Democracy Now!

At least four people have died and nearly 6 million people are without power in Florida after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday on the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm also flooded the streets of downtown Miami, turning the city's main strip, Brickell Avenue, into a three-foot high raging river. Its arrival sparked one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history, with nearly 7 million people ordered to leave their homes. We go now to Florida to speak with one of the evacuees - the award winning Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat. She lives in Miami but had to evacuate to Orlando.

As the United States continues to deal with unprecedented floods and hurricanes, a new study has revealed climate change is also driving the mass extinction of parasites that are critical to natural ecosystems, and could add to the planet's sixth great mass extinction event that's currently underway. The report in the journal Science Advances warns that about a third of all parasite species could go extinct by 2070 due to human activity. The loss of species of lice, fleas and worms could have profound ripple effects on the environment and might pave the way for new parasites to colonize humans and other animals with disastrous health outcomes. We speak to Colin Carlson, lead author of the report "Parasite biodiversity faces extinction and redistribution in a changing climate." He's a Ph.D. candidate in environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2011, Business Insider included him in a roundup titled "16 of the Smartest Children in History," alongside Mozart and Picasso. At the time, he was 15 years old. He is now 21.

At least four people have died and nearly 6 million people are without power in Florida, after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday on the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm also flooded the streets of downtown Miami, turning the city's main strip, Brickell Avenue, into a three-foot-high raging river. Its arrival sparked one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history, with nearly 7 million people ordered to leave their homes. We speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert.

Four Dead and Millions Without Power as Irma Sweeps Across Florida, Trump Uses Irma as an Excuse to Push for Tax Cuts for Rich, Mexico: Death Toll from Earthquake Rises to 90, Italy: Unexpected Flooding Kills 6 in Livorno, State Dept. Approves $3.8 Billion Weapons Deal to Bahrain, Syria: U.S. Reportedly Fires White Phosphorus in Raqqa, Kenya to Hold Rerun of Contested Presidential Election, U.N.: Burmese Military Violence Against Rohingya is "Textbook" Ethnic Cleansing, Health Officials Warn of Sharp Rise in Suicide Attempts in Gaza Strip, Kashmir: Hundreds Protest After Indian Troops Kill 4 Suspected Militants, London: Tens of Thousands March to Oppose Brexit, Australia Holds Biggest Demonstration for LGBT Rights in Its History, SF Residents Mourn Death of Transgender Activist & DJ Bubbles Torres, Reports: Imprisoned Black Panther Herman Bell Attacked by Guards, On 1st Anniversary of Largest U.S. Prison Strike, New Interviews Shed Light on Protest & Retaliation

As students return to school across the country, we continue our look at the resegregation of schools—particularly in Alabama. A new article in this week's New York Times Magazine titled "The Resegregation of Jefferson County" by Nikole Hannah-Jones looks at how predominantly white towns in Alabama are increasingly pulling out of regional school districts and creating new schools that are overwhelmingly white. Critics say this is a new form of segregation. For more, we speak with Nikole Hannah-Jones. Her article about choosing a school for her daughter in a segregated school system won a National Magazine Award this year.

As Florida braces for Hurricane Irma, we look at conditions in Texas prisons since Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast two weeks ago with a historic downpour that lasted several days and caused massive flooding. Prisoners were not evacuated from either the federal prison or three Texas prisons in the heavily flooded city of Beaumont, east of Houston, where high water was so destructive that it disabled the city's water supply system. State prison officials say water did not flood prisons there. But a prisoner named named Clifton Cloer, who is housed on the first floor of the Stiles Unit in Beaumont, told his wife that he stood in water up to his kneecaps during the storm and later faced the stench of backed-up toilets. We speak to Rachel Villalobos, who has been in touch with her husband who is held at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont; Lance Lowry, the president of AFSCME Local 3807 of the Texas Correctional Employees; and Democracy Now! correspondent Renée Feltz.

As the National Football League begins its new season, one of its most outspoken players has revealed he was recently detained and assaulted by police in Las Vegas. Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett issued a statement on Twitter Wednesday, writing that an officer threatened to "blow my f****** head off" and that "Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time." The incident took place outside a boxing match last month in Las Vegas while police were responding to reported gunshots. We speak to Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine. He is working on a book with Michael Bennett about Bennett's life, "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable."

