Democracy Now!

The historian and activist Tariq Ali talks about the uprisings that are happening around the world, from Chile and Colombia to Iraq and Lebanon. “It’s extremely significant because what it reveals is a new generation completely alienated from the political structures of their societies,” Ali says.

The British general election is just 10 days away and will have huge implications for the future of the country as well as Brexit. When voters cast their ballots later this month, they will choose between two dramatically different candidates: right-wing Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson and left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn recently unveiled an ambitious election manifesto promising to transform the country and resuscitate its public sector. The plan proposed a $100-billion tax increase on the wealthy to fund investment in infrastructure as well as increased spending on education and healthcare. We recently spoke with Tariq Ali, the acclaimed activist, filmmaker, author and an editor of the New Left Review. He says the Conservative Party has been “taken over by the extreme right wing” while Corbyn’s Labour is pushing a “radical social-democratic program.”

Anti-government protests are continuing in Iraq one day after the Iraqi parliament voted to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. On Saturday, protesters set off fireworks in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square when Abdul Mahdi announced he would submit his resignation, though he will remain in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. The resignation came two days after Iraqi security forces killed at least 44 people in the southern cities of Nasiriya and Najaf after the Iranian consulate was burned down on Wednesday night. Following the bloody crackdown, Iraq's Shi'ite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged the Iraqi Parliament to withdraw its support of the prime minister and warned that the escalating violence could lead to a civil war in Iraq. More than 400 Iraqi protesters have been killed and 15,000 injured since the widespread anti-government demonstrations began in October. We speak with Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, and Sinan Antoon, poet, novelist, translator and scholar born and raised in Baghdad.

COP25 Opens in Madrid Amid Dire Warnings About Climate Change, House Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing in Impeachment Inquiry, 3 Women Accuse Ambassador Sondland of Sexual Misconduct, Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns Amid Anti-Government Protests, Malta Prime Minister Resigns amid Probe of Journalist’s Murder, Three More Egyptian Journalists Arrested, Attack on London Bridge Kills 2 Cambridge Graduates, Trump Visits Afghanistan in Surprise Thanksgiving Trip, Supreme Court to Hear First Major Gun Case in Nearly a Decade, Twitter Suspends Account of Ilhan Omar’s Challenger, Sestak and Bullock Drop Out of 2020 Presidential Race, Pope Condemns Virus of Consumerism amid Black Friday Protests, Rosa Parks Honored with New Statue in Montgomery, Alabama

An hour with David Byrne, the celebrated musician, artist, writer, cycling enthusiast, filmmaker and now Broadway star. He has a new hit Broadway show called "American Utopia." The show grew out of Byrne's recent world tour, which the British music publication NME said "may just be the best live show of all time." Byrne talks about the production, his time in the groundbreaking band Talking Heads, his website Reasons to Be Cheerful, Greta Thunberg and more.

Human rights groups are condemning the Indian government for carrying out widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and other crimes in Kashmir after the region's special status was revoked in August. We speak to the acclaimed Indian author Arundhati Roy about the crackdown in Kashmir, rising authoritarianism in India and other issues.

Lakota historian Nick Estes talks about Thanksgiving and his book "Our History Is the Future." He is a co-founder of the indigenous resistance group The Red Nation and a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the historic protests in Seattle that shut down a meeting of the World Trade Organization, but it also marks the time when the first Independent Media Center came to life. Amid the clouds of tear gas, hundreds of volunteer reporters documented what unfolded. That week indymedia.org received 1.5 million visitors — more than CNN — and produced a daily video report and newspaper. It was the first node in a global citizen journalist movement. We speak with those who know the story best. Jill Friedberg is co-founder of the Seattle Independent Media Center and co-produced the Seattle WTO documentary “This is What Democracy Looks Like.” Rick Rowley is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and independent journalist with Midnight Films, as well as co-producer of “This is What Democracy Looks Like.” Tish Stringer and Renée Feltz are co-organizers of the 20th Anniversary Indymedia Encuentro taking place this weekend at the Rice Media Center. Stringer is Film Program Manager at Rice University and author of a book on Indymedia: "Move! Guerilla Films, Collaborative Modes and the Tactics of Radical Media Making." Feltz was at the Seattle WTO protests and helped found the Houston Independent Media Center. She's a longtime Democracy Now! producer and reporter, including for The Indypendent, a newspaper that grew out of New York City Indymedia.

