Democracy Now!

The Democrats' first debate was held in Miami, Florida. The venue was less than an hour away from Homestead, Florida, where more than 2,000 unaccompanied minors are incarcerated in a for-profit detention center run by Caliburn. Trump's former Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly sits on its board. Prior to the debate, Senators Warren and Klobuchar visited the facility. During the debate, Julián Castro, the former secretary of housing and urban development, criticized the immigration policies of fellow Texan, former Congressmember Beto O'Rourke. We air part of the debate and speak to Ana María Archila of the Center for Popular Democracy.

2020 Democratic Primary Debate Kicks Off with Focus on Immigration, Healthcare, Senate Passes Border Aid Package After Rejecting House Version, Bank of America Ends Relationship with Migrant Prison Companies, Asylum Officers Say Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy Threatens Migrants' Lives, Family of Black Man Shot by Indiana Cop Sues Officer, City of South Bend, Twin Suicide Bombs Rock Tunis, Trump, World Leaders in Osaka for G20, Court Rules France Failed to Properly Address Air Pollution, U.N. Expert Warns of Impending "Climate Apartheid", NYC Votes to Declare a "Climate Emergency", Dems Vote to Subpoena Kellyanne Conway for Hatch Act Violations, Iraqi Man Granted Reprieve from Deportation After Spending 2 Years in Church Sanctuary

Amid reports of inhumane and degrading conditions at child immigration jails along the southern border, we speak with Satsuki Ina, a Japanese-American psychotherapist who was born in the Tule Lake Segregation Center, a maximum-security internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII. "After decades of living our lives as compliant and quiet, and demonstrating and proving ourselves as good citizens, many of us have felt that it's time for us to speak out, to protest, to resist, and to speak out in ways that we haven't in the past, because we know what these children are experiencing," Ina said. "We know what it's like to have family separation, to suffer the long-term consequences of the trauma of being incarcerated—for some of us, more than four or five years."

Immigration jails along the southern border are facing heightened scrutiny following horrific reports of dirty and unhygienic conditions at a detention center in Clint, Texas, and other facilities. We speak with government whistleblower Dr. Scott Allen, who was hired in 2014 to inspect facilities where immigrant families are incarcerated, who says degrading conditions for jailed migrants date back to Obama's presidency. He is calling for more government transparency about conditions in immigration facilities, saying, "I think most Americans, if they were confronted with the humanity of what we are doing here, would be outraged and would not tolerate it." Allen is still on contract with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He and fellow whistleblower Dr. Pamela McPherson were recently awarded the 2019 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling and are represented by the non-profit Government Accountability Project.

A divided House approved a contentious $4.5 billion emergency funding package to address the border crisis Tuesday, under growing pressure to address the Trump administration's inhumane treatment of migrants. The bill passed largely along party lines in a 230-195 vote, with some progressive Democrats voting in favor after negotiating to include provisions including new health and safety standards for jailed migrants. Four Democrats voted against the bill: Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. Last week, the progressive congressmembers issued a statement condemning the bill and calling for the abolition of ICE. The Senate is slated to consider its own border funding measure this week, including President Trump's original request for more than a billion dollars for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We speak with Renée Feltz, a Democracy Now! correspondent and producer who has long reported on the criminalization of immigrants, family detention, and the business of detention. Her recent report for Rewire.News is headlined "'Willful Recklessness': Trump Pushes for Indefinite Family Detention."

The Department of Homeland Security has moved 100 migrant children back to a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, where infants and toddlers have been locked up without adequate food, water, sanitation or medical care, with older children having to care for the younger ones. Around 300 kids were removed from the facility Monday following widespread outrage over the reports, but Customs and Border Protection said some of the children are being sent back, claiming that the facility is no longer overcrowded. Lawyers who recently visited the facility described a scene of chaos and sickness, with children unable to shower or change into clean clothes for weeks on end. We speak with Clara Long, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. She was part of the monitoring team that visited Border Patrol facilities last week, including Clint.

Co-host Juan González was at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport this past Sunday, where he encountered Central American refugee families recently released from detention centers. The families, who were from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, had been left there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement without guidance or a translator to help them navigate their flight information. The families were likely traveling to cities where they could reunite with loved ones already in living in the U.S. In the case of the Guatemalan families, most of them didn't speak Spanish, but indigenous languages. None of them spoke English. They had no money and received no assistance from American Airlines employees. Several airport staff, mostly maintenance workers and others, said they have been trying to assist the stranded Central American refugees, providing them with food, blankets and other aid. This is a common scene at major airports around the country.

