Democracy Now!

Christine Blasey Ford Tells Senators Brett Kavanaugh Sexually Assaulted Her, GOP Senators Abandon Sex Crimes Prosecutor They Hired Amid Kavanaugh Questions, Kavanaugh Angrily Denies Sex Crimes Charges, Alleging Left-Wing Conspiracy, Senate Judiciary Committee to Vote on Kavanaugh Nomination Today, American Bar Association Calls for FBI Investigation into Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh Accuser Julie Swetnick: "I Don't Think He Belongs" on SCOTUS, Kavanaugh Accusers Demand FBI Investigation, Senate Hearings, 59 Arrested in Protest of Kavanaugh Near Supreme Court, Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake Strikes Near Indonesia, Trump Threatens Auto Tariffs as Canada Balks on NAFTA Renegotiations, Crews Begin Construction of New Wall at El Paso-Juárez Border, Immigrant Fathers & Children on Hunger Strike in Texas Detention Center, Mexico Calls Student Massacre Ahead of '68 Olympics a "State Crime", Colombia: Land Defenders Increasingly Murdered with Impunity

President Nicolás Maduro addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in a surprise visit, just one day after Donald Trump accused him of corruption and announced new sanctions against his wife Cilia Flores and other members of his inner circle. "Despite all of the differences, … I am willing to reach out my hand to the president of the United States and sit down to talk about the issues of bilateral differences and the issues of our region," Maduro said. Trump said Wednesday that he would be willing to meet with Maduro and that all options are on the table to help end the political, economic and humanitarian chaos in Venezuela. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and chief editor of LeftWord Books. He's also the chief correspondent of Globetrotter.

Thousands of Yale students are protesting Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in support of Deborah Ramirez, the Yale alumna who alleges that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her by thrusting his genitals in her face at a drunken dorm party when they were both freshmen. Kavanaugh is a graduate of both Yale University and the Yale Law School. More than 2,800 Yale women have signed a letter of support for Ramirez. On Monday, Yale Law School faculty canceled 31 classes to allow more than 260 of their students to join a protest in support of Ramirez. We speak with Yale Law School student Samantha Peltz, who helped organize the protests against Brett Kavanaugh. She says that Yale students will "continue speaking out, speaking to the press, until we feel there is a full and fair investigation."

Bill Cosby rape survivor Lili Bernard joins us to respond to President Trump's dismissal of sexual assault allegations against himself and his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ahead of today's hearing in which his accuser, Dr. Christine Ford, is set to testify. "Never in my life would I have imagined that the same week in which my serial rapist … is entered into a state penitentiary for years, that the nominated Supreme Court justice would be in a hearing where he has to face questions about sexual assault," Bernard says. She is a visual artist and actor who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her in the early 1990s when he mentored her in preparation for her guest-starring role on "The Cosby Show."

Ahead of today's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Trump lashes out at the women who have accused him and his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying Democrats are running a "con game." We get response from Jessica Leeds, whom Trump referenced in comments Wednesday. She is one of 16 Trump accusers, who says he groped her in the first-class cabin of a commercial flight in 1979.

Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford to Testify at Historic Senate Hearing, Third Woman Publicly Accuses Judge Kavanaugh of Sexual Misconduct, President Trump Attacks Kavanaugh Accusations as "Con Game", Sen. Jeff Merkley Sues Trump and Senate Leaders to Halt Kavanaugh Confirmation, Kavanaugh Friend Who Appeared in Ad Withdraws Support, Alyssa Milano Joins Sexual Assault Survivors in Capitol Hill Protest, Two Key Republican Women Senators Waver on Support for Kavanaugh, At U.N., Trump Accuses China of Election Meddling & Attacks Iran, Bolivian President Calls Out U.S. over Coups & Support for Dictators, Trump Claims No Plans to Fire Deputy AG Rosenstein over Mueller Probe, Portland State Students Call for Disarming Police After Fatal Shooting, Mexican Authorities Disarm Acapulco Police over Drug Cartel Ties, Mexico's President-Elect Pledges Probe of Student Disappearances

Dozens of women who have been accusing comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault for decades were vindicated Tuesday when the disgraced actor was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison by a Philadelphia judge and sent immediately to jail. In April, a jury found Cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, former director of operations for the women's basketball team at Temple University, at Cosby's home in 2004. Constand is one of more than 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assaults dating back decades. Many of these women were in the courtroom when Cosby was sentenced. We are joined by one of them, Lili Bernard, a visual artist and actor who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her in the early 1990s when he mentored her in preparation for her guest-starring role on "The Cosby Show."

