Democracy Now!

The issue of whether or not Donald Trump taped conversations with James Comey was raised several times during Comey's dramatic testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, prompting the question of whether a smoking gun exists that could lead to President Trump's impeachment for obstruction of justice. "It's a liberal fantasy to talk about impeaching Trump," says Mehdi Hasan. "I don't think this House of Representatives, this Republican Congress, has any interest in impeaching Donald Trump. Even if you were to produce a video of Trump talking in Russian to Putin asking for his marching orders, I suspect Paul Ryan and co. would not decide to impeach him."

Fired FBI Director James Comey testified Thursday that President Trump tried to derail an investigation into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's links to Russia, and accused Trump of lying about why he was fired. Comey testified that he documented every meeting he had with Trump because he thought the president might lie about what had taken place, and said he leaked the meeting details to the media in order to spur the appointment of a special counsel. "From a political point of view, we know that one of the biggest flaws in Donald Trump's presidency, his candidacy, his ability to be president, is that he's a serial fabricator," says Mehdi Hasan. "Now you have the former top law enforcement officer of this country going in front of the Senate, under oath, saying those are lies, plain and simple." Hasan is an award-winning British journalist and broadcaster at Al Jazeera English and columnist for The Intercept. He joins a roundtable discussion with Shayana Kadidal, senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties at her website EmptyWheel.net.

British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a major setback Thursday in an election that saw her Conservative Party lose its majority in Parliament less than two weeks before the country is scheduled to begin talks over exiting from the European Union. May called the snap election three years early, expecting to win a large mandate to negotiate with European leaders over the terms of the so-called Brexit. Instead, Conservatives were left without a clear majority and a hung Parliament. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who ran on a platform of "For the many, not the few," said Thursday's election results show voters are "turning their backs on austerity." We're joined by Paul Mason, columnist for The Guardian, and Mehdi Hasan, award-winning British journalist and broadcaster at Al Jazeera English. He is host of the Al Jazeera interview program "UpFront" and a columnist for The Intercept.

British Conservatives Lose Parliamentary Majority as Labour Surges, Ousted FBI Director Comey Tells Senate Panel Trump Lied, White House Accuses Comey of Lying to Congress, House Votes to Repeal Financial Regulations of Dodd-Frank Act, Yemen: More Than 100,000 Infected as Cholera Epidemic Spreads, Four Yemeni Civilians Killed in U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Airstrike, Qatar: Al Jazeera TV Network Says It Thwarted Massive Cyberattack, Somalia: 70 Dead After Al-Shabab Fighters Storm Army Base, Louisiana: New Law to Reduce Sentences, Trim Prison Population, Georgia: Students Sue, Claiming Police Groped 900 of Them in Drug Search, New Jersey Police Assault Crash Victim After High-Speed Pursuit, NSA Contractor Reality Winner Pleads Not Guilty over Top-Secret Leak, New York City: Haitians Protest Hillary Clinton Commencement Address

Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee today on whether President Donald Trump pressured him on more than one occasion to end a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Comey, fired by Trump last month, released his planned opening statement on Wednesday. In his statement, he alleged that in late January he was summoned to the White House for dinner with Trump. At the dinner, Trump declared, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty." The hearing comes a day after senior national security officials dodged questions by committee members over whether Trump asked them to intervene in Comey's investigation. We speak with Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties.

Puerto Rican independence activist Oscar López Rivera, who was imprisoned for about 35 years, joins us for his first broadcast interview in New York City since he was freed on May 17, 2017. His visit coincides with the city’s long-standing Puerto Rican Day Parade. This year's organizers chose to honor López Rivera as the parade’s first "National Freedom Hero." But after a boycott campaign was organized by a right-wing conservative group funded by donors close to both President Trump and to Breitbart News, the city’s police chief and a number of corporate sponsors said they will boycott the event. Oscar López Rivera says he will still march, not as an official honoree but as a humble Puerto Rican and a grandfather.

We are joined in studio by longtime Puerto Rican independence activist Oscar López Rivera, who was imprisoned for about 35 years—much of the time in solitary confinement—before President Obama commuted his sentence in January. On May 17, 2017, less than a month ago, López Rivera was released. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a leader of the pro-independence group FALN. In 1981, López Rivera was convicted on federal charges including seditious conspiracy—conspiring to oppose U.S. authority over Puerto Rico by force. López Rivera describes his time in prison, his youth in Chicago and how he became politicized. He also comments on Puerto Rico's current political crisis and says as long as Puerto Rican youth are "struggling and doing something for the economy, doing something for themselves, doing something for Puerto Rico, there is hope." We also speak with Juan Cartagena, president and general counsel of LatinoJustice, who was part of the campaign to free López Rivera.