Powerful Hurricane Irma Pummels Turks and Caicos, Spares Hispaniola, Florida: More Than a Half-Million Evacuate Ahead of Hurricane Irma Landfall, Florida Nuclear Plants in Path of Hurricane Shut Down, Hurricanes Katia and Jose Threaten Mexico, Eastern Caribbean, Report: Climate Change Driving Mass Extinction of Parasites, Texas First Responders Sue Arkema over Exposure to Chemical Plant Fire, Mexico Rattled by Country's Strongest Earthquake in 100 Years, Syria Condemns Israeli Airstrikes on Alleged Chemical Weapons Site, President Trump Welcomes Kuwaiti Emir, Praises Weapons Sales, Doctors Group Warns EU over Gross Abuses of Migrants in Libya, Federal Court Deals Blow to Trump Travel Ban, Sen. Elizabeth Warren to Co-Sponsor "Medicare for All" Bill, Charges Dropped Against Reporter Who Questioned HHS Secretary Tom Price, Education Secretary DeVos to Scrap Campus Sexual Assault Protections, Equifax Executives Sold $1.8M in Stock Before Disclosing Massive Data Breach, Philippines: Son and Son-in-Law of President Duterte Accused of Drug Smuggling

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the brutal Burmese military operation against Rohingya Muslims is at risk of spiraling into an ethnic cleansing campaign, as the violence against the long-persecuted minority group continues. The U.N. says almost 150,000 Rohingya have fled the predominantly Buddhist country into neighboring Bangladesh in the last 12 days since the military operation began—with up to 15,000 more expected to flee every single day this week. Advocates say as many as 800 Rohingya civilians, including women and children, have been killed in recent days. For more, we speak with Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the U.K. He was born and brought up in Burma's Arakan state. In 1982, he was rendered effectively stateless along with a million other ethnic Rohingya under a new nationality law. And we speak with Richard Weir, a fellow in the Asia Division covering Burma at Human Rights Watch.

South Korea says it expects North Korea to test-launch another intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday. The expected test comes after North Korea carried out its strongest-ever nuclear test Sunday. The underground nuclear blast was many times more powerful than the bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which killed 75,000 people. The North's nuclear test came as U.S. and South Korea wrapped up their massive joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has long objected to the annual drills, which include tens of thousands of troops. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters clashed with police in South Korea's Seongju County on Wednesday over the deployment of more THAAD missile launchers. Dozens of protesters were injured at the overnight standoff when police attempted to disassemble protesters' campsites and forcibly remove road blockades. For more on the escalating tensions and the resistance to militarization, we speak with Wol-san Liem, who has just returned from protesting the THAAD deployment site in Seongju, South Korea. And we speak with Tim Shorrock, an investigative journalist and the author of "Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence." His new piece for The Nation is titled "Diplomacy with North Korea Has Worked Before, and Can Work Again."

In the Caribbean, at least 10 people have died as the historic Category 5 Hurricane Irma barrels across the Atlantic Ocean and toward the U.S. coast. Hurricane Irma is the most powerful storm ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. On Barbuda, 90 percent of all structures were destroyed. The prime minister, Gaston Browne, has declared Barbuda is "practically uninhabitable." This comes as Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S., is beginning to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, one of the most powerful hurricanes in U.S. history. Wide swaths of the Pacific Northwest are also on fire, as uncontrollable wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of acres across Oregon, Montana and Washington state. For more on climate change and extreme weather, we're joined by Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, from his home in Vermont. He's the author of several books, including "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet."

Irma, Strongest Atlantic Hurricane on Record, Devastates Caribbean, 100,000+ Evacuate in Florida as Hurricane Irma Takes Aim at Miami, Families Say Texas Prisoners Faced Horrid Conditions Following Hurricane, House Approves $8 Billion Hurricane Harvey Emergency Relief Bill, At ND Refinery, Trump Touts Withdrawal from Climate Accord, Pipelines, Trump Strikes Debt Ceiling Deal with Democrats, Angering Republicans, 15 States Sue Trump Admin over Plans to End DACA Immigration Program, South Korean Police Raid Protest Camp Opposing THAAD Missile System, Afghanistan: Taliban Claims Bagram Attack, Citing U.S. Leaflet Insulting Islam, NYT: 18 CIA Operatives Killed in Afghanistan, Bangladesh Says Burma Laying Land Mines on Border to Halt Rohingya Refugees, Mexican Journalist Juan Carlos Hernández Ríos Assassinated, Facebook Says Russian "Troll Farm" Bought Ads to Polarize U.S. Electorate, Trump Jr. to Testify Privately Amid Warning from Special Counsel, Lawsuit Challenges Law That Could Close Kentucky's Only Abortion Clinic, New York: Charges Dropped for Pedro Hernandez, Held Over 1 Year at Rikers, NFL's Michael Bennett Says Vegas Police Threatened to Shoot Him