The Trump administration is proposing a new regulation that would make it extremely difficult for many immigrants to come to the U.S. or receive green cards if they're considered likely to use public benefits like food stamps or Medicaid. The draft regulation was unveiled Saturday and has been widely condemned for its cruelty and potential impact on millions of U.S.-born children of immigrant parents. We speak with Marielena Hincapié, executive director at the National Immigration Law Center.

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller is the mastermind behind many of the Trump administration's widely condemned immigration policies, including family separation, the Muslim ban and slashing the number of refugees admitted to the United States. Now he's behind a proposal that will make it harder for immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they have ever used a range of public benefit programs, including Obamacare, children's health insurance and food stamps. Stephen Miller's anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are leading some in his own family to speak out against him. We speak with Dr. David Glosser, Miller's uncle, who recently wrote a piece for Politico magazine titled "Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I'm His Uncle." In it, he wrote, "If my nephew's ideas on immigration had been in force a century ago, our family would have been wiped out."

World leaders in the United Nations General Assembly burst out laughing when President Trump boasted about his accomplishments. Trump praised North Korea, attacked Germany and accused Iran of "sowing chaos, death and destruction," drawing scorn from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. "What's amazing is not that this hall of seasoned professionals laughed at him, but that he doesn't get more laughter in the United States. These cable news programs take him seriously. ... He should be laughed off the screen everywhere," says Juan Cole, historian and author of "Engaging the Muslim World."

Trump's Boasts Draw Laughter at United Nations General Assembly, Iran Rejects New Talks with U.S. Amid Trump Administration Threats, Senate Republicans Tap Female Prosecutor to Question Christine Blasey Ford, Amid New Allegations, Senate Won't Delay Kavanaugh Hearings, "Sexually Violent Predator" Bill Cosby Sentenced to 3 to 10 Years, Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man at Protest, 174th Since March 30, World Bank Warns Gaza Economy Is "Collapsing" Under Israeli Blockade, Argentina: General Strike Targets IMF Loans, Austerity Measures, Federal Judge Restores Endangered Status to Grizzly Bears, Chicago Jurors Shown Animated Version of Shooting in Police Murder Trial

One year since Hurricanes Maria and Irma killed thousands in Puerto Rico and caused the longest blackout in U.S. history, we are joined by Naomi Klein, author of "The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists," whose recent report for The Intercept is titled "There's Nothing Natural About Puerto Rico's Disaster." Last week, President Trump generated widespread criticism when he falsely claimed on Twitter that thousands of people did not die in the two storms, even as a Harvard study estimated the death toll may top 4,600. Meanwhile, on Monday, President Trump declared himself an "absolute no" on statehood for Puerto Rico as long as San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a major critic of his administration's response to Maria, is in office. We also discuss the role of the unelected PROMESA fiscal control board in the island's unfolding economic crisis, with co-host and reporter Juan González.

Drama unfolded Monday when Axios reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein verbally resigned over the weekend amid mounting tension over the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election. Last week, Rosenstein and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly met at the White House hours after The New York Times reported Rosenstein had suggested secretly recording Trump in the White House and discussed recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office for being unfit. But on Monday, Trump confirmed Rosenstein still has a job, and said the two are scheduled to meet this Thursday. "I think that once Mueller got Paul Manafort's testimony locked in, … to some degree, it was too late for Trump to completely undermine this investigation," says Marcy Wheeler, in response to concerns that the Trump administration could shut down Mueller's probe. Wheeler is an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties and runs the website EmptyWheel.net.

Two women have now publicly accused President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, and at least 128 people were arrested on Capitol Hill Monday protesting his confirmation. "This is a time for us to not just show up via a viral hashtag, but in person with our feet to the street to say that we won't be treated this way and we won't stand for another survivor to be treated this way," says Tarana Burke, founder of the "Me Too" movement, who called for the national walkout Monday in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. We also speak with Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties.