Twenty years ago this week, tens of thousands of activists gathered in Seattle to shut down a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Grassroots organizers successfully blocked world leaders, government trade ministers and corporate executives from meeting to sign a global trade deal that many called deeply undemocratic, harmful to workers’ rights, the environment and Indigenous people globally. On November 30, 1999, activists formed a human chain around the Seattle convention center and shut down the city’s downtown. Police responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the mostly peaceful crowd. The protests went on for five days and resulted in 600 arrests and in the eventual collapse of the talks, as well as the resignation of Seattle’s police chief. The protests were documented in the film "This is What Democracy Looks Like." Democracy Now! was in the streets of Seattle 20 years ago. During one live broadcast we spoke to two leading critics of the WTO: Indian physicist and activist Vandana Shiva and Lori Wallach of Public Citizen, who join us on the show today.

Trump Knew of Whistleblower Complaint When He Released Ukraine Aid, Colombian Protesters Call for Second General Strike, Chilean President Seeks to Deploy Military to Streets Amid Protests, IACHR Says Commission Should Investigate Human Rights Abuse in Bolivia, Pompeo Calls on Egypt to Respect Press Freedom, After Raid of Mada Masr, Videos Emerge of Iran’s Bloody Crackdown Against Protesters, Jeremy Corbyn Condemns Anti-Semitism, After Criticism from Top Rabbi, Chemical Plant Explodes in Texas; Wildfires Rage near Santa Barbara, CA, New York City Council Votes to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes

Last Thursday, literary luminaries and social leaders from around the country gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan to honor Toni Morrison, one of the nation’s most influential writers. She died in August at the age of 88 from complications of pneumonia. In 1993, Morrison became the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. She also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her classic work “Beloved.” Much of Morrison’s writing focused on the black female experience in America, and her writing style honored the rhythms of black oral tradition. In 2012, President Obama awarded Morrison the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ta-Nehisi Coates, Edwidge Danticat and Oprah Winfrey were among those who spoke about Toni Morrison's life and legacy. We air Oprah's eulogy.

In Iraq, more than 340 people have died since anti-government protests began in early October. More than 15,000 Iraqis have been injured. Tires were set on fire Monday and main roads and bridges were blocked in the cities of Basra and Nassiriya. Over the weekend, security forces opened fire on civilians in Baghdad and other cities. Demonstrators are protesting corruption and lack of jobs and basic services, including clean water and electricity. In Baghdad, many university students are taking part in the demonstrations. To talk more about the protests in Iraq we are joined by the Iraqi poet, novelist, translator, and scholar Sinan Antoon. He was born and raised in Baghdad and his most recent novel is titled, "The Book of Collateral Damage." "What's really important is the reclaiming of Iraqi identity and a new sense of Iraqi nationalism that transcends the sectarian discourse that was institutionalized by the United States in 2003," Antoon says.

The Israeli government deported the director of Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine office, Omar Shakir, on Monday. The organization said the move places Israel in an “ugly club” of authoritarian regimes. Israel has accused Shakir of supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a nonviolent global campaign aiming to pressure Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. A 2017 Israeli law bans foreigners from Israel if they publicly support the BDS movement. Omar Shakir joins us from Stockholm to discuss his recent deportation and his plans to address the European Parliament regarding Israel's systematic repression of Palestinians. "The Israeli government, for two and a half years now, has been trying to bar Human Rights Watch's access to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory," he says.

Judge Rules Trump Can’t Stop Officials from Testifying in Impeachment Inquiry, Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Disclosure of Trump’s Financial Records, U.S. Troops Resume Combat Mission Against ISIS, U.N.: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Surged to Record-High Levels in 2018, 56 Killed in Landslides in Kenya, Leaked Documents Reveal China’s “Brainwashing” of Uyghur Muslims, Duque Calls for “National Dialogue” as Protests Continue to Rock Colombia, Global Protests Mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Argentine Catholic Priests Sentenced to Prison for Raping Students, Water Protectors Blockade Enbridge Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline, 3 Men Wrongfully Jailed for 36 Years Walk Free from Prison in Baltimore, Google Fires Four Employees Active in Labor Organizing, Barr Announces Plan to Address Crisis of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanded the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, one week after President Trump overruled military leaders and cleared three U.S. servicemembers accused or convicted of war crimes. The men included Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, who has been accused of multiple war crimes, including shooting two Iraqi civilians and fatally stabbing a captive teenager in the neck. Gallagher was convicted of posing with the teenage corpse but was acquitted of premeditated murder. Trump criticized the Navy on Thursday for moving toward holding a review hearing to decide if Gallagher should be ousted. The New York Times reported Navy Secretary Spencer then threatened to resign after Trump’s backlash but there are also reports that Spencer attempted to reach a backroom deal with Trump that would have allowed Gallagher to keep his Trident Pin. In a statement on Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he was “deeply troubled by this conduct." We speak with Daniel Ellsberg, one of the world's most famous whistleblowers. In 1971, he was a high-level defense analyst when he leaked a top secret report on U.S. involvement in Vietnam to The New York Times and other publications that came to be known as the Pentagon Papers and played a key role in ending the Vietnam War.