The city of New York announced Tuesday it is deploying funding for legal services for DACA recipients across the city, following the Trump administration's decision to rescind the DACA program. In a message posted on Twitter, the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "You are not alone. … If you face legal problems, we'll be right there with you." The fight to save DACA marks just the latest example of cities pushing back against the Trump administration's agenda. From climate change to sanctuary cities to police accountability to affordable housing, cities are increasingly pushing a far more progressive agenda than their counterparts in Washington. This is a central theme in a new book by Democracy Now! co-host Juan González titled "Reclaiming Gotham: Bill de Blasio and the Movement to End America's Tale of Two Cities." For more, we speak with Juan González, longtime staff writer for the New York Daily News, now a professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University.

In a major attack on immigrant communities across the United States, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced the Trump administration is rescinding the DACA program, which gives nearly 800,000 young immigrants permission to live and work in the United States. President Obama implemented DACA in 2012, after nearly a decade of massive grassroots organizing and direct action protests by undocumented youth across the country. Obama called Tuesday's announcement "wrong," "self-defeating" and "cruel." Sessions's announcement Tuesday morning sparked immediate protests across the country, with crowds taking to the streets in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Houston. In New York City, 34 people were arrested during a sit-in at Trump Tower, led by undocumented activists. For more, we go to Houston, Texas, where we're joined by DREAMer Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based nonprofit that helps young undocumented members of the Latino community.

Trump Admin Rescinds DACA Program, Sparking Widespread Protests, Caribbean & Florida Make Emergency Preparations for Category 5 Hurricane Irma, Major Fires Burns Across Washington, Montana and Oregon, Report: 1,100 Children Killed in Yemen, Majority from U.S.-Backed Saudi Airstrikes, 120,000 Rohingya Have Fled Burma's Military Attacks Against Civilians, U.N.: Syrian Gov't Used Chemical Weapons 25+ Times; Syrian Forces Break ISIS Siege in Deir ez-Zor, Indian Journalist & Activist Gauri Lankesh Assassinated Outside Home in Bangalore

Residents across Houston are beginning to return to their communities in the wake of devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Congress is slated to begin debate on how to distribute billions of dollars in aid for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast. To understand who stands to profit from the relief effort, and who may not, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Renée Feltz and Hany Massoud sat down with Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the founder of the environmental justice movement, at his home in Houston over the weekend.

In Texas, the devastation from Hurricane Harvey continues. At least 63 people have died, more than 40,000 homes have been lost, and as many 1 million cars have been destroyed. Meanwhile, the long-term environmental impact of the storm is just beginning to be felt. The Center for Biological Diversity reports flooded oil refineries and chemical plants released as much as 5 million pounds of pollutants into the air during the storm. On Friday night, another large fire broke out at the flooded Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas. Then, on Sunday, authorities set fire to six remaining containers of chemicals in what was described as a controlled burn. The company continues to refuse to inform local residents of what chemicals burned at the site. For more, Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Renée Feltz and Hany Massoud take a "toxic tour" of Houston's fenceline communities, led by environmental justice organizer Bryan Parras.

North Korea Carries Out Strongest-Ever Nuclear Test, Sessions to Make Announcement on DACA as Trump Considers Canceling Program, Death Toll from Hurricane Harvey Hits 63, California Gov. Declares State of Emergency Amid Largest Wildfire in L.A. History, Category 5 Hurricane Irma Barrels Toward Caribbean and Southern U.S. Coast, Nigeria: 100,000 People Forced to Evacuate Widespread Flooding, Trump to Nominate Climate Denier Congressmember Jim Bridenstine to Head NASA, Yemen: Cholera Affects More Than 600,000 People, Amid U.S.-Backed Bombing Campaign, Syria: 14 Civilians Reported Killed by U.S.-Led Coalition Shelling in Raqqa, Chechnya: Tens of Thousands Rally to Support Burma's Persecuted Rohingya, Video: Utah Police Arrest Nurse for Refusing to Draw Blood from Unconscious Patient, Hundreds of Fast-Food Workers Nationwide Demand $15 Minimum Wage, San Diego: Hundreds Defend Chicano Park's Murals & Protest White Supremacist Rally, Award-Winning Indian Country Today Media Network Temporarily Ceases Operations, Native Youth Finish 250-Mile "Paddle to Protect" to Oppose Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline

Days after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charottesville, Virginia, a remarkable letter was published in a local newspaper in Fargo, North Dakota. The letter was written by Pearce Tefft about his son, Peter Tefft, who was photographed attending Saturday's deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Pearce Tefft wrote, "[N]one of his beliefs were learned at home. We do not, never have, and never will, accept his twisted worldview. [Peter] once joked, 'The thing about us fascists is, it's not that we don't believe in freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want. We’ll just throw you in an oven.' Peter, you will have to shovel our bodies into the oven, too. Please son, renounce the hate, accept and love all." Democracy Now! recently spoke with another member of the family, Jacob Scott, Peter Tefft's nephew, along with Christian Picciolini, co-founder of Life After Hate, a nonprofit helping people disengage from hate and violent extremism. He was a leading neo-Nazi skinhead gang member and far-right extremist in the '80s and '90s.

Foreign Policy recently published an FBI and Department of Homeland Security bulletin that concluded white supremacist groups were "responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016...more than any other domestic extremist movement." Despite these findings, the Trump administration recently slashed funds to organizations dedicated to fighting right-wing violence. One group, Life After Hate, which works to help white nationalists and neo-Nazis disengage from hate and violent extremism, was set to receive a grant under the DHS's Countering Violent Extremism program, approved by the Obama administration. When Trump DHS policy adviser Katharine Gorka released the final list of grantees in June, Life After Hate had been eliminated. Gorka is the wife of Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, who has been linked to a Hungarian far-right, Nazi-allied group. We speak with Christian Picciolini, co-founder of Life After Hate and former neo-Nazi skinhead gang member.

As President Trump faces growing outrage over his response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, we bring you an exclusive: an interview with the great-great-grandsons of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. At least 1,500 symbols of the Confederacy can be found in public spaces across the country. But now a number of the monuments are coming down. Calls for the removal of the statues are even coming from the descendants of the leaders of the Confederacy. We speak with two of the great-great-grandsons of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Jack and Warren Christian have just written an open letter to the mayor of Richmond calling for the removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue in Richmond. They write, "Our sense of justice leads us to believe that removing the Stonewall statue and other monuments should be part of a larger project of actively mending the racial disparities that hundreds of years of white supremacy have wrought."

We examine the corporate crackdown on environmental activists challenging the fossil fuel industry and human-driven climate change. The company that owns the Dakota Access pipeline—Energy Transfer Partners—has sued Greenpeace International and other environmental groups, accusing them of inciting "eco-terrorism." We speak to Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA, and Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth. She is Ojibwe from Couchiching First Nation.

The flooded Arkema chemical plant in the town of Crosby, Texas, that saw two explosions on Thursday, could see as many as six more blasts, and a new investigation reveals this comes after Arkema successfully pressured federal regulators to delay new regulations aimed at improving safety procedures at chemical plants. It also found that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton aggressively attacked a proposed chemical plant safety rule, after his election campaign garnered over $100,000 from chemical industry donors. We speak with David Sirota, senior editor for investigations at the International Business Times. His story is headlined "Texas Republicans Helped Chemical Plant That Exploded Lobby Against Safety Rules." We also speak with Stephanie Thomas, Houston-based organizer for Public Citizen, and Matt Dempsey, a Houston Chronicle data reporter who contributed to a series called "Chemical Breakdown," which investigated regulatory failures of the chemical industry.

Hurricane Harvey has been downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane to a tropical depression as it moves over Louisiana and into Mississippi. Texas officials say at least 44 people were killed by the storm and nearly 100,000 homes are damaged by flooding. This comes as a chemical plant about 25 miles northeast of Houston, in Crosby, was rocked by two explosions early Thursday morning. The facility produces highly volatile chemicals known as organic peroxides, and at least 10 sheriff's deputies were hospitalized after inhaling fumes. Officials had already evacuated residents within a one-and-a-half-mile radius of the plant in the town of Crosby, after it lost primary and backup power to its coolant system. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez insisted in an early-morning press conference that the plant had not exploded, describing the event as a "pop" followed by smoke. But Federal Emergency Management Agency head Brock Long said a plume of chemicals leaking from the plant was "incredibly dangerous." We speak with Matt Dempsey, reporter with the Houston Chronicle who questioned Arkema about what is stored at the plant and who produced the investigative series "Chemical Breakdown," which examined regulatory failures of the chemical industry.

