, Rights Groups Accuse Ghana of Complicity in Unlawful Third Country" Deportations by U.S., South Africans March in Anti-Immigrant Protests as Vigilantes Target the Undocumented

Rescue efforts in Venezuela continue as thousands of people remain missing - trapped under the rubble of flattened homes and buildings nearly a week after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated the capital, Caracas, and the nearby city of La Guaira. Rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors, with Venezuelan health officials saying Monday that over 1,700 people are confirmed dead. The toll is expected to rise dramatically as the window for finding survivors closes.In the face of the wreckage, we're seeing also a lot of solidarity from the Venezuelan people" who are sharing space and resources with those displaced by the quakes, says Beatriz Ochoa, Latin America head of advocacy for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Looking ahead, We will need to transition to more medium- and longer-term solutions, so that people can have affordable housing and a more dignified place to sleep and to be able to rebuild their lives," says Ochoa, calling for more international support.

The Democratic Socialists of America's slate dominated the New York primaries last week, with Aber Kawas winning the Democratic nomination for a New York state Senate seat in the New York City borough of Queens with a 20-point lead against progressive State Assemblymember Steven Raga. Born and raised in New York to Palestinian parents, Kawas campaigned on affordable housing, universal healthcare, immigration reform, public transit, climate action and opposition to U.S. support for Israel's genocide in Gaza.Over the past decade, the DSA has grown from about 5,000 members to over 100,000 members in 200 chapters across the United States. What we are saying is that we want to make sure that people who are struggling are provided the best social services possible by our government," says Aber Kawas of DSA candidates. That is not a threat to people. That is a really hopeful message that so many Americans and so many people are looking for, and that is why we were able to win in these landslide victories."

Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July Fourth, we speak to award-winning Cherokee author and journalist Rebecca Nagle about what's missing from the conventional story of the American Revolution.The last grievance in the Declaration of Independence is about 'merciless Indian savages,'" says Rebecca Nagle. According to our founders, in their own words, the thing that they were most angry about was Native people." She also argues that the biggest myth" is that the founders built a democracy, because they also built an empire," and that the two can't coexist.Nagle partnered with leading Indigenous scholars on a new documentary podcast called First America. The series challenges the conventional U.S. origin story by examining the experiences of Indigenous peoples, and traces how laws and legal doctrines first used to dispossess Indigenous nations continue to impact questions of executive power, immigration, xenophobia, citizenship, territorial expansion and U.S. foreign policy today.Nagle links the dark history of the United States' founding to ongoing oppression in the country. I would be reporting on America's past, and then the same thing would happen in our present," she says. Rounding people up, putting people in detention, even shooting anybody who gets in the way, these are things that our government has done before - not once, not twice, but many, many times."

Iranian Officials Deny Trump's Claims of High-Level Talks in Doha, Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 8, Including 2 Children, as Smotrich Calls for Gaza Settlements, Rights Group Says Israel Is Killing Palestinian Children in West Bank at Fastest Rate Since 1967, More Than 130 Venezuelans Recently Deported from U.S. Feared Dead in La Guaira Earthquakes, Ukrainian Drones Target Moscow After Russian Attacks on Ukraine Kill 8, SCOTUS to Allow the President to Fire Independent Agency Heads, Except at the Federal Reserve, Divided Supreme Court Upholds Grace Periods for Mail-In Ballots Postmarked by Election Day, SCOTUS Rules Cellphone Location Data Is Protected by the Fourth Amendment, SCOTUS Declines to Hear Trump's Appeal of $5 Million Sex Abuse and Defamation Case, Supreme Court Will Consider Arizona Laws Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote, DSA-Backed Insurgents Target Democratic Incumbents as Colorado Holds Primaries, New York City Council Employee with TPS Released from Newark ICE Jail After 5 Months, Trump Bought Stock in Taser Company Before ICE Announced $220 Million Contract, New York Mayor Mamdani Closes Part of Rikers Island Jail

The Trump administration's commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the country's founding have drawn criticism for their overt partisanship and conflicts of interest for the Trump family. Surveys show widespread ambivalence and lack of enthusiasm for the semiquincentennial.StoryCorps founder Dave Isay has set out to capture the national mood with Connect250, an oral history project matching strangers across the United States to interview each other about their lives, families and formative experiences. The series is produced in partnership with NPR's Morning Edition, with the conversations to be preserved in the Library of Congress.It's actually a very hopeful project," says Isay. We have to hold on to hope."