Over the weekend, Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the United States dropped the first atomic bombs in 1945, killing more than 200,000 people. Pope Francis said, “A world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary.” The leader of the Cathoilc Church met with survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and declared the possession of nuclear weapons to be immoral. The Pope's visit comes as a group of seven Catholic peace activists are awaiting sentencing for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia on April 4, 2018. The activists, known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, were recently convicted of three felony counts and a misdemeanor charge for entering the base armed with hammers, crime scene tape and baby bottles containing their own blood. We speak with Martha Hennessy, one of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7. She is the granddaughter of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. We are also joined by Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. His most recent book is titled, "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner." Daniel Ellsberg was blocked from testifying in the recent trial of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7.

Egyptian security forces raided the office of Mada Masr, the country’s last independent media outlet, and arrested three of its journalists this weekend. The raid began Sunday afternoon, when nine plainclothes security officers entered the Mada Masr office in Cairo, seizing phones and laptops and holding the staff in the building for more than three hours. They then arrested editor-in-chief Lina Attalah, managing editor Mohamed Hamama and reporter Rana Mamdouh. It came just a day after security forces arrested senior editor Shady Zalat at his home. All four journalists were released from detention Sunday night. The raid and arrests mark a sharp escalation in Egypt's attack on press freedom under Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who came to power after the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi. We go to Cairo where we're joined by Mada Masr reporter Sharif Abdel Kouddous. He's also a Democracy Now! correspondent and was detained with his colleagues on Sunday.

Navy Secretary Ousted amid Dispute over Accused War Criminal Eddie Gallagher, Released State Dept. Emails Implicate Pompeo in Giuliani Ukraine Plot, Bloomberg Jumps into 2020 Race by Buying Millions in Campaign Ads, Sen. Graham Blocked Armenian Genocide Resolution at White House Request, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Released from Hospital in Good Health, Hong Kong: Pro-Democracy Candidates Win Nearly 90% Seats in Local Elections, Security Forces Raid Offices of Egypt’s Last Independent Media Outlet, Iraqi Security Forces Kill 13 Protesters amid Anti-Government Demonstrations, Israel Deporting Head of Human Rights Watch’s Israel & Palestine Office, Bolivia Moves Toward New Elections that Would Bar Evo Morales from Running, Chilean Photojournalist Albertina Martínez Burgos Killed in Santiago, Coal Industry Knew Burning Fossil Fuels Causes Climate Change as Early as 1966, Students Demand Fossil Fuel Divestment at Annual Yale & Harvard Game, London Refuses to Renew Uber’s License, More than 60 Doctors Warn Assange Could Die Inside London Prison, 58 Arrested in NYC Protesting Militarization of Subway System

This week Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, stemming from 2010. Assange, who has always denied the allegations, took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on the charges. British authorities dragged him out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and he has since been jailed in London's Belmarsh prison on charges related to skipping of bail in 2012, when he first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over the now-dropped sexual assault charges. The United States is still seeking Assange’s extradition to the U.S., where he faces up to 175 years in prison on hacking charges and 17 counts of violating the World War I-era Espionage Act for his role in publishing U.S. classified military and diplomatic documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A full extradition hearing will take place in February. We speak with the co-editors of the new book "In Defense of Julian Assange": Tariq Ali, historian, activist, filmmaker, author and an editor of the New Left Review, and Margaret Ratner Kunstler, civil rights attorney in private practice.

This week Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, stemming from 2010. Assange, who has always denied the allegations, took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on the charges. British authorities dragged him out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and he has since been jailed in London's Belmarsh prison on charges related to skipping of bail in 2012, when he first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over the now-dropped sexual assault charges. The United States is still seeking Assange’s extradition to the U.S., where he faces up to 175 years in prison on hacking charges and 17 counts of violating the World War I-era Espionage Act for his role in publishing U.S. classified military and diplomatic documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A full extradition hearing will take place in February. We air remarks by U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer, who says his initial position of skepticism toward Assange's case changed as he began to look more deeply at the evidence and charges against him. "As I scratched the surface a little bit, immediately, things did not add up with the images I had in my mind of this man," Melzer said in a recent talk at Columbia University. "The deeper I got into this, the more fabrication I saw."