Texas Grapples with Unprecedented Catastrophe as Hurricane Death Toll Rises, FEMA Chief: Plume from Chemical Plant Explosion "Incredibly Dangerous", Monsoon Rains Trigger Building Collapse in Mumbai, Deaths in Karachi, Yemen Floods Kill At Least 18 as Drainage Systems Fail, Niger: Heavy Rains Leave Thousands Homeless, White House Denies Reports President Trump Has Decided to Cancel DACA, State Department Orders Closure of Three Russian Diplomatic Buildings, Special Counsel on Russia Probe Teams with New York Attorney General, Iraq Declares Victory Over ISIS in Tal Afar After Bloody Campaign, U.N. Human Rights Official Warns of "Pyrrhic Victory" In Raqqa, Syria, Trump Administration Moves to Undermine Obamacare Enrollment, Federal Judge Halts Texas Anti-Abortion Law, Trump Administration Cancels Collection of Data on Wage Gap, NYT: Google Executive Pressured Think Tank over Criticisms, Treasury Secretary May Reverse Plan to Put Harriet Tubman on $20 Bill, Radical Milwaukee Sheriff Resigns Ahead of Reported White House Job, Georgia Cop Ousted After Telling Motorist, "We Only Kill Black People", New York Regulators Deny Gas Pipeline Permit for Massive Power Plant

Another suspect in the brutal beating of a young African-American male during the recent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been arrested in Georgia. Alex Michael Ramos, 33, has been charged with malicious wounding for his attack on anti-racist protester Deandre Harris during the Unite the Right rally. Earlier this week, Ohio police also charged 18-year-old white supremacist Daniel Borden in connection to the attack. The police have faced criticism for failing to quickly investigate and arrest Harris's attackers. Photos and video showed at least six white supremacists punching, kicking and beating Harris with large metal poles. Harris, a hip-hop artist and assistant special education teacher at a local high school, later described the attack in a video filmed by photojournalist Zach Roberts. Roberts also captured photographs of the attack which were used to help identify the assailants. We speak with Roberts along with Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing Harris.

While Houston continues to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, we look at the media silence on the human contribution to the record-breaking storm. British journalist and author George Monbiot wrote that despite 2016 being the hottest year on record, the combined coverage during the evening and Sunday news programs on the main television networks amounted to a total of 50 minutes in all of last year. "Our greatest predicament, the issue that will define our lives, has been blotted from the public's mind," he wrote. The silence has been even more resounding on climate-related disasters in areas of the world where populations are more vulnerable—most recently, on the devastating floods across the globe, from Niger to South Asia. Over the past month, more than 1,200 people have died amid flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. This year's monsoon season has brought torrential downpours that have submerged wide swaths of South Asia, destroying tens of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals. Meanwhile, in Niger, West Africa, thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes in the capital Niamey after several days of heavy downpours. We speak with Monbiot, columnist at The Guardian. His book, "Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis," will be out this week.

Six days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, the unprecedented storm is continuing to wreak havoc in Texas and parts of Louisiana. The death toll has risen to at least 38, but authorities expect it to grow as the historic floodwaters begin to recede. Early this morning, a pair of explosions rocked a chemical plant 30 miles northeast of Houston, sending thick black smoke into the air. The Harris County Sheriff's Office says one deputy was taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes, and nine others drove themselves to the hospital.Now a tropical depression, Harvey has moved inland, but many parts of Texas remain underwater or under flood watch. On Thursday, the city of Port Arthur, Texas, which is 100 miles east of Houston, was completely underwater. AccuWeather is now projecting the economic impact of Harvey might top $190 billion—exceeding the economic impact of Katrina and Sandy combined. Up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. According to the Red Cross, more than 32,000 people are in shelters in Texas. We speak with Hilton Kelley, the founder of Community In-Power and Development Association in Port Arthur, Texas. He is a former Hollywood stuntman turned environmental activist. In 2011, he was awarded the Goldman Prize, the world's most prestigious environmental award, for his work battling for communities living near polluting industries in Port Arthur and the Texas Gulf Coast. Port Arthur is home to the largest oil refinery in the nation—the Saudi-owned Motiva plant, which has been shut down due to flooding.