I do not love America, and never have, especially now." Those are the opening words of America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries, a new book from Princeton historian Eddie Glaude. Released ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, the book is a critical look back at how the United States has celebrated previous milestone birthdays, including what narratives were left out of the official commemorations. This comes as President Donald Trump has made himself the center of many events and celebrations for the 250th anniversary, while promoting a storybook version" of U.S. history that elides the injustice that was baked into the very founding of the country, Glaude tells Democracy Now! in a wide-ranging conversation about race, inequality and the legacy of slavery.Donald Trump and his supporters, they want to be white without judgment," says Glaude. History is a battleground, because history, of course, holds them to account."

Nearly 50,000 Remain Missing in Venezuela as Earthquake Rescue Efforts Pivot to Recovery, Iran Denies U.S. Claims of Upcoming Talks Following Weekend Clashes, Israel Renews Attacks on Southern Lebanon After Signing U.S.-Brokered Deal, Children Among the Dead as Israel Continues to Bombard Gaza, Despite Ceasefire Deal, Gaza Humanitarian Convoy Activists Released from Libyan Prison, France's Death Toll Tops 1,000 as Europe Bakes Under Unprecedented Heat Wave, Appeals Court Blocks Trump's Rollback of Pollution Limits from Coal-Fired Plants, Kenyan Activists Arrested at Anti-Government Protests Say They Were Tortured by Police, Trump Taps Former Oklahoma State Trooper Lance Schroyer as Next ICE Director, Mexican Immigrant Dies at For-Profit ICE Jail in Texas, the 20th Such Death in 2026, Tens of Thousands in Budapest Celebrate First Pride Event Since Viktor Orban's Ouster, Court in Chile Sentences Former Secret Police over 1976 Assassination in Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to restrict thousands of lawsuits claiming Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, had a duty to warn consumers about potential cancer risks from its popular weed killer Roundup. The case before the Supreme Court began in St. Louis, Missouri, where a resident named John Durnell, who had used Roundup for decades and was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, sued Monsanto under Missouri state law for not putting a warning label on its product. But because the federal Environmental Protection Agency found no cancer risk in its assessment of Roundup, the court has ruled against Durnell.The ruling essentially says that only the EPA can make a determination that something is harmful to us and has to carry a warning label," explains reporter Nate Halverson, who has been documenting health and environmental harms allegedly linked to Roundup, as well as efforts to hold Monsanto accountable. In his reporting, Halverson found that scientific studies cited by the EPA in its Roundup assessment were ghostwritten" by Monsanto itself - and that ghostwritten information has now made its way into the Supreme Court's decision."

Thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the United States are newly at risk of deportation after the Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to strip them of temporary protected status," or TPS. The program, designed for foreign citizens of countries the U.S. government believes are too unstable or dangerous to be returned to, often due to natural disasters or war, has been a major target of attack by the Trump administration and its anti-immigrant agenda.We are looking at the catastrophic deficit in the workforce in the United States if we allow this deportation machine and cruelty to take effect," our guest, Haitian Bridge Alliance's Guerline Jozef, says.This is just part of the Trump administration's efforts to feed the detention and deportation machine and essentially halt immigration," adds Lupe Aguirre of the International Refugee Assistance Project. It's about maintaining their campaign promises to root out people that they see as undesirable."

The death toll from twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela Wednesday night is expected to reach into the thousands as rescuers continue to search for bodies trapped in the rubble. Hospitals are rapidly reaching a breaking point, and thousands of survivors have been left homeless. Reporter Andreina Chavez's building was one of the countless residences in Venezuela's capital Caracas and its surrounding region that were damaged by the massive quakes. Chavez was on the street when the earthquakes struck, and says she saw at least three buildings partially collapse right in front of [her]."As Venezuelans band together to find survivors, the country is calling for international support and resources to step up critical rescue and recovery efforts. We weren't prepared for a disaster of this magnitude," says Chavez. Venezuela is a country that has been under U.S. sanctions ... as well as a country that has an infrastructure that is very deteriorated. We have public services that are very deteriorated, and all of that has been something that has really added to this tragedy."

The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in a major blow to the rights of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The court ruled 6 to 3 along partisan lines to sanction so-called metering at the southern border, which allows immigration officers at ports of entry to block asylum seekers from setting foot on U.S. soil.In a time of increasing conflict and climate catastrophe, this will result in many more deaths," warns Erika Pinheiro of Al Otro Lado, the lead plaintiff in the case. When the turnback policy was first introduced, recounts Melissa Crow of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, who served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs' case, many asylum seekers became so desperate that they ended up trying to enter between ports of entry, either by swimming across the Rio Grande or by traversing the desert under harrowing conditions, and many, many of them didn't make it to the other side."