In Colombia, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets Thursday in the largest national strike the country has seen in years. Labor unions, students, teachers, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian activists joined in peaceful marches across urban and rural Colombia as anger mounts against right-wing President Iván Duque and his cabinet. The protests were triggered by Duque's proposed labor reforms and cuts to the pension system, as well as a recent military airstrike against a camp of alleged dissident rebel drug traffickers, which killed eight children. Police responded to the movements with repressive tactics and tear gas in the cities of Bogotá, Cali and Medellín. Colombia's borders with Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil and Perú were shut down in response to the national strike. Indignation against Duque's government has brewed since the U.S.-backed president took office in August 2018 and social activists have continuously denounced Duque's sabotage of Colombia's historic peace accords, which were signed in 2016 after half a century of war. We speak with long-time activist Manuel Rozental, who joins us from Cali, Colombia. He has been involved with grassroots political organizing with youth, Indigenous communities, and urban and rural social movements for four decades.

Ex-White House Adviser Warns Impeachment Probe of GOP's "Fictional Narrative" on Ukraine, Senate Republicans May Limit Trump's Impeachment Trial to Two Weeks, Mass Protests in Colombia Oppose Right-Wing Government, Bolivian Soldiers Tear Gas Funeral Procession for Slain Protesters, Iran Continues Internet Blackout After Violently Repressing Protests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Indicted on Corruption Charges, Protesters Confront Joe Biden Over Obama-Era Deportations, Over 100 Lawmakers Call on President Trump to Fire Stephen Miller, Seven Arrested at UC Berkeley Protest of Ann Coulter Speech, Syracuse University Suspends Four Students Amid Rash of Racist Incidents, Indiana Police Officer Fired Over Viral Video Showing Racist Harassment, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel Had Secret White House Dinner with Trump, Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Criminalizing Pipeline Protesters, More Women Accuse Jeffrey Epstein of Rape, Sex Trafficking

Ten Democratic candidates took the stage in Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday for the party's fifth presidential debate, co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post. Toward the end of the evening, Senator Bernie Sanders criticized former Vice President Joe Biden's support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and laid out his foreign policy vision, including strong criticism of traditional U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Israel. "It is no longer good enough for us to be pro-Israel — I am pro-Israel — but we must treat the Palestinians with the dignity they deserve," he said. We speak with Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. She says the Democratic Party is undergoing a major shift on foreign policy. "There's a growing recognition among the candidates that … the discourse has changed dramatically across the board on the Middle East," she says.

Ten Democratic candidates took the stage Wednesday for the party's fifth presidential debate, held in Atlanta, Georgia, and co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post. One of the most memorable moments of the night was a disagreement between Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker over Warren's proposed tax on the wealthiest Americans. Her proposed wealth tax would kick in on assets of $50 million and higher. Both candidates agreed that inequality is a major issue in the U.S., but Booker said wealth taxes in other countries have not been effective and that there are better ways to raise revenue. The issue of economic inequality was a major theme throughout the debate. We speak with Gabriel Zucman, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. He is co-author of the new book, "The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay."

Presidential candidate Joe Biden claimed on the Democratic debate stage Wednesday that he has broad support from black voters and the only black woman elected to the Senate, seemingly forgetting that 2020 candidate Kamala Harris is a California senator. Biden's comment came amid multiple blunders during the debate, hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post in Atlanta. For more on the 2020 candidates' discussion of race in their campaigns, we speak with Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, and Ryan Grim, D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept.

During Wednesday's impeachment hearing, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told lawmakers that he was ordered by Trump to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Sondland also acknowledged there was a quid pro quo tying U.S. military aid to investigations, and said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence were aware of the Ukraine pressure campaign. Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro joins us to discuss these latest developments in the impeachment inquiry, which he describes as "blockbuster testimony" that could serve as "a nail in the coffin" of Trump's defense. Castro was excluded from the Democratic presidential debate Wednesday because his campaign did not meet polling thresholds recently established by the Democratic National Committee.