Former FBI Director Comey Says Trump Pressured Him over Flynn Probe, National Security Officials Dodge Questions on Comey Investigation, Lawmakers Draft Articles of Impeachment Against President Trump, ACLU: FBI Director Nominee Christopher Wray Could Be Tied to Torture, Senate Republicans Prepare Bill to Repeal Affordable Care Act, North Korea Tests New Anti-Ship Missile, Nigeria: Boko Haram Assaults Maiduguri Amid Famine, Climate Report Predicts Rising Seas Will Flood Coastal U.S. Cities, U.K. Labour Party Closes in on Conservatives as Voting Begins, Reporter Covering Inauguration Protests Indicted for Felony Rioting, Rep.-Elect Greg Gianforte to Give to Charity After Reporter Assault, Minnesota: At Trial, New Video Shows Officer Killing Philando Castile, Family of Autistic Man Files Suit over Florida Police Shooting, Black Lives Matter Leaders Win Sydney Peace Foundation Prize

Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. To put the death toll into perspective, opioid deaths have now surpassed the peak in death by car crash in 1972, AIDS deaths in 1995 and gun deaths in 1993. After 20 years of heavy combat in South Vietnam, U.S. military casualties represented only one-third of the death toll from 10 years of opioid overdoses. Meanwhile, counties and states around the country have filed lawsuits to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the public health crisis. "The United States is in the midst of the worst drug addiction epidemic in its history," says Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He is also co-founder and director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing.

A pair of attacks in Iran's capital Tehran this morning left 12 people dead and dozens more injured. The attacks on the parliament building and the tomb of the republic's founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, are the worst attacks in Tehran in decades. The attackers opened fire and took a number of hostages before all four attackers were killed by security forces. ISIS is claiming responsibility. We are joined by Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council.

China is refusing to release three activists who were arrested while they were investigating labor conditions at a factory manufacturing Ivanka Trump brand shoes. The three men were working with the New York-based nonprofit China Labor Watch. The arrests came just weeks after Ivanka Trump secured three new exclusive trademarks in China. China accuses the investigators of interfering with the operation of the factory. China Labor Watch denies the allegations and says this is the first time in nearly two decades of its existence that any of its investigators have been detained. Amnesty International has joined in demanding the release of the trio. To talk more about what this means, we are joined in Washington, D.C., by Kevin Slaten, who was program coordinator for China Labor Watch until last year.

Iran: 12 Killed in Two Attacks in Tehran; ISIS Claims Responsibility, Trump Tweets He's Nominating Christopher Wray to Be Next FBI Director, Tensions Mount Between Trump & Sessions Ahead of Comey's Testimony, Report: 4 Law Firms Have Refused to Represent Trump, Parents of NSA Contractor Reality Winner Speak Out After Daughter Charged with Espionage, Trump Exacerbates Tensions in Persian Gulf with Tweet About Qatar, Forbes: Eric Trump Funneled Donations for Children with Cancer to Trump Organization, U.S. Launches Airstrikes Against Pro-Syrian Government Forces, Paris: Man Attacks Police Officer Saying "This is for Syria", Amnesty Chair in Turkey Arrested by Police Along with Other Human Rights Lawyers, Colombia: Buenaventura Residents Reach Deal with Gov't After Three-Week Strike, Hawaii Becomes First U.S. State to Pass Laws to Fulfill 2015 Paris Climate Accord, SF: 7 Activists Arrested Protesting for Freedom for Hugo Mejía & Rodrigo Nuñez, New Hampshire Faith Leaders Hold Vigil to Support Immigrants at Mass ICE Check-in, Chokwe Antar Lumumba Elected Mayor of Jackson, MS

We continue our coverage of the Philadelphia district attorney's race with Republican nominee Beth Grossman, a prosecutor with more than 20 years' experience serving in every unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Grossman is a fourth-generation Philadelphian who says she is committed to seeking justice and improving the quality of life for all Philadelphians. From 2007 to 2015, she led the city's Public Nuisance Task Force, which handled civil asset forfeiture. The controversial practice enables district attorneys to seize people's property and cash even if they are not convicted of a crime. Grossman now faces a tough battle in the upcoming November election against Democratic rival Larry Krasner for the district attorney seat. Philadelphia has been a staunchly Democratic city for more than 60 years.

Will a defense attorney with a long record of standing up to prosecutors and police soon head one of the nation's busiest district attorney offices? We speak with civil rights attorney Larry Krasner, who is considered the front-runner in the race to become Philadelphia's next district attorney after he overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary last month. Over his career, Krasner has represented protesters with Black Lives Matter, Grannies for Peace, ACT UP and Occupy Philadelphia. He's promised to never seek the death penalty.

A military intelligence contractor has been arrested and charged with leaking a top-secret NSA report to the media that reveals Russian military intelligence conducted a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software company just days before last November's presidential election. The charges were announced after The Intercept published part of the NSA report on Monday. It is the first criminal leak case under President Trump. We speak with security technologists Bruce Schneier and Jake Williams, who is a former member of the NSA's Tailored Access Operations hacking team.