Death Toll from Harvey at 38 as Port Arthur, TX Floods Completely, Explosions at Arkema Chemical Plant Near Houston Follow Flooding, North Korea Tensions Rise as Trump Tweets "Talking is Not the Answer!", Federal Court Halts Implementation of Texas Anti-Immigrant Law SB 4, Immigration Protesters March on Trump Tower in Support of DACA, ACLU: Immigration Agency Is Destroying Records of Human Rights Abuses, Democratic Lawmakers Demand Hearing on Trump's Pardon of Joe Arpaio, Afghanistan: U.S. Airstrike Kills at Least 11 Civilians, Yemen: Saudi-Led Airstrike Kills 5 Civilians at Checkpoint, Bangladesh: 18,000+ Rohingya Refugees Flee Government Violence in Burma, Another Suspect Charged in Charlottesville Beating of African American, Charlottesville Marchers Demand Justice Following White Supremacist Violence, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Says Trump Inciting Violence, Los Angeles to Replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, Activists Bail Out Black Women, Calling for an End to Cash-Bail System

Hurricane Harvey has sparked comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans 12 years ago yesterday. The devastating storm killed more than 1,800 people and forced more than 1 million people to evacuate. Both the government and major aid agencies like the Red Cross were widely criticized for failing to respond adequately to the disaster. Instead, local residents took matters into their own hands, launching relief, recovery and mutual aid efforts such as the Common Ground Collective. For more on the Red Cross's failures and local grassroots relief efforts, we speak with Scott Crow, author and anarchist who helped found the Common Ground Collective in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Jonathan Katz, director of the Media and Journalism Initiative at Duke University and former Haiti correspondent for the Associated Press. He's the author of "The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster" and a new article headlined "The Red Cross Won’t Save Houston."

Dr. James Hansen has been called the "father of climate change awareness." In 1988, Hansen first warned about the dangers of global warming when he testified before Congress. At the time, he was the top climate scientist at NASA, where he headed the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. We speak with world-renowned climatologist Dr. James Hansen on what role climate change played in unleashing Hurricane Harvey.

The World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday announced that Hurricane Harvey's devastation is linked to climate change. All past U.S. rainfall records have been shattered, and the devastating storm is expected to bring even more rainfall to Louisiana and Texas in the coming days. And yet, the corporate networks have avoided linking the record-breaking storm to climate change. We examine storm coverage with Naomi Klein, best-selling author of several books, including "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate."

Hurricane Harvey has prompted at least five Texas prisons to evacuate nearly 6,000 inmates, and on Tuesday the Harris County Sheriff's Office tweeted that their jail next to the swollen Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston had not been evacuated. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials are urging immigrants not to fear seeking help despite an anti-sanctuary law set to take effect on Friday. We get an update from criminal justice correspondent Renée Feltz.

As fallout from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana continues, at least 30 people have died and more than 17,000 people are in shelters. Hundreds of thousands are under evacuation orders, and all past U.S. rainfall records have been shattered. In Texas, a third of Harris County—which encompasses Houston—is currently underwater. Houston officials have imposed a mandatory curfew between midnight and 5 a.m. ExxonMobil says Harvey has damaged at least two of its refineries, causing thousands of pounds of chemicals to be released into the air. Residents in Crosby, Texas, are being evacuated amid concerns a chemical factory damaged by Harvey could explode. We speak with Bryan Parras, organizer with the Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign and the group Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.).

Hurricane Harvey Death Toll Tops 30 as Storm Makes Second Landfall in Louisiana, Flooding in Mumbai, India, Kills 6, as Freak Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc in Istanbul, Turkey, U.N. Security Council Condemns North Korea Missile Test Over Japan, Afghan Air Force Airstrikes Kill More Than a Dozen Civilians in Herat, D.C. Grand Jury Indicts Turkish President's Security Guards over Assault on Protesters, Special Counsel Issues Several Subpoenas over Manafort & Flynn's Financial Ties, Defense Secretary Says Transgender Servicemembers Can Continue Serving, Pending Review, Trump Heads to Missouri for Speech on the Tax Code, Wisconsin: 6 People Arrested Protesting Construction of Tar Sands Pipeline

In the past month, more than 1,200 people have died amid flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. This year's monsoon season has brought torrential downpours that have submerged wide swaths of South Asia, destroying tens of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals and affecting up to 40 million people. Aid organizations are warning that this is one of the worst regional humanitarian crises in years, with millions of people facing severe food shortages and disease caused by polluted flood water. Flood victims in southern Nepal say they have lost everything. We speak with Asad Rehman, executive director of "War on Want". He has worked on climate change issues for over a decade.