128 Arrested on Capitol Hill Protesting Brett Kavanaugh Nomination, In Fox News Interview, Kavanaugh Denies Sexually Assaulting Women, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Remains in Job For Now, Dallas PD Fires Police Officer Who Shot Black Man in His Own Apartment, Study: 11,000 More Homes in Carolinas Were Damaged in Storm Due to Rising Sea Levels, Trump: Second Summit Will Be Held Soon with North Korean Leader, Trump Rules Out Meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at U.N., Russia to Provide Syria with Advanced Missile Defense System, Bolton: U.S. Troops Will Remain in Syria Until Iranian Forces Leave, Ninth Mexican Journalist Killed This Year, Indigenous Rights Activist Killed in Guatemala, Trump Admin to Overturn Obama-Era Rule Requiring New Braking System for "Bomb Trains", April Freeman, Florida Congressional Candidate, Dies, Winners Announced for 2018 Right Livelihood Award, the "Alternative Nobel Prize"

News that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will testify Thursday against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has prompted many to warn senators not to repeat the mistakes of the Anita Hill hearings of 1991, when Hill was questioned by an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee over her allegations that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her in the workplace. In the weeks after Hill testified, nearly 1,600 black feminists organized as "African American Women in Defense of Ourselves" and signed a manifesto published in an advertisement in The New York Times. We speak with historian, author and activist Barbara Ransby, one of the initiators of the manifesto, who is now a professor of African American studies, gender and women's studies and history at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday about her allegations that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15 years old and he was 17 years old. More than 1,100 alumnae of the Holton-Arms School, the Maryland prep school that Blasey Ford graduated from in 1984, have signed a letter in support of her sexual assault claims against Kavanaugh, saying they are grateful that she came forward to tell her story. In a letter, they wrote, "It demands a thorough and independent investigation before the Senate can reasonably vote on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to a lifetime seat on the nation's highest court. Dr. Blasey Ford's experience is all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton. Many of us are survivors ourselves." We speak with Holton-Arms School alumna Alexis Goldstein in Washington, D.C. She helped organize the letter campaign in support of Blasey Ford. We also speak with Jodi Jacobson, president and editor-in-chief of Rewire.

Senator Dianne Feinstein is calling for the immediate postponement of the nomination proceedings of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after a second woman has come forward alleging sexual misconduct by the judge. Deborah Ramirez, a former classmate of Kavanaugh's at Yale University, has accused him of exposing himself and thrusting his penis into her face during a college party in a dorm room. Ramirez spoke on the record to The New Yorker and is now calling on the FBI to investigate her allegations. The New Yorker revealed Republican Senate aides learned of Ramirez's allegations last week and responded by trying to quickly move Kavanaugh's nomination ahead before the allegations became public. This comes as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday about her allegations that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15 years old and he was 17 years old. Kavanaugh has denied both accusations. We speak with Jodi Jacobson, president and editor-in-chief of Rewire.

Feinstein Calls for Postponing Kavanaugh Nomination Process After Second Woman Speaks Out, Trump Questions Blasey Ford's Attempted Rape Claim, Trump Admin to Deny Green Cards to Immigrants Who Collect Public Assistance, NYT: Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording President Trump, Iran Blames U.S. & Gulf States After 29 Die in Attack on Military Parade, Giuliani: The Overthrow of Iran's Government Is "Going to Happen", Coal Ash Spill Reported in Cape Fear River in North Carolina, Pompeo Warns U.S. Preparing "Series of Actions" Targeting Venezuela, 20,000 March in Switzerland for Equal Pay for Women, Cruz and O'Rourke Spar in First Debate for Texas Senate Seat, Sentencing Hearing Begins for Bill Cosby

In his new documentary "Fahrenheit 11/9," filmmaker Michael Moore interviews the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, Ben Ferencz, who describes President Trump's policy of family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and the large-scale detention of immigrant children as a "crime against humanity." Moore also looks at the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany and compares it to the rise of Trump in the United States.

In July, 2016, Michael Moore wrote a column titled "Five Reasons Why Trump Will Win." In it, Moore wrote, "Donald J. Trump is going to win in November. This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is going to be our next president. President Trump. Go ahead and say the words, 'cause you'll be saying them for the next four years: 'PRESIDENT TRUMP.'" He went on to list the five reasons why Trump would be elected: Trump's focus on the Midwest, "The Last Stand of the Angry White Man," "The Hillary Problem," "The Depressed Sanders Vote" and what he called the "Jesse Ventura Effect"—people voting for Trump simply to disrupt the system. We talk to Michael Moore about his predictions and how Democrats failed to take Trump more seriously.