Gordon Sondland Says Trump Directed Ukraine Quid Pro Quo, Top 10 Democratic Candidates Hold Presidential Debate in Atlanta, Dozens of Guatemalan Migrants Freed from Locked Truck in Mexico, Humanitarian Volunteer Scott Warren Not Guilty of Felonies for Aiding Migrants, Ex-Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to Probation for Running Over Migrant, Syria: 22 Civilians Killed in Idlib; Israel Bombs Iranian Forces Near Damascus, Israel Headed for Another Election After Benny Gantz Fails to Form Government, U.S. Isolated at U.N. Security Council After Declaring Israeli Settlements Legal, U.N. Warns Planned Fossil Fuel Production Would Spark Climate Catastrophe, Sydney, Australia, Shrouded in Smoke as Unprecedented Wildfires Rage, North Dakota Says Keystone Oil Spill Was 10 Times Bigger Than First Reported, Haitian Protesters Demand Ouster of President Jovenel Moïse, Prince Andrew to Cancel Royal Duties over Ties to Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein, Somali Peace Activist Almaas Elman Shot Dead in Mogadishu, Prominent Maltese Businessman Arrested in Criminal Probe of Journalist's Murder

November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day that honors the thousands of transgender and gender nonconforming people who have been killed around the world. The Day of Remembrance is also a celebration of the community's resistance and a call to action to fight for policies and a shift in culture that protects trans lives. At least 22 transgender and gender nonconforming people have been killed in the United States this year, and over 3,000 transgender and gender nonconforming lives have been taken since 2008 around the world. We speak with LaLa B Zannell, longtime transgender rights advocate and the co-producer of the Womanity Project feature film "LaLa's World," an upcoming documentary series on the experiences of black trans women living in America.

In Iran, Amnesty International reports over 100 protesters have been killed in 21 cities by security forces during ongoing nationwide demonstrations sparked by a sudden hike in fuel prices last week. The death count may be much higher, the report warns, with some suggesting as many as 200 have been killed. According to Iranian state media, over 1,000 people have been arrested. On Thursday, Iran announced a rise in the cost of gas ranging from 50% to 300%. Soon after protests broke out on Sunday, Iran imposed an almost complete internet blackout, making it nearly impossible for protesters use social media to share images or information. From Washington, D.C., we speak with Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian-American journalist and the diplomatic correspondent for The Independent (U.K.).

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing." Those were the words of Army Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman during Tuesday's House impeachment inquiry hearings, describing his reaction to a July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the call, Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma. Vindman, who is the director for European affairs at the National Security Council, testified along with Jennifer Williams, a Russia adviser for Vice President Pence, in the first of two hearings on Tuesday. Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and Tim Morrison, former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, also testified. Republican lawmakers repeatedly criticized the impeachment process, while Democrats defended it. From Washington, D.C., we speak to Andy Kroll, D.C. bureau chief for Rolling Stone.

4 Key Witnesses Testify in Impeachment Hearings, Amnesty Says Iranian Security Forces Killed Over 100 Protesters, Bolivian Military Carries Out Second Massacre Against Morales Supporters, Senate Approves Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, U.N. Affirms It Still Considers Israeli Settlements Violation of International Law, Pentagon Says ISIS Is Rebuilding in Northern Syria, NYT: Navy SEALs Expected to Oust Gallagher, Despite Trump Restoring His Rank, Report: Mike Pompeo Planning to Resign as Secretary of State, Trump Administration Can Now Send Asylum Seekers to Guatemala, Sweden Drops Sexual Assault Investigation into Julian Assange, 29 Arrested Protesting Fracked Gas Power Plant in Dover, New York, 2 Prison Guards Face Criminal Charges over Epstein Death, New York Sues E-Cigarette Giant Juul, Transgender Day of Remembrance Honors Trans People Killed Around World

As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, the presidential nomination process remains heavily weighted by two states that are among the whitest in the nation: Iowa and New Hampshire. Candidates, in some cases, spend more than a year making frequent, extended campaign swings through both Iowa and New Hampshire, which, critics say, gives the concerns of the first states a disproportionate impact on the agenda for the entire race. During the first-ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice earlier this month in South Carolina, Senator Elizabeth Warren refused to criticize the primary schedule, saying, "I'm just a player in the game on this one." Fellow 2020 presidential contender Julián Castro, however, has been a vocal critic of the existing system, noting that the demographics of the country have shifted significantly in the last several decades. "I don't believe that forever we should be married to Iowa and New Hampshire going first," he told MSNBC last week. We speak with Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, and Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox.

The Trump administration has announced it no longer views Israel settlements in the occupied West Bank to be a violation of international law, in another blow to possible Israel-Palestine peace negotiations. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a reversal to the U.S. position, putting the U.S. at odds with the international community. A U.N. resolution in 2016 declared the settlements a "flagrant violation" of international law. Israel's embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Pompeo's announcement as a historic day for Israel, but Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the U.S. decision. Soon after Mike Pompeo announced the new U.S. policy, the U.S. Embassy in Israel issued a travel warning to Americans in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. From Washington, D.C., we speak with Noura Erakat, a Palestinian human rights attorney and legal scholar. She is an assistant professor at Rutgers University and the author of "Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine."