As the fallout from Hurricane Harvey continues, a potential public safety crisis has emerged affecting Houston’s nearly 600,000 undocumented immigrants. President Trump could announce as early as today that he will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which provides legal status for some 85,000 Houston residents and nearly 800,000 people nationwide. Without the status, many residents will be unable to work and rebuild after the storm. Compounding the problem for immigrants, Texas will officially outlaw sanctuary cities on Friday, threatening police chiefs and city officials with criminal sanctions and penalties if they do not help deport immigrants. The law known as SB 4 is being challenged in court, but a federal judge has yet to rule on whether it can take effect. This has prompted concern that many immigrants are not coming forward to seek help amid the flooding because they fear being detained and deported. We speak with Cesar Espinosa, the founder and executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based nonprofit that helps young undocumented members of the Latino community. Espinosa is himself a DACA recipient.

Concern continues to grow over the environmental impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Houston area, home to more than a dozen oil refineries. The group Air Alliance Houston is warning the shutdown of the petrochemical plants will send more than 1 million pounds of harmful pollution into the air. Residents of Houston’s industrial communities have reported unbearable chemical-like smells coming from the many plants nearby. Stranded communities are “literally getting gassed by these chemicals," according to Bryan Parras, an activist at the environmental justice group t.e.j.a.s. Those closest to these sites in Houston are disproportionately low-income and minority communities. We speak with Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the “father of environmental justice.” He is currently a distinguished professor at Texas Southern University. Dr. Bullard speaks to us from his home in Houston, which he needs to evacuate later this morning due to the rising Brazos River.

The death toll continues to rise as massive amounts of rain from Hurricane Harvey flood Houston and other parts of Texas and Louisiana. The Houston police and Coast Guard have rescued over 6,000 people from their homes, but many remain stranded. Meteorologists forecast another foot of rain could fall on the region in the coming days. While the National Hurricane Center is now calling Harvey the biggest rainstorm on record, scientists have been predicting for years that climate change would result in massive storms like Harvey. We speak with Dr. Robert Bullard, known as the “father of environmental justice.” He is currently a distinguished professor at Texas Southern University. Dr. Bullard speaks to us from his home in Houston, which he needs to evacuate later this morning due to the rising Brazos River.

Death Toll from Hurricane Harvey Rises to 14 as Flooding Continues, Worst Flooding in a Decade Inundates Mumbai, India, Report: Trump Admin Pressuring Intel Officials to Find Iran in Violation of Nuclear Deal, Japanese Residents Urged to Take Cover as North Korea Fires Missile over Japan, Syria: At Least 10 Civilians Reportedly Killed in U.S.-Led Airstrikes in Raqqa, Durham Issues 3 More Arrest Warrants over Toppling of Confederate Statute, Thousands Gather in Berkeley for Antifa Rally to Oppose White Supremacy, White Ohio Man Daniel Borden Charged with Attacking Deandre Harris in Charlottesville, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: Trump Speaks for Himself, Trump Endorses Book by WI Sheriff David Clarke, Who Compared BLM to KKK, Trump Doubles Down on His Decision to Pardon Racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Trump Associate Boasted Moscow Project Could Help Trump Become President, Philippines President Duterte Tells Police To Kill Suspects Resisting Arrest, Chile: 29 Trucks Sabotaged amid Conflict Between Mapuche and Logging Corporations, Kenya Passes World’s Strictest Ban against Plastic Bags, Undocumented Mother Defies Trump Admin by Taking Sanctuary in Harlem Church

Hurricane Harvey has threatened the safety of immigrants in Texas who are afraid to evacuate to shelters or approach authorities to seek help, in part because of a new law set to go into effect Friday that allows police in Texas to ask people they detain for their immigration status. Ahead of the storm, the U.S. Border Patrol said its roadside immigration checkpoints in the state would remain open. The agency later modified their statement, saying, "Routine non-criminal immigration enforcement operations will not be conducted at evacuation sites, or assistance centers such as shelters or food banks." More than 50 immigrant women and children were left stranded by immigration authorities at a bus station in San Antonio on Friday after bus service was canceled due to Hurricane Harvey. We speak with Rocío Guenther, a reporter with the San Antonio nonprofit news outlet _The Rivard Report_. She broke the story about ICE in her report headlined, “Stranded Immigrants Find Shelter from Hurricane Harvey.” We also speak with Amy Fischer, policy director for RAICES, a Texas-based nonprofit legal advocacy organization that helped with the rescue of the asylum seekers.