We continue our conversation with Michael Moore about his interaction with Donald Trump on Roseanne Barr's talk show in November 1998. Moore had released the film "Roger & Me" nine years earlier. Trump was upset to learn the two would be appearing together and threatened to leave, Moore says. Michael Moore negotiated with Trump, asked him not to leave, and promised not to "go after" him over real estate dealings and charges of racism—and now says he was "played."

"Fahrenheit 11/9"—That's the name of the new documentary premiering today by Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, a stunning retelling of the 2016 election and its aftermath. 11/9. That's November 9, the day Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. In the film, Michael crosses the country, documenting not only the rise of Trumpism but also the teachers' strikes sweeping the nation, the "blue wave" of progressive candidates in the 2018 primaries, the rise of student activism after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the water crisis in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Moore spares no one in the wide-ranging documentary, which takes aim at the Democratic establishment, The New York Times and other mainstream media outlets, the Electoral College, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and even himself. Michael Moore joins us in our studio to talk about the film and much more.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Offers to Testify About Kavanaugh Attempted Rape Allegations, Republican Congressman Jokes That Abraham Lincoln Groped Ruth Bader Ginsburg, State Department Specialists Opposed Pompeo's Decision to Keep Backing Saudi Assault in Yemen, Dozens of Undocumented Immigrants Arrested While Trying to Retrieve Children in Custody, Trump Admin Diverts $266 Million from Social Programs to Pay for Detaining Children, One Year After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Remains in Crisis, Trump Reportedly Asked Spain to Build 3,000-Mile Wall Across Sahara Desert, At Least 100 Die After Ferry Capsizes in Tanzania, Ireland Moves to Legalize Abortion and Make Abortions Free, Andrew Cuomo's Former Top Aide Sentenced to Six Years in Prison, Colin Kaepernick to Receive Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, Noam Chomsky Visits Brazil's Former President Lula in Prison

"American Prison." That's the name of the new book by award-winning journalist Shane Bauer, who dives deep into the profit-earning motives of U.S. prisons, from convict labor in colonial-era settlements all the way to present-day mass incarceration, including Bauer's own stint as an undercover prison guard at the privately owned Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana. We speak with Shane Bauer in New York City.

South Carolina officials are coming under fire for refusing to relocate prisoners in mandatory evacuation zones even as Hurricane Florence barreled down on the state. Prisoners were instead put to work behind bars making sandbags to prepare for the storm's arrival. We speak with Kymberly Smith, a community organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She has been protesting South Carolina's choice not to evacuate prisoners during Hurricane Florence.

Two women being transported by sheriff's deputies to a mental health facility drowned Tuesday in South Carolina when the van they were riding in was overcome by floodwaters. The two sheriff's deputies in the vehicle survived. Forty-five-year-old Windy Newton and 43-year-old Nicolette Green are two of at least 37 people killed by Hurricane Florence since the storm made landfall. Both women had gone to hospitals Tuesday morning when they were involuntarily committed and detained. Less than 24 hours later, they were dead. "There are a lot of questions remaining about why this had to occur then, why there couldn't have been some sort of an emergency delay," says Meg Kinnard, South Carolina correspondent for the Associated Press, who has been following the story closely.

As Republicans charge forward with Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nominee hearing despite Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's claim that he raped her as a teenager, a new Nation investigation reveals a secret network of right-wing activists has spent millions of dollars attacking questions about Kavanaugh's stance on abortion, LGBTQ rights and executive privilege as "anti-religious bigotry." We speak with Sarah Posner about her explosive new report for The Nation, "The 'Anti-Catholic' Playbook." She is a reporting fellow at the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has set a 10 a.m. Friday morning deadline for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to decide whether she will testify about her allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high school party when she was 15 years old. But Dr. Blasey Ford's lawyers say an FBI investigation into her claims should be conducted first. Attorney Lisa Banks issued a statement Wednesday saying, "The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the committee discovering the truth." We get response from journalist Sarah Posner, reporting fellow at the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.