Thousands marched across Bolivia Monday to demand the resignation of Jeanine Áñez, the right-wing senator who declared herself president of Bolivia last week after longtime socialist President Evo Morales resigned under pressure from the military. The coup d'état has thrown Bolivia into crisis, with violence across the country leaving at least 23 dead. On Friday, the military gunned down nine pro-Morales protesters outside Cochabamba, where indigenous people took to the streets again on Monday. Thousands more marched to the presidential palace in La Paz. The wave of protests are condemning the spike in anti-indigenous violence under interim President Áñez and demanding the return of Evo Morales. Áñez has a history of using racist, anti-indigenous language, and last week she issued a decree protecting the military from prosecution for violent acts and said that Morales would face prosecution if he returned to Bolivia. Morales is Bolivia's first indigenous president, and Bolivia has a majority indigenous population. We speak with Sacha Llorenti, Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations since 2012. "We are going through not just a coup d'état, but a violent one," Llorenti says.

U.S. Claims Israeli Settlements Are Not Illegal Under International Law, Four Witnesses Slated to Testify in Public Impeachment Hearings, U.N. Condemns U.S. for World's Highest Rate of Children in Detention, Political Crisis in Bolivia Continues After Military Pressure Ousts Evo Morales, American Professor Freed in Prisoner Swap in Afghanistan, 1,000 Students Arrested in Police Siege of Hong Kong University, Coal Mine Blast in China Kills 15; Pipeline Explosion in Bangladesh Kills 7, Deforestation of Brazilian Amazon Skyrocketed Since Bolsonaro's Election, Syracuse Suspends All Fraternity Activities After String of Racist Incidents, Columbia Students Launch 5-Day Hunger Strike to Demand Fossil Fuel Divestment, Colin Kaepernick Workout "Impressive" After Showdown with NFL, Hundreds of Farmworkers Demand Wendy's Sign onto Fair Food Program

In a stunning decision handed down Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner who was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for a murder he says he did not commit. The appeals court ordered a review of the case to examine claims of prosecutorial misconduct. Millions of people around the country had joined Reed's cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's murder after his DNA was found inside her body. The two were having an affair at the time of her death. But new and previously ignored details in the case indicate that Stites's then-fiancé, a white police officer named Jimmy Fennell, may in fact be responsible for the killing. Fennell was later jailed on kidnapping and rape charges in another case. Last month, a man who spent time in jail with Fennell signed an affidavit saying Fennell had admitted in prison to killing his fiancée because she was having an affair with a black man. We speak with Rodrick Reed, brother of Rodney Reed; Uwana Akpan, sister-in-law of Rodney Reed; and Bryce Benjet, senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project, who has represented Reed for many years. "As we've investigated this case, evidence continues to mount that shows that Rodney didn't commit the crime, and implicates Fennell," Benjet says.

In Bolivia, at least 23 people have died amid escalating violence since President Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president, resigned at the demand of the military last week. Growing unrest quickly turned to violent chaos on Friday outside Cochabamba when military forces opened fire on indigenous pro-Morales demonstrators, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 100. The violence began soon after thousands of protesters — many indigenous coca leaf growers — gathered for a peaceful march in the town of Sacaba and then attempted to cross a military checkpoint into Cochabamba. Amid this escalating violence and reports of widespread anti-indigenous racism, protesters are demanding self-declared interim President Jeanine Áñez step down. Áñez is a right-wing Bolivian legislator who named herself president at a legislative session without quorum last week. She said that exiled socialist President Morales, who fled to Mexico after he was deposed by the military on November 10, would not be allowed to compete in a new round of elections and would face prosecution if he returned to Bolivia, which has a majority indigenous population. U.N. special envoy Jean Arnault on Sunday called for talks between Jeanine Áñez and leaders of Morales's political party Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, though a date has not been set. From Cochabamba, we speak with Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network and a researcher, activist and analyst with over two decades of experience in Bolivia.

An unprecedented leak of secret intelligence reports from inside the Iranian government has shed new light on how Iran has taken control of much of the Iraqi government in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion. The documents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security were leaked to The Intercept, which then partnered with The New York Times on reporting the story. The leak includes 700 pages of intelligence documents from 2014 to 2015. The documents reveal that a number of Iraqis who once worked with the CIA went on to work with Iranian intelligence. We speak with Murtaza Hussain, a reporter at The Intercept who worked on the project. "The macro story here is that the United States shattered Iraqi society, and then Iran came in to pick up the pieces," he says.