Hurricane Harvey has already dumped more than 9 trillion gallons of water on Texas—enough water to fill the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City twice. Meteorologists project another 5 to 10 trillion gallons of water could be dumped on the region in coming days, potentially making this the worst flooding disaster in U.S. history. We speak with David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean conservation organization, about how climate change is fueling massive storms like Hurricane Harvey.

A catastrophic storm has hit Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city and home to the largest refining and petrochemical complex in the United States. The crisis began on Friday when Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport, Texas. It was the most powerful hurricane to strike the state in more than 50 years. Much of the damage has been caused by the massive rainfall, with parts of Texas already receiving 30 inches of rain. That could top 50 inches in the coming days. Entire highways in Houston are now underwater. The storm has caused five reported deaths, but the death toll is expected to rise. Thousands of people are still stranded in their homes, waiting to be rescued. Meanwhile, the city of Dallas prepares to turn its convention center into a mega-shelter to host 5,000 evacuees. The National Weather Service released a statement on Sunday saying, "This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced." We speak with Bryan Parras, an organizer for the "Beyond Dirty Fuels" campaign with the Sierra Club in Houston, Texas. He helped found the environmental justice group t.e.j.a.s.

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*Update: On Friday President Trump signed a "directive":https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/08/25/presidential-memorandum-secretary-defense-and-secretary-homeland to block transgender individuals from joining the military.*The White House has reportedly prepared a memo for the Pentagon outlining President Trump's call to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. The memo instructs the Pentagon to refuse to admit transgender people to the military and to stop paying for the medical treatments for transgender people currently serving. According to the _Wall Street Journal_, which first reported on the memo, the Pentagon will have six months to implement the ban. In response to the report, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who was severely injured, issued a statement urging Congress to block Trump’s announced ban. Five transgender military members have already sued Trump over the ban. Thousands of transgender people are currently serving in the US military. For more we speak with Chase Strangio, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens issued a last-minute stay of execution for death-row prisoner Marcellus Williams just hours before he was slated to be put to death on Tuesday night. The order came after evidence surfaced showing that the DNA on the murder weapon did not match Williams’s. Williams, who is African American, was convicted in 2001 of killing a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle, who is white, during a robbery. He was convicted by 11 white jurors and 1 black juror, after the prosecution was allowed to preemptively strike out 6 other prospective black jurors. Williams has always maintained his innocence. Amnesty International and other groups are now urging the Missouri governor to grant Marcellus Williams clemency. We speak with Kent Gipson, a criminal defense attorney representing Marcellus Williams.

Florida has executed a 53-year-old man convicted of killing two men in 1987 by lethal injection. The execution, performed on Thursday evening, involved the use of a powerful chemical never before used in a U.S. execution. The anesthetic drug etomidate was developed by a division of Johnson & Johnson called Janssen, and has been criticized as being unproven in an execution. In response, the Johnson & Johnson division said, "We do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for capital punishment." Johnson & Johnson has joined a chorus of pharmaceutical companies that have spoken out against the use of their medicines in U.S. executions. After European pharmaceutical companies began refusing to sell drugs to be used in executions, many states turned to untested drug combinations and drugs sourced through unconventional means. The controversial formulas used may have subjected at least one prisoner to an excruciating death equivalent to drowning. We speak with Maya Foa, director of the international legal charity Reprieve, which campaigns against the death penalty.

In Texas, tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities Thursday, as forecasters predicted Hurricane Harvey could make landfall late Friday as a major category-three storm, delivering a life-threatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the Gulf Coast. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called out 700 members of the National Guard as several coastal counties ordered mandatory evacuations. Hurricane trackers expect the storm's eye to come ashore near the city of Corpus Christi, where mayor Joe McComb called for a voluntary evacuation. For more we speak with Dan Kammen who just resigned as science envoy for the U.S. State Department.