DHS Moves 100 Children Back to Texas Border Patrol Station Deemed Unsafe and "Inhumane", House Passes Contentious $4.5 Billion Emergency Border Bill, "Defund Hate Campaign" Activists Call for Action on Migrant Deaths and Detention, Trump Threatens to "Obliterate" Iran as Bipartisan Reps Seek to Avoid Unauthorized Strikes, Robert Mueller to Testify Before House in July, Tiffany Cabán Leading Queens DA Race, U.S. and N. Korea in Talks for Third Summit, Pompeo Says U.S. Hoping for a Peace Deal and Ready to Pull Out Troops in Afghanistan, Spanish Supreme Court Ups Conviction of Men Who Raped and Filmed Teenager in 2016, Illinois Legalizes Marijuana, Paving Way for Expungement of Nearly 800,000 Cases, San Francisco Set to Ban E-Cigarettes, #WayfairWalkOut Protests Furniture Retailer's Participation in Migrant Detention, DOJ Alleges Rep. Duncan Hunter Used Campaign Money to Fund Multiple Affairs, 2020 Democratic Primary Debate Kicks Off as Activists Demand a Focus on Climate Change

The Oregon state Legislature has been in a standoff for nearly one week, after 11 Republican lawmakers fled the Capitol Thursday to avoid voting on a landmark climate change bill. Some are believed to be hiding out in Idaho. Right-wing militias supporting the rogue GOP legislators have threatened violence, which led the remaining lawmakers to shut down the state Capitol in Salem. The climate crisis bill aims to decrease emissions by implementing a statewide cap-and-trade model. Without at least two of the rogue Republican senators present, Oregon Democrats, who control the state Senate and House of Representatives, don't have the necessary quorum to vote on the legislation. We speak with Oregon Democratic state Representative Karin Power. She is co-chair of the state's Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction and co-sponsor of the cap-and-trade bill.

Former Vice President Joe Biden made headlines last week when he fondly reminisced about his "civil" relationship in the 1970s and 1980s with segregationist senators James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. While Biden's recent comments made the news, far less attention has been paid to the former vice president's actual record. In the 1970s, then-Senator Biden was a fierce critic of Delaware's attempts to bus students in an effort to integrate its schools. We speak with National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Kozol about Biden's track record.

President Trump announced Monday his administration is imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran, targeting several prominent Iranians including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Iran said the move "permanently closed the path to diplomacy" between Iran and the United States. The latest tension comes after the downing of a U.S. drone by Iran on Thursday. Iran maintains the drone had entered its airspace, while the U.S. claims the drone was in international waters. The U.S. military prepared to directly attack Iran in retaliation, but Trump reportedly called off the bombing at the last minute. We speak with Iranian-American author and analyst Trita Parsi, former president and founder of the National Iranian American Council.

Iran Says New U.S. Sanctions Shut Down Diplomatic Option, 300 Children Moved from Texas Border Patrol Station After Reports of Neglect, Inhumane Conditions, FBI Investigating Deaths of 3 Children, 1 Woman Found Near Texas' Southern Border, Trump Responds to E. Jean Carroll Rape Allegations: "She's Not My Type", Palestinians Resist Kushner's Middle East Workshop as Business Leaders Gather in Bahrain, Experts Warn Climate Crisis Exacerbating Heat Waves as 100+ Degree Temps Grip Europe, Chennai, India's 6th-Largest City, Has Almost Run Out of Water, SCOTUS Makes FOIA Requests More Difficult for Journalists, Oregon Republicans Flee Capitol to Avoid Voting on Climate Bill, Missouri's Only Abortion Clinic Has Until Friday to Resolve License Dispute, 9/11 First Responders to Meet with McConnell over Healthcare Funding, Former PA Rep. Joe Sestak Enters Crowded Democratic 2020 Race, Treasury Will Review Trump Admin Delay to Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Redesign, U.S. Women's Soccer Will Enter Mediation over Gender-Based Pay Discrimination Suit

Last week, an Ecuadorian judge ordered the release of Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, who spent more than two months in jail without charge. Bini is a friend of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange. He was arrested in Quito on the same day that Assange was forcibly taken by British authorities from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. We speak with Ola Bini in Quito, where he remains under investigation for allegedly hacking the Ecuadorian government. He says, "Through the whole process, 70 days in prison, and all of the days since, we've been asking the prosecution to tell us what it is I have done. And they still have not actually given us any single answer."