Bolivian Military Massacres 9 People at Indigenous Pro-Morales March, Leak of Secret Iranian Documents Reveals Iranian Influence in Iraq, Former Ambassador Yovanovitch Testifies in Impeachment Hearings, Trump Ally Roger Stone Found Guilty of 7 Charges, Trump Pardons 3 Soldiers Accused or Convicted of War Crimes, Trump's Unplanned Medical Visit Sparks Questions About His Health, Tens of Thousands Mark 1-Month Anniversary of Protests in Lebanon, Police Besiege Student Protesters at Hong Kong University, Fears Mount About Possible Disappearance of Nigerian Journalist Omoyele Sowore, Prince Andrew Grilled on Friendship with Epstein in BBC Interview, Trump Reversed Course and Refused to Sign Memo Banning Flavored E-Cigarettes, Louisiana Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards Wins Re-election, Arizona Sheriff Deputy Tackles, Pins Down Teenage Quadruple Amputee, Four Killed in Mass Shooting at Backyard Party in Fresno, California, Texas Appeals Court Halts Execution of Rodney Reed

The Supreme Court considers Friday whether to take up the case of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner in Texas who is scheduled to be executed in less than a week for a murder he says he did not commit. On Thursday, Reed's family braved the cold to camp outside the Supreme Court for a vigil asking the justices to help halt the execution. Millions of people around the country have joined their cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's murder after his DNA was found inside her body. The two were having an affair at the time of her death. But new and previously ignored details in the case indicate that Stites's then-fiancé, a white police officer named Jimmy Fennell, may in fact be responsible for the killing. Last month, a man who spent time in jail with Fennell signed an affidavit saying Fennell had admitted in prison to killing his fiancée because she was having an affair with a black man. Despite this, Reed's execution is scheduled for November 20. We speak with Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project.

The first-ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice, co-moderated by Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and former EPA official Mustafa Santiago Ali, was held last Friday at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey was one of six Democratic candidates to share his plans to confront environmental injustices and the climate crisis. Booker spoke about racial disparities in the U.S., the creation of renewable energy jobs and the water contamination crises in cities across the country, including his hometown of Newark. "My community is not alone," Booker said. "Lead service lines should not be in the ground in a 21st century America, period."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from three lawsuits demanding the Trump administration preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era program has granted protection from deportation and a work permit to at least 700,000 undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. The court's conservative majority appeared poised to side with President Trump in ending the program, while some of the court's liberal justices seemed skeptical of Trump's efforts. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced it planned to terminate DACA, arguing the program was "illegal" and "unconstitutional," but three lower courts disagreed and have kept the program alive, thanks to lawsuits filed by California, New York and D.C. Immigrant rights activists have been pushing the Supreme Court to save DACA, with dozens of immigrants with DACA recently taking part in a 16-day, 230-mile march from New York to the steps of the Supreme Court. We speak with Martín Batalla Vidal, the lead plaintiff in the New York federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempt to terminate DACA, and Trudy Rebert, a staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, which also filed suit to block the Trump administration's cancellation of DACA.

Two Killed as 16-Year-Old Student Opens Fire at L.A. County High School, El Paso Walmart Reopens, Three Months After Massacre by Racist Gunman, House Speaker Pelosi Accuses Trump of Bribery, an Impeachable Offense, Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine to Testify She Felt Threatened by Trump, Chile to Hold Referendum on Rewriting Pinochet-Era Constitution, Chilean Protesters Mark Anniversary of Police Killing of Indigenous Activist, Mon Laferte Holds Topless Protest Against Chilean State Violence at Latin Grammys, Indigenous Bolivians Protest as Interim President Orders Evo Morales Silenced, Israel Resumes Bombing as Ceasefire with Gaza Militants Breaks Down, Iraqi Soldiers Kill Four Anti-Government Protesters, Bringing Death Toll to 320, Analysis Finds U.S.-Led Wars Since 9/11 Killed 801,000 at a Cost of $6.4 Trillion, Kentucky Republican Incumbent Matt Bevin Concedes Governor's Race, European Investment Bank to Divest from Most Fossil Fuel Projects, Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Sets Sail for Europe, Benie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Unveil Green New Deal for Public Housing

CodePink co-founder and longtime peace activist Medea Benjamin was threatened with arrest in Washington, D.C., Wednesday and accused of assaulting a sitting congressmember after being forcibly removed from a press conference for opposing the U.S.-backed coup and U.S. sanctions in Venezuela. Benjamin vehemently denies the accusations and says she was in fact the one assaulted when she and other activists demonstrated at a press conference hosted by Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Florida Republican Mario Díaz-Balart announcing the launch of a Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus. We speak with Medea Benjamin in Washington, D.C.