Sen. Grassley Sets Deadline for Kavanaugh Accuser to Respond to Testimony Request, North & South Korea Aim to Declare End of War This Year, Shocking Video: Florence Rainfall Drowns Thousands of Factory Farm Animals in NC, Puerto Rico Marks Anniversary of Hurricane Maria as Trump Denies Death Count, Trump Continues Attack on Sessions: "I Don't Have an Attorney General", Senate Passes $674 Billion Military Spending Bill, FBI & DOJ to Redact Documents Trump Ordered Fully Declassified, Israeli Forces Kill 15-Year-Old Boy in Gaza as Historic Protests Continue, Palestinian UNRWA Staff Protest Job Cuts in Gaza, Germany: Journalist Dies While Covering Hambach Forest Occupation, NYRB Editor Leaves After Outcry over Essays by Men Accused of Sexual Assault, NBA Sanctions Dallas Mavericks for Sexual Misconduct and Violence, Human Rights Group to Bail Out Over 500 from Rikers Island, Former Disgraced Chicago Police Chief Jon Burge Dies at 70, CodePink's Medea Benjamin to Iran Envoy: "You Are Making a Case for War with Iran"

The Trump administration has once again slashed the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the new cap on refugees would be a historic low of just 30,000 next year, down from the current level of 45,000. The actual number of refugees allowed in to the country is expected to be even lower than the 30,000 cap. Monday's announcement represents the lowest ceiling any president has imposed on the U.S. refugee program since its creation in 1980. Under President Obama, the refugee cap reached 110,000. For more on the Trump administration's refugee policy, we speak with Ryan Mace, refugee specialist for Amnesty International USA.

As President Trump visits North Carolina, where thousands are evacuating after Hurricane Florence caused record flooding, we go to Raleigh to speak with Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. Areas devastated by the storm include some of the poorest areas on the Eastern Seaboard. Barber’s recent CNN piece is headlined "In hurricane wind and waves, the poor suffer most."

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh have cast doubt on whether President Trump's Supreme Court nominee will be confirmed by the Senate. "The process was bad from the beginning," says Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach. "We are poised to have two presidents that did not win the popular vote, now will have appointed four extreme members to the Supreme Court." Barber says Kavanaugh will be dangerous to voting rights, to labor rights, to healthcare and to women's rights.

A Senate hearing with Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford may not move forward, as Blasey Ford asks for the FBI to investigate her claims that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her as a teenager before she testifies. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley had invited Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh to both testify on Monday, but Blasey Ford's attorneys are declining the offer. Her lawyers wrote in a letter to Grassley, "While Dr. Ford's life was being turned upside down, you and your staff scheduled a public hearing for her to testify at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh in front of two dozen U.S. Senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident." The letter revealed that Blasey Ford has received multiple death threats and has been forced to move out of her home. On Tuesday night, Senator Grassley said there's "no reason for any further delay" in the hearing, even if Christine Blasey Ford does not testify. We speak with Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore about Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford. His new movie, "Fahrenheit 11/9," is out in theaters this week.

North and South Korea Vow to Denuclearize, Co-Host 2032 Olympics, Kavanaugh Accuser Faces Death Threats, Asks for FBI Investigation Before Testifying, Florence Death Toll Rises to 35, Includes 2 Detainees in Police Custody, Trump Considers Building Permanent Military Base in Poland, NATO Building Permanent Military Structures in Afghanistan as 17th Anniversary of War Approaches, Yemen: New Evidence of U.S.-Made Bombs; Charity Warns of Starvation on "Unprecedented Scale", Israeli Forces Kill 2 Men in Gaza Protest and 1 Palestinian in Occupied East Jerusalem, U.N. Report Condemns Burma for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, U.S.-China Trade War Ramps Up with Retaliatory Chinese Tariffs, Pussy Riot Activist Was Likely Poisoned, German Doctors Confirm, Wilbur Ross Lied Under Oath About Citizenship Question on 2020 Census, Brooklyn Catholic Diocese to Pay Massive Settlement in Child Sexual Abuse Cases, Workers Strike Across U.S. Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment at McDonald’s

This week marks the seventh anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement and 10 years since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, which triggered the onset of the global financial crisis. The crisis also sparked massive global anti-capitalist movements, including Occupy Wall Street, the M-15 movement in Spain and the anti-austerity movements in Greece. "It's striking how little we are marking these anniversaries," says author and activist Nathan Schneider. "I think … we recognize we really haven't done anything serious to deal with the causes of this crash." Schneider's new book outlines an alternative economic model based on cooperative ownership that saw a resurgence since the 2008 financial crisis. It's titled "Everything for Everyone: The Radical Tradition That Is Shaping the Next Economy."