Democracy Now! was there when five Japanese-American elders, survivors of U.S. internment camps, engaged in civil disobedience Saturday outside the Fort Sill Army post in Oklahoma, where the Trump administration plans to indefinitely detain 1,400 immigrant and refugee children starting next month. Fort Sill was an internment camp for 700 Japanese-American men in 1942. It was one of more than 70 sites where the U.S. government incarcerated about 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, including one of 14 U.S. Army bases. President Obama first used Fort Sill in 2014 to detain migrant children seeking asylum from violence in Central America. Descendants of internment camp survivors were also present at the peaceful protest. We feature a video report from Fort Sill and speak with Mike Ishii, co-chair of Tsuru for Solidarity. Ishii was at Fort Sill Army Base Saturday and helped organize the act.

Outrage is mounting over a shocking Associated Press report published late last week revealing that at least 250 migrant infants, children and teenagers have been locked up for nearly a month without adequate food, water or sanitation at a Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, near the city of El Paso. Lawyers who visited the facility described a scene of chaos and sickness, with children unable to shower or change into clean clothes for weeks on end. The AP report came the same week that the Trump administration argued in federal court that the government is not required to provide toothbrushes, soap or beds to children detained at the border, and as other reports found similarly squalid conditions at a number of immigration jails. We speak with Warren Binford, a lawyer who interviewed children detained at the Clint, Texas, facility.

U.S. Announces New Iran Sanctions Days After Aborted Military Strike, Trump Delays ICE Roundups Amid Democratic Pushback, Columnist E. Jean Carroll Accuses Trump of Raping Her in 1990s, Turkey's Ruling AK Party Loses Istanbul Mayoral Race in Election Do-Over, Ethiopian Army Chief and Local Gov. Killed in Attempted Coup, 1000s of Climate Activists Block German Coal Mining Operation, Extinction Rebellion Activists Call on New York Times to Improve and Increase Climate Crisis Reporting, Sen. Sanders Introduces Plan to Cancel All Student Debt, Pete Buttigieg Faces Hometown Backlash in Indiana over Police Shooting of Black Man, Eddie Africa of MOVE 9 Released from Prison After 40 Years, Japanese-American Survivors of WWII Internment Camp Protest Trump Detention Plans at Fort Sill

In a Guatemalan election marked by fraud and corruption, Lucrecia Hernández Mack is one of just a few new faces in politics sparking hope in the country, after being elected as a legislator in the Guatemalan Congress with the progressive party Movimiento Semilla. Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced Thursday it will hold a recount amid fraud allegations following last Sunday's presidential and legislative elections. Hernández Mack is the daughter of renowned Guatemalan anthropologist Myrna Mack, who was murdered by U.S.-backed Guatemalan security forces on September 11, 1990, during the country's brutal 36-year civil war. In 2016, Hernández Mack became the first woman to lead Guatemala's Ministry of Health, but resigned after current Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced the U.N.-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala was no longer welcome in the country. We speak with Thelma Aldana, former attorney general of Guatemala, and Lucrecia Hernández Mack about her historic win.

Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced Thursday it will hold a recount amid fraud allegations following last Sunday's presidential and legislative elections. The country's former Attorney General Thelma Aldana, who was a leading presidential candidate with the center-left party Movimiento Semilla, was barred from participating in the race and was forced to flee the country after receiving death threats and a warrant for her arrest. During her time as Guatemala's top prosecutor, Aldana, alongside the U.N.-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known as CICIG, helped investigate hundreds of politicians and businessmen on corruption charges. Aldana says the criminal accusations against her are retaliation for her work with Guatemala's anti-corruption movement. We spoke with Aldana earlier this week.