In Chile, protesters led a massive national strike Tuesday as they condemned the government's plans to rewrite the country's Constitution, which dates back to Augusto Pinochet's military regime. Chile's interior minister announced Sunday the government would draft a new constitution that Congress would then rewrite and put to a public referendum. But protesters say the people should be involved with the rewriting of the constitution from the beginning and that this is an attempt by Sebastián Piñera's government to delay political and social reforms in Chile. The Chilean authorities have killed at least 20 people and wounded thousands more since the protests erupted on October 19 in response to a subway fare hike and quickly grew into a revolt against austerity and economic inequality. Amnesty International has denounced the Chilean government for widespread human rights violations against protesters. From Santiago, we speak with Pablo Abufom, a member of the Solidaridad movement, an anti-capitalist and feminist organization in Chile.

The public phase of the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump began Wednesday, with testimonies from two witnesses: George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, and William Taylor, a former ambassador and the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. The hearing brought forth new details about a previously unknown phone call in July between President Trump and Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. Both Kent and Taylor expressed concern over the role President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani had in dictating U.S. policy on Ukraine. We speak with Elizabeth Holtzman, a former U.S. congressmember from New York who served on the House Judiciary Committee that voted to impeach Richard Nixon.

The first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump was held Wednesday. Trump is just the fourth president in U.S. history to face impeachment. Two witnesses testified before the House Intelligence Committee: George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, and William Taylor, a former ambassador and the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. They both said President Trump withheld aid to Ukraine in an attempt to pressure the country to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company. We play highlights from the hearing.

U.S. Diplomats Testify Trump Pressured Ukraine to Dig Up Political Dirt on Bidens, Trump Claims He Was "Too Busy" to Watch Impeachment Inquiry, Trump Hosts President Erdogan at White House Amid Turkish Attacks in Syria, 34 Palestinians Killed in Two Days as Israel Bombs Gaza Strip, Exiled Bolivian President Evo Morales Calls for "National Dialogue", Protests Rage as Bolivia's Self-Proclaimed Interim President Swears In Cabinet, Lebanese Soldiers Shoot and Kill Man as Protests Enter Fifth Week, Zimbabwe: Millions at Risk of Starving Amid Climate Change-Fueled Drought, Hundreds of Elephants Die as Drought Grips Southern Africa, Wildfires Rage in Australia as Former Fire Chiefs Warn of Climate Crisis, Mayor of Venice, Italy, Blames Climate Crisis for "Apocalyptic" Flooding, Chad Wolf Becomes Fifth Person to Head Homeland Security Dept. Under Trump, House Resolution Would Clear Path for Adoption of Equal Rights Amendment, Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Formally Enters 2020 Presidential Race, Hillary Clinton Refuses to Rule Out 2020 Presidential Run, Teachers in Little Rock Go on One-Day Strike, Could Colin Kaepernick Return to NFL After Being Blacklisted? Workout Scheduled for Saturday, Police Threaten to Arrest Medea Benjamin After Venezuela Protest

In Bolivia, right-wing Senator Jeanine Áñez declared herself president Tuesday night despite a lack of quorum in Congress, amid a deepening political crisis in the country. Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, left the country Monday after being granted asylum in Mexico. Morales announced his resignation Sunday shortly after the Bolivian military took to the airwaves to call for his departure. His Movement Toward Socialism party is refusing to recognize Áñez as president, calling her claim illegal and decrying Evo Morales's resignation over the weekend as a military coup. Last month, Morales was re-elected for a fourth term in a race his opponents claimed was marred by fraud. He ran for a fourth term after contesting a referendum upholding term limits. On Tuesday, the Organization of American States held an emergency meeting in Washington, where U.S. Ambassador Carlos Trujillo read a statement from President Donald Trump applauding Evo Morales's resignation and warning it should "send a strong signal" to Venezuela and Nicaragua. Mexico, Uruguay, Nicaragua and the president-elect of Argentina have all denounced Morales's departure as a coup. Morales's departure has sparked demonstrations and clashes across Bolivia. We host a debate on the political crisis in Bolivia with Pablo Solón, former ambassador to the United Nations under President Evo Morales until 2011, and Kevin Young, assistant professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of "Blood of the Earth: Resource Nationalism, Revolution, and Empire in Bolivia."

We continue our conversation with legendary journalist Bill Moyers, who covered impeachment proceedings against Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The first televised impeachment hearings into President Trump begin today. Moyers says the current administration and the media have created a "culture of lying" that goes beyond what other presidents have done. "All presidents lie. It's a defense they use. But not all presidents lie systemically," Moyers says.