While the worst of Hurricane Florence is over, officials say the most dangerous flooding is yet to come for residents of the Carolinas and Virginia, as thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes and hundreds more have sought rescue from rising floodwaters. But undocumented immigrants have expressed concern they will encounter immigration enforcement if they seek help. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reallocated nearly $10 million from FEMA's budget to ICE to pay for detention space and deportations. We speak with Laura Garduño García, a DACA recipient and Greensboro-based organizer with Siembra NC and the American Friends Service Committee, and with Mary Small, policy director for Detention Watch Network.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has announced that the committee will hold another hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh next Monday in light of accusations that he attempted to rape a 15-year-old girl at a party while he was in high school. Both Kavanaugh and his accuser, professor Christine Blasey Ford, will testify under oath. As the allegations against Kavanaugh gain steam, a new report from Ryan Grim for The Intercept has revealed that attorney Cyrus Sanai tried multiple times to reach out to Senators Charles Grassley and Dianne Feinstein on behalf of federal court employees also willing to speak out against Kavanaugh. The employees wanted to talk about Kavanaugh's work as a clerk for disgraced former 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, who resigned in 2017 after being accused by at least 15 women of sexual misconduct. But Sanai never heard back. Kavanaugh has said repeatedly that he did not witness Kozinski behave in a sexually inappropriate way. We speak with Ryan Grim, Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Intercept. His latest "piece":https://theintercept.com/2018/09/17/cyrus-sanai-federal-court-employees-attempted-to-come-forward-to-chuck-grassley-and-dianne-feinstein-neither-responded/ is headlined "Attorney Sent Letter to Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein Claiming Federal Court Employees Willing to Speak About Brett Kavanaugh."

Trump Administration Slashes Number of Permitted Refugees in U.S. to Historic Low, Kavanaugh & Christine Ford to Testify at New Hearing on Attempted Rape Allegation, Syrian Missile Downs Russian Military Aircraft, Killing 15, Russia and Turkey Announce Plan to Create Demilitarized Zone in Idlib, Yemen: U.S.-Backed Saudi Coalition Accused of Deadly Bombing of Radio Station, Pyongyang: North and South Korean Leaders Reportedly Preparing to Declare End of Korean War, Hurricane Florence Death Toll Reaches 32 as Threat of Toxic Coal Ash Release Looms, Death Toll from Typhoon Mangkhut Tops 74 with 3 Million Displaced in China, Nigeria: More Than 100 Dead in Mass Flooding, Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza; Palestinian Man Dies in Custody in West Bank, Pakistan: PM Imran Khan Plans to Grant Citizenship to Over 1 Million Refugees, Trial Underway for Officer Who Killed 17-Year-Old Laquan McDonald in 2014, Ex-Police Chief in Florida Pleads Guilty to Framing Innocent Black Men, Trump Orders Declassification of Materials in Russia Probe, Billionaire Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Acquires Time Magazine, Texas Board of Ed Votes to Drop Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller from Curriculum

Protests continue in Dallas after the shooting and killing of a 26-year-old black man in his own apartment by a white Dallas police officer. Police officer Amber Guyger has been charged with manslaughter after she entered Botham Shem Jean's apartment about two weeks ago and opened fire, killing him. Police claim she believed it to be her apartment. Questions are growing over why there was a three-day delay in charging Guyger and how she failed to know she was not in her own apartment when she killed Jean. Jean's family is also criticizing police for issuing and making public information from a search warrant on Jean's apartment. We speak with Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney who is representing the family of Botham Jean and says police are trying to smear Jean to shield their officer from punishment. "It took [Jean] being killed by a Dallas police officer for him to become a criminal," Merritt notes.

As news of sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh breaks, his stance on Roe v. Wade is also under scrutiny. The New York Times reports that it received several leaked documents ahead of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings earlier this month, including an email in which Kavanaugh questioned the accuracy of calling Roe v. Wade the "settled law of the land." We speak with Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate.com, and Ian Millhiser, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the justice editor of ThinkProgress.