After threatening to strike Iran in retaliation for shooting down an unmanned U.S. drone, President Trump reportedly approved, and then abruptly called off, military strikes. The move came after the operation was already underway in its initial stages, with warships and planes already being put into position. We go to Tehran to get response from Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran who was part of the nuclear deal negotiations in 2015. We also speak with CUNY professor and historian Ervand Abrahamian, author of several books about Iran. Whether or not Trump wants war with Iran doesn't ultimately matter, says Abrahamian. "The long-term agenda in the White House" from Bolton, Pompeo and others is much more aggressive. "They want basically the destruction of the Islamic Republic."

Report: Trump Ordered Military Strikes on Iran But Then Pulled Back, Democrats: Congressional Approval Is Needed Before Attacking Iran, Senate Votes to Block Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia & UAE over Yemen War, U.K. Court Rules British Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Were Unlawful on Humanitarian Grounds, Federal Court Rules in Favor of Trump Administration Title X Abortion "Gag Rule", Detained Migrant Children Denied Adequate Food, Water & Sanitation in Texas, Trump Administration Says Detained Children Not Entitled to Soap, Toothbrushes & Beds, Protest Planned over U.S. Plan to House Children at Site of Former WWII Internment Camp, Colorado Immigrant Rights Activist Jeanette Vizguerra Denied a Visa, Federal Judge Blocks Authorities from Making Immigration Arrests in Mass. Courts, Honduran President Orders 25,000 Troops into Streets as Protests Grow, Ecuadorean Judge Orders Release of Detained Internet Activist Ola Bini, British MP Suspended for Grabbing & Shoving Climate Activist, At Eddie Gallagher War Crimes Trial, a Medic Claims He Was Real Killer, Explosion at Philadelphia Oil Refinery Starts Large Fire, CDC: Suicide Rate for Indigenous Women Soars as Nationwide Rate Hits Post-WWII High, Eight Activists Arrested for Protesting U.S. Drone Warfare at New York Base

Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden is under fire for fondly reminiscing about his "civil" relationship with segregationist senators in the 1970s and 1980s. Speaking at a fundraiser at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City on Tuesday night, Biden expressed nostalgia for his relationship with the late Democratic pro- segregation Senators James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. Biden reportedly said, "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. ... He never called me 'boy'; he called me 'son.'" Biden went on to say, "A guy like Herman Talmadge, one of the meanest guys I ever knew, you go down the list of all these guys. Well, guess what. At least there was some civility. We got things done." Biden was widely criticized by other Democratic presidential contenders, including Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio. We speak with acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates about Joe Biden's long record on the wrong side of civil rights legislation, from opposing busing in the 1970s to helping to fuel mass incarceration in 1990s. Coates says, "Joe Biden shouldn't be president."

On the heels of Wednesday's historic hearing on reparations, we speak with renowned writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on the lasting legacy of American slavery, how the national dialogue about reparations has progressed in the past five years and his testimony in favor of H.R. 40, which took direct aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Coates says, "It is absolutely impossible to imagine America without enslavement."

On Wednesday, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary held a historic hearing on reparations for slavery—the first of its kind in over a decade. Wednesday's hearing coincided with Juneteenth, a day that commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the transatlantic slave trade. Lawmakers are considering a bill titled the "Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act." It was introduced by Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, after former Congressmember John Conyers had championed the bill for decades without success. The bill carries the designation H.R. 40, a reference to "40 acres and a mule," one of the nation's first broken promises to newly freed slaves. Ahead of the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea." Award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates testified at the historic congressional hearing on reparations and took direct aim at McConnell.

Iran Shoots Down U.S. Drone, But Officials Dispute Territory of Incident, House Dems Grill Trump's Iran Rep. over War Authorization, Congress Holds Historic Hearing on Reparations, 2020 Dems Slam Joe Biden for Praising Segregationist Lawmakers, Dems Vow to Compel Hope Hicks Testimony After She Refuses to Answer House Questions, Trump's EPA Rolls Back Coal Restrictions, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un Meet for Talks in North Korea, U.N.: 71 Million People Displaced Worldwide Last Year, 4 People Charged in Downing of 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight Over Eastern Ukraine, Rev. Barber Calls for "Moral Budget" to Respond to Poverty Epidemic, Gov. Newsom Apologizes for California's Genocide of Native Americans, Joy Harjo Named First Native American Poet Laureate