Over 500 Are Dead and Thousands Remain Missing Following Twin Earthquakes in Venezuela, U.N. Shipping Agency Halts Strait of Hormuz Evacuations as Projectile Strikes Cargo Ship, Israeli Airstrikes Kill 2 in Lebanon as Netanyahu Says Occupation Will Continue Indefinitely, Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Block Asylum Seekers at U.S. Border, Supreme Court Will Allow Trump to End TPS for 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, Supreme Court Blocks Cancer Patients from Suing Bayer over Popular Weed Killer, U.S. Plans to Deport Over 500 Unaccompanied Immigrant Children, Federal Agents Confront Election Worker at Syracuse Polling Place over Instagram Post, Judge Blocks Trump's Order Creating Confirmed Citizen Lists" and Restricting Mail-in Voting, JD Vance Praises Richard Nixon, Downplays Watergate Scandal, New York City to Freeze Rents for Nearly 1 Million Apartments for Next Two Years

Democracy Now! speaks with science fiction author, activist and journalist Cory Doctorow about AI and his latest book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence - Before It's Too Late.Doctorow comments on AI's bad unit economics" and the connection between automation and labor. When labor drives automation, it's usually in service to making the product better, and when capital drives automation, it's usually in service to making more of the product," says Doctorow.

A group of anti-ICE protesters in Texas were sentenced to 30 to 100 years in jail on Tuesday, after federal prosecutors accused them of being an antifa terror cell." The activists attended a protest outside the Prairieland ICE jail in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4 of last year, during which fireworks were set off and a police officer was shot and wounded. All nine defendants were found guilty after being tried before a federal judge in Texas. Matt Sledge, political reporter for The Intercept, warns that we just have to watch for this playbook to be applied elsewhere."Now anyone engaged in basic protests with the wrong political beliefs can be labeled a domestic terrorist, when they have no intention of violence, not engaged in any violence, not interested in any violence," says Sufia Khalid, deputy director of the National Security Criminal Defense Center, who represents one of the Prairieland defendants.

Thousands are feared dead in Venezuela after back-to-back powerful earthquakes struck the country Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital Caracas and surrounding areas. Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency as rescue workers frantically search for survivors in the rubble of dozens" of collapsed buildings. Historian Alejandro Velasco, who has family in Venezuela, reports that many Venezuelans abroad are trying to get in touch with their loved ones in Venezuela and are having a hard time doing so."The current death toll is at 164, with 1,000 people injured, but the U.S. Geological Survey warns there's a high chance the death toll could rise into the tens of thousands - or even top 100,000.

Thousands Feared Dead After Twin Earthquakes Rock Venezuela, White House Requests $87.6 Billion in Supplemental Funds, Mostly for Iran War, Israel Kills Two in Southern Lebanon, Straining U.S.-Iran Ceasefire, Drone Kills 12-Year-Old in Gaza as U.N. Inquiry Finds Israel Targets Children in Ongoing Genocide", Palestinian Journalist's Shocking" Photo Shows Effects of Torture, Medical Neglect in Israeli Jails, Professor Fired for Pro-Palestinian Activism Reinstated by San Jose State, Trump Clashes with GOP Senators over Iran and Blocks Housing Bill to Force SAVE Act Vote, Ukrainian Drones Kill 3 in Russian-Held Donetsk as Russia Bombards Team Clearing Landmines, Moscow Court Sentences Politician to Seven Years in Prison for Antiwar Messages, Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to Resume Mass Deportations Without Trial, Pentagon Restores Flu Vaccine Mandate After Outbreak Sickens Hundreds at Air Force Base, Five Eyes" Intelligence Alliance Warns AI Models Pose Huge Cybersecurity Risks, Keiko Fujimori, Daughter of Peru's Former Dictator, Poised to Win Razor-Thin Presidential Runoff

A new documentary explores a growing body of scientific research documenting the wide range of gender and sexual diversity found in the animal kingdom, from pregnant male seahorses to matriarchal monkey troops. Second Nature, directed by queer filmmaker Drew Denny, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page, who says he joined the project because I was so moved by it and found it so affirming as a trans and queer person."Learning about animal life beyond binary concepts of sex and gender was life-changing, Denny shares about her inspiration for the film. I finally felt in my body, for the first time, that I belong here on Earth, just like anybody else." Featuring interviews with evolutionary biologists and eye-opening footage of the natural world, Second Nature is now showing in major cities across the United States.