Last week, ThinkProgress published a report by senior fellow Ian Millhiser headlined "Brett Kavanaugh said he would kill Roe v. Wade last week and almost no one noticed." But then a Facebook fact checker with the conservative outlet The Weekly Standard declared it "fake news," leading the piece to be targeted and demoted by the social media site. The Intercept then republished Millhiser's piece, with editor-in-chief Betsy Reed writing, "The story was effectively nuked from Facebook, with other outlets threatened with traffic and monetary consequences if they shared it." We speak with Ian Millhiser, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the justice editor for ThinkProgress.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has come forward to accuse President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape, throwing his nomination into question in the days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on it. Blasey Ford is a professor at Palo Alto University in California and says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school. She at first expected her story to be kept confidential, but changed her mind after it leaked. She now says she is willing to testify about her experience. In an interview published Sunday by The Washington Post, Ford said that in the early 1980s Kavanaugh and a friend were "stumbling drunk" when they pushed her into a bedroom. The Post reports, "While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth." We get a response from Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate.com, whose latest piece is headlined "Our System Is Too Broken to Assess the Sexual Assault Claim Against Kavanaugh."

California Professor Publicly Accuses Brett Kavanaugh of Attempting to Rape Her in High School, Tropical Depression Florence Kills 17 & Smashes Rainfall Records in Carolinas, Florence's Torrential Rains Trigger Toxic Coal Ash Release in North Carolina, Typhoon Mangkhut Reaches Mainland China; Death Toll in Philippines Could Exceed 100, FEMA Head Defends Trump's Lies on Hurricane Maria's Death Toll in Puerto Rico, Hundreds Mourn 12-Year-Old Gazan Boy Killed at Nonviolent Protest at Border Fence, Officials Say Palestinian Teenager Fatally Stabbed Israeli in Occupied West Bank, Chile: Pope Expels Priest in Child Sex Abuse Scandal, Blackwater Contractor Faces Retrial for Murder in Nisoor Square Massacre in Iraq, Trump Threatens to Impose New Tariffs on China, Escalating Trade War, Texas Border Agent Confesses to Murdering Four Women, Guatemala's Highest Court Orders Return of U.N.-Backed Anti-Corruption Probe, Germany: Thousands Protest the Clearing of Hambach Forest for Coal Mine Expansion, European Activists Protest Banks on 10th Anniversary of Lehman Brothers' Collapse

As California Governor Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit is underway in San Francisco, we look at one of the more controversial solutions to climate change: geoengineering. Sometimes called "climate manipulation," geoengineering involves the deliberate altering of the Earth to decrease the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Such proposals are already being explored by government agencies, scientists and businesses around the world. Supporters of geoengineering endorse radical ways to manipulate the planet, from spraying aerosols with sulfur particles into the stratosphere, to scrubbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But critics say these "techno-fixes" do nothing to address the root causes of climate change, and worse, can be dangerous for the Earth. We host a debate between Gopal Dayaneni, board member of the ETC Group and a founding member of the Climate Justice Alliance, and David Keith, professor of applied physics at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and professor of public policy in the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also the founder of Carbon Engineering, a company developing technology to capture CO2 from ambient air.

Over 100 indigenous and climate justice activists staged a protest in San Francisco Tuesday outside a meeting of California Governor Jerry Brown's Climate and Forest Task Force. Protesters attempted to deliver a letter to Brown and task force members. Democracy Now! was there in the streets.

Protesters disrupted the Global Climate Action Summit Thursday, criticizing California Governor Jerry Brown in part for his support for cap and trade. Cap and trade is a market-driven strategy in which governments cap emission levels, then allow companies to buy and sell permits to pollute. California has the most far-reaching cap-and-trade program in the United States. Last year Governor Brown signed an extension to the state's cap-and-trade law, which began under Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governor Brown has credited cap and trade with limiting the state's greenhouse gas emissions, but the issue has split many environmental groups. We host a debate between Peter Miller, director of the western region Climate & Clean Energy Program for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Eriel Deranger, founder and executive director of the group Indigenous Climate Action and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

As California Governor Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit kicked off Thursday, indigenous and climate justice activists blocked the main entrance in protest. While the protests took place outside the GCAS, Gov. Brown and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the U.N. special envoy for climate action, were inside. Protesters disrupted Bloomberg's speech at the summit's main plenary. Democracy Now! was there, in the streets and at the conference.

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Governors, mayors and policymakers from around the world are gathering this week for the Global Climate Action Summit. The conference was organized by California Governor Jerry Brown. The conference begins today, just days after Brown signed a new law to shift California to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045. While Brown is hailed as a climate hero, he has been widely criticized by many climate justice activists who are planning to protest outside the opening of today's conference. We speak to Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org. His latest piece for The Nation is titled "Jerry Brown's Climate Legacy Is Still Being Decided."