An African-American family is suing the city of Phoenix, Arizona, after police held them at gunpoint because their 4-year-old daughter had allegedly taken a doll from a Family Dollar store. In a video that has since gone viral, officers point guns and yell at the family, and one officer even threatens to shoot the 4-year-old girl's father, Dravon Ames, in the face. The girl's mother, Iesha Harper, is heard saying she is unable to hold her hands up because she is holding a child and that she is pregnant. Phoenix's mayor and police chief have both apologized for what happened, and criticized how the police officers handled the situation. Activists in Phoenix say this is just the latest incident in a police department plagued by issues of police violence and killings. Last year, the city had 44 police shootings, nearly double that of the previous year, and led the nation in police shootings among cities of its size. We speak with Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper, as well as a family spokesperson, Rev. Jarrett Maupin. On Monday, the couple filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city.

It's been nearly a year since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the 2018 Democratic primary, toppling Joe Crowley—one of the most powerful Democrats in the House of Representatives—and upending the political machine in New York City overnight. Since then, Ocasio-Cortez has gone from outsider to one of the most influential politicians on Capitol Hill. Now another young Queens candidate is trying to pull off a historic upset. Tiffany Cabán, a 31-year-old queer Latina public defender, is running for district attorney in Queens. She is running to end cash bail, stop prosecuting low-level offenses, decriminalize sex work, and go after bad landlords, cops and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her election would mark a major shift in the Queens criminal justice system and yet again set an example for the country. To win, Cabán will have to beat out a crowded field of seven candidates who are all claiming they'll reform the system, including Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who is backed by the Queens establishment. The Democratic primary is June 25. We speak with Tiffany Cabán in our New York studio.

In a move that could reshape the world's financial system, Facebook has unveiled plans to launch a new global digital currency called Libra. Facebook announced its plans on Tuesday after secretly working on the cryptocurrency for more than a year. It will launch Libra next year in partnership with other large companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber. Facebook said it wants to create "a simple global currency and infrastructure that empowers billions of people." The plan has already come under fierce criticism from financial regulators and lawmakers. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown tweeted, "Facebook is already too big and too powerful, and it has used that power to exploit users' data without protecting their privacy. We cannot allow Facebook to run a risky new cryptocurrency out of a Swiss bank account without oversight." We speak with David Dayen, the executive editor of The American Prospect. He recently wrote a piece for The New Republic headlined "The Final Battle in Big Tech's War to Dominate Your World."

Shanahan Withdraws from Defense Sec. Consideration over Domestic Violence Past, U.N. Finds "Credible Evidence" of MBS's Responsibility in Khashoggi Murder, U.S. Excludes Saudi Arabia from List of Countries Using Child Soldiers, DOJ Intervenes to Keep Paul Manafort Out of Rikers, Trump Taps Anti-Muslim Katharine Gorka for CBP Press Sec., Acting Head of USCIS Tells Agency Staff to Crack Down on "Frivolous" Asylum Claims, AOC Calls Immigration Prisons "Concentration Camps", AOC Calls Out Amazon's Poor Labor Practices, Gunmen Kill At Least 40 People in Mali Amid Mounting Ethnic Conflict, Trump Launches 2020 Presidential Bid at Florida Rally, House Holding Hearing on Slavery Reparations, Trump Refuses to Admit He Was Wrong in 1989 "Central Park 5" Case, SCOTUS Rules Public Access Station Not Bound by 1st Amendment, PG&E Agrees to Pay Out $1 Billion for Role in NorCal Wildfires, Indigenous Groups in Canada Prepare to Fight Trans Mountain Pipeline Extension

A London judge has ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appear before a court in February 2020 to face a full extradition hearing. Prosecutors in the U.S. have indicted Assange on 18 counts, including 17 violations of the Espionage Act. This is the first-ever case of a journalist or publisher being indicted under the World War I-era law. Assange said that his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors a U.S. request for his extradition. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in London's Belmarsh Prison for skipping bail in 2012. We speak with James Goodale, former general counsel of The New York Times. In 1971, he urged the paper to publish the Pentagon Papers, which had been leaked by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, 67, died Monday after collapsing while in a glass cage inside a Cairo courtroom. The Muslim Brotherhood leader was elected in 2012 in Egypt's first, and still only, democratic election. He was overthrown a year later in a military coup led by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Morsi's death comes as el-Sisi continues to jail tens of thousands of people in what the Associated Press has described as the heaviest crackdown on dissent in Egypt's modern history. In his final comments, Morsi insisted he was still Egypt's legitimate president. Morsi spent the last six years of his life in jail, including extended periods in solitary confinement. His family and global human rights groups often denounced the poor conditions and Morsi's treatment in jail, arguing he had been deprived of much-needed healthcare. Morsi was buried in Cairo earlier today. We speak with Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent and a reporter with Mada Masr, an independent media outlet in Cairo.

Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi Dies, U.S. to Send 1,000 More Troops to Gulf as It Ignores Calls for Restraint, Mexico Deploys 6,000 Along Southern Border, Trump Tweets ICE Will Start Removing "Millions" of Immigrants from U.S., U.S. Cuts Aid to Central American Countries over Immigration, Nigeria: At Least 30 Killed in Suicide Bombing, U.N. Warns It May Suspend Yemen Food Aid, Israel Announces Plans for "Trump Heights" Settlement in Occupied Golan Heights, SCOTUS Rules Against Virginia GOP Appeal to Gerrymandering Case, SCOTUS Rules States and Federal Gov't Can Prosecute over Same Criminal Offenses, Trial Opens for Accused War Criminal, Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, New York Grants Driver's Licenses to Undocumented Residents, Harvard Rescinds Admission to Parkland Survivor over Racist & Anti-Semitic Posts, Boeing Issues Alert over Possible Flaw in 787 Dreamliner, Rising Temperatures Precipitating Arctic Ice Melt, Threatening Sea Rise and Permafrost, Activists Draw Attention to Trump's "Family Separation" Policy at U.N. Headquarters, New Yorkers Call Out Joe Biden for Weak Stance on Climate in 2020 Platform

The documentary "16 Shots" examines the 2014 murder of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the attempt by the city's police department to cover up the events. McDonald, who was 17, was shot 16 times by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was found guilty in 2018 of second-degree murder and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for McDonald's murder. He was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery—one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. The film is screening on Showtime. We speak with Rick Rowley, director of "16 Shots."

As many as 2 million protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong Sunday demanding the withdrawal of a bill that would allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. Protesters also called for the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive, Carrie Lam, and other top officials who pushed for the extradition bill. Lam has apologized for her handling of the legislation and indefinitely delayed a vote on the bill; however, the bill has not been fully withdrawn. Critics of the extradition bill say it would infringe on Hong Kong's independence and the legal and human rights of Hong Kong residents and visitors. Just a few days ago, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at tens of thousands of demonstrators. We speak with Nathan Law, a pro-democracy activist who helped lead the Umbrella Movement, and Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch.

More Mass Protests in Hong Kong as Activist Joshua Wong Freed from Prison, Iran Closes In on Uranium Stockpile Limit as U.S. Ratchets Up Tensions, 6-Year-Old Migrant Girl from India Dies in Arizona Desert on Way to Seek Asylum, Youngest Separated Migrant Was 4-Month-Old Baby, ICE Quarantines 5,000+ Migrants After Exposure to Mumps, Electrical Grid Failure Causes Massive Blackout in South America, Trump Lashes Out After NYT Report on U.S. Incursions into Russian Cyberspace, India Imposes Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods, Ex-First Lady Leads Presidential Vote Tally in Contested Guatemala Election, Sudanese Ex-Leader al-Bashir Charged with Corruption in 1st Appearance Since Ouster, Al-Shabab Claims Attacks in Mogadishu and Kenya, Killing at Least 18 People, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau Sworn in for 2nd Term After Backing by Anti-Separatists, Trump to Kick Off 2020 Bid with Florida Rally, Zoe Spears Becomes 10th Known Black Trans Woman to Die This Year, Lead Prosecutor of "Central Park 5" Leaves Columbia Law Job After Student Outcry, Outrage & Apologies After Video Shows Arizona Police Pointing Guns and Yelling at Black Family

Attorney Lea Tsemel has defended Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts for nearly half a century, insisting on their humanity and their right to a fair trial. Her work has earned her the scorn and reprobation of many Israelis, as well as death threats. A staunch critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Tsemel has long argued that Palestinians who carry out politically motivated violence are freedom fighters, not "terrorists." In 1999, Tsemel won a landmark case in the Israeli Supreme Court, making it illegal for Israeli officials to torture detained Palestinians during interrogations. The documentary "Advocate" narrates the remarkable life story of Tsemel. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and screened in New York City for the first time Thursday night at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. We speak with Lea Tsemel and the director of "Advocate," Rachel Leah Jones.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared before a magistrates' court in London Friday, saying his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors an extradition request from the United States, where he faces 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. Meanwhile, a friend of Assange's, Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, is still in prison in Ecuador, after being arrested April 11, the same day Assange was forcibly taken by British authorities from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and has been jailed ever since without charges. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and a friend of Ola Bini.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are again ratcheting up as the Trump administration accused Iran of orchestrating an attack Thursday on Japanese and Norwegian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denied any involvement and accused the Trump administration of trying to sabotage diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly accused Iran of attacking the oil tankers, and the U.S. released video of what it claimed was Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of the Japanese oil tanker that was attacked. However, the president of the Japanese company that owns the ship said it was not attacked by mines but two flying objects. He also said he doesn't believe any objects were attached to the side of the ship. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Accuses Iran of Attacking Oil Tankers, Federal Elections Commissioner Warns Trump over Foreign Help for Re-election, Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Step Down as White House Press Secretary, Federal Watchdog Recommends Kellyanne Conway Be Fired for Hatch Act Violations, Teen Mother and Premature Baby Found Neglected in Border Patrol Custody, Whole Villages Evacuated Amid Record Heat and Drought in India, Study Finds U.S. Pentagon Emits More Greenhouse Gas Than Portugal, Accused New Zealand Mosque Shooter Pleads Not Guilty to Terrorism and Murder, Palestinian Medic, Shot in the Head by Israeli Snipers, Dies, Julian Assange Says His Life Is at Stake as U.S. Seeks His Extradition, Michigan Prosecutors Drop Flint Lead Poisoning Charges, Pledging Expanded Case, As Measles Spreads, New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Vaccinations, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Bill Would Cancel Student Loan Debt for Millions of Americans, Democratic National Committee Approves 20 Candidates for June Debates

Transgender actor and model Indya Moore addressed a crowd of protesters gathered in New York City's Foley Square Monday to demand justice for Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. "We are worthy of legal aid, liberty, justice, resources. And we are worthy of life. We are worthy of love," Moore told the crowd. "If the sight of us using our bodies, our voices and our defiance to protest this oppressive administration and the people who endorse it, and the religions that are fighting for the right to dispose us as a spiritual practice, and police, prison and the political system that is giving the world permission to dispose of us, disturbs and frightens you more than our mysteriously dead bodies in the custody of Rikers Island … we will not back down and rest in peace no more." Indya Moore was recently named one of the world's 100 most influential people of 2019 by Time magazine. We're also joined in studio by Raquel Willis, a transgender activist and writer, executive editor of _Out_ magazine.

Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to so-called restrictive housing, an arrangement Polanco's lawyer says amounts to solitary confinement. Layleen's death came at the beginning of Pride Month and just one day after the NYPD apologized for the first time for its raid a half-century ago on the Stonewall Inn, a gay- and trans-friendly bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. In June of 1969, the inn was the site of a violent police raid that triggered an uprising and helped launch the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement. We speak with Raquel Willis, a transgender activist and writer, executive editor of Out magazine, and Joel Wertheimer, an attorney representing the family of Layleen Polanco.

In Tucson, Arizona, a jury has refused to convict humanitarian activist Scott Warren, who faced up to 20 years in prison for providing water, food, clean clothes and beds to two undocumented migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. Warren's trial ended Tuesday in a mistrial after a deadlocked jury was unable to deliver a verdict. Eight jurors thought Warren was not guilty; four thought he was guilty. A status hearing is scheduled for July 2. Prosecutors have declined to comment on whether they would seek a retrial against Warren. We speak with Ryan Devereaux, a staff reporter at The Intercept who has covered Warren's case extensively.

Authorities in Hong Kong have shut down government offices and postponed debate in the Legislative Council, one day after riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at tens of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to protest a bill that would allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. On Wednesday, demonstrators attempted to storm the Legislative Council Building, where lawmakers are debating the extradition bill. Human Rights Watch criticized Hong Kong authorities for using what it described as "excessive force" to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Protesters described police using indiscriminate force. We speak with Mary Hui, a Hong Kong-based writer and reporter for the news outlet Quartz. She has reported on the extradition bill and has been covering the protests.

Two Oil Tankers Evacuated Near Strait of Hormuz After Reported Explosions, House Panel Holds Trump Officials in Contempt for Refusing Subpoenas on 2020 Census, Trump Jr. Testifies to Senate Intel Committee on Russia Trump Tower Meeting, Trump Says He'd Accept Dirt on Campaign Rivals from Foreigners, Trump Welcomes Polish President with F-35 Flyover of the White House, Houthi Rebel Attack on Saudi Airport Injures 26 Civilians, House Panel Grills Assistant Secretary of State over Saudi Weapon Sales, Hong Kong Lawmakers Delay Debate on Extradition Bill Amid Mass Protests, Reporter Norma Sarabia Becomes 6th Mexican Journalist Murdered This Year, Mexican Immigration Activists Released from Jail Ahead of Trial, Congo's Ebola Epidemic, 2nd Worst in History, Spreads to Uganda, Cheyenne River Sioux Order Keystone XL Pipeline Workers Off Reservation, Former Stanford Coach Avoids Prison in First Sentencing of College Admissions Scandal, British Home Secretary Signs Extradition Papers for Julian Assange, Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Socialism Needed to Defeat "Corporate Socialism for the Rich"

We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has announced it plans to hold some 1,400 immigrant children at a site on Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma that was once used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. We get an update from Aura Bogado, immigration reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, who has been speaking with migrants held in these facilities.

A political crisis is growing in Brazil after The Intercept revealed that the judge who helped jail former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likely aided federal prosecutors in their corruption case in an attempt to prevent Lula's Workers' Party from winning the presidency. Leaked cellphone messages among Brazilian law enforcement officials and other data obtained by The Intercept point to an ongoing collaboration between Judge Sérgio Moro and the prosecutors investigating a sweeping corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash. Lula was considered a favorite in the lead-up to the 2018 presidential election until he was put in jail and forced out of the race on what many say were trumped-up corruption charges. The leaked documents also reveal prosecutors had serious doubts about Lula's guilt. The jailing of Lula helped pave the way for the election of the far-right former military officer Jair Bolsonaro, who then named Judge Sérgio Moro to be his justice minister. We get an update from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, whose reporting is based on a trove of internal files and private conversations from the prosecutorial team behind Operation Car Wash.

In New York, housing rights advocates are celebrating after state lawmakers announced an agreement that would provide the strongest tenant protections in over a quarter of a century. The deal came just days ahead of the expiration of the current rent laws at the end of this week. Democracy Now! co-host Juan González explains how lawmakers agreed to abolish laws allowing landlords to deregulate rents on apartments after they exceed a certain limit, and to curb provisions allowing landlords to raise the rent of rent-controlled apartments after renovations. The law is one of several similar efforts nationwide and is expected to give municipalities around the state more authority to regulate rents and ensure greater access to affordable housing.

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Press freedom groups are sounding the alarm over a pair of police raids on journalists. On Wednesday, Australian Federal Police swept into the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, reviewing thousands of documents for information about a 2017 report that found Australian special forces soldiers may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The raid came one day after police in Melbourne raided the home of Annika Smethurst, a reporter with the Herald Sun newspaper. We speak to Australian professor Joseph Fernandez and Peter Greste, founding director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. Greste was imprisoned for 400 days in 2013 to 2014 while covering the political crisis in Egypt.

We speak with Washington Governor Jay Inslee about his bid for the 2020 presidency, immigration and the military-industrial complex. Inslee has also vowed to allow in a record number of refugees and to end President Trump's Muslim travel ban. In 2017, Washington became the first state to file a lawsuit to challenge Trump's initial travel ban.

The Democratic National Committee is facing criticism after rejecting calls to host a debate solely focused on the climate crisis and for threatening to blacklist any candidate who takes part in a non-DNC debate on the issue. DNC Chair Tom Perez recently told climate activists that it is not practical to hold debates on specific issues. We speak with Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who was the first Democratic presidential candidate to call for a climate-focused debate. He's accusing the DNC of attempting to silence the voices of those who want to debate climate solutions. "This is our last chance to defeat climate change," Inslee said. "We will not have another chance after the next administration. We will either act now, or it will be cataclysm."