Contractor Charged with Leaking Top-Secret Doc on Russian Cyberattack, After Intercept Exposé, White House Will Not Block James Comey's Testimony to Senate Committee, NYT: Nearly 60,000 Americans Died of Drug Overdose in 2016, Trump Announces Plans to Privatize Air Traffic Control, Afghanistan: Death Toll from Kabul Bombing Rises to 150, Making It Deadliest Attack Since 2001, London Mayor Calls for Trump's State Visit to Britain to Be Canceled, London Police Name 3 Men Allegedly Behind Saturday's Attack, Syria: U.S.-Backed Forces Begin Battle to Retake Raqqa from ISIS, China: 8 Killed in Industrial Accident at Petrochemical Company, Acting Ambassador to China Resigns over Trump's Withdrawal from Paris Accord, California Gov.: Climate Change May Be Even More Dangerous Than Fascism, Kellyanne Conway's Husband Mocks Trump over His Travel Ban Tweets, Florida: Army Veteran Kills 5 People at His Former Workplace, Puerto Rico: Students Vote to End Strike, Classes Slated to Resume June 12

As President Trump announced the United States will pull out of the Paris climate agreement, California's state Senate has passed legislation to put the state on a path to 100 percent clean renewable energy by the year 2045. California Governor Jerry Brown is in China to lead a conference of states and other "subnational" actors making voluntary commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It is one of dozens of state and local governments committing to fight climate change, and as the state with the world's sixth largest economy, California is often cited by analysts as a model for its ambitious environmental policy. Nearly 200 U.S. mayors have also signed on to an agreement to uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement. We are joined by Kevin de León, president pro tem of the California state Senate.

We speak with Shayana Kadidal, senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, about an often overlooked footnote in the history of ISIS. Kadidal says the group's mix of members was "pulled together in Camp Bucca," which once hosted thousands of prisoners in Iraq without charge. Many alleged they suffered of torture and abuse by U.S. guards while held there. "We made this. We created this movement and its leadership with our own misguided and amateurish detention and interrogation policies," Kadidal says, and argues that by keeping Guantánamo open and speaking approvingly of torture, President Trump is running a "long-standing commercial for ISIS."

Is the Trump administration attempting to erase history? On Friday, congressional officials confirmed the administration has begun returning to Congress copies of the Senate's explosive 2014 report on CIA torture. The move raises concerns that copies of the classified report will now be buried in Senate vaults or even destroyed—and, along with it, lessons from one of the darkest chapters in America's history. Under the Obama administration, the 6,770-page landmark investigative Senate report was initially sent to federal agencies in hopes it would eventually be made public. Now the reports will be returned to the Republican-controlled Senate. Documents held by Congress are not subjected to laws requiring government records to be eventually made public. Democrats are expressing fear that the Trump administration intends to erase electronic copies and destroy hard copies of the report. We speak with Shayana Kadidal, a senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. CCR represents two men named as former CIA prisoners in the executive summary of the Senate torture report released in 2014. Majid Khan and Guled Hassan Duran are both currently held at Guantánamo.

Following the attacks in London on Saturday night, President Trump launched a tweet storm calling for the United States to impose his proposed Muslim travel ban, which would prohibit all refugees and citizens of six majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. On Thursday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to revive his Muslim travel ban, which has been blocked by multiple courts. The Trump administration has filed emergency applications with the nine high court justices seeking to block two different lower court rulings that found the ban was discriminatory. "There is no national security justification that the government has managed to produce here," says Shayana Kadidal, senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Twelve people have been arrested in London after three attackers killed seven people and injured 48 more on Saturday night. The three attackers were shot dead by police. It's the third terror attack in the U.K. in three months. British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed a sweeping review of the nation's counterterrorism strategy. All of this comes as the country gears up for national parliamentary elections scheduled for this Thursday. Prime Minister May has also called for increased web surveillance so the internet is no longer a "safe space" for terrorists. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump used the London attacks to call for the United States to impose his proposed Muslim travel ban. Here to discuss all of this with Democracy Now! is Guardian columnist Paul Mason.

London: 7 Killed in Saturday's Attack on London Bridge & Borough Market, Trump Uses London Attack as Excuse to Call for Muslim Travel Ban, Afghanistan: 20 Killed in Attack on Funeral for Anti-Government Protester, Iraq: Dozens Killed Trying to Flee ISIS-Held Areas of Mosul, Saudi Arabia & 5 Other Nations Break Off Diplomatic Relations with Qatar, "March for Truth": Nationwide Rallies Demand Independent Probe into Trump & Russia, HBO Facing Calls to Fire Bill Maher over His Use of Racial Slur, Honduras: International Firms Stop Financing Agua Zarca Dam, Amnesty Condemns Colombia for Crackdown Against General Strike in Buenaventura, Mexico: Indigenous Journalist in Critical Condition After Assassination Attempt, Bill Cosby's Sexual Assault Trial Begins in Pennsylvania, NYC: 7 Jewish Activists Arrested Disrupting Israel Day Parade

The very same day President Trump announced he is pulling the United States out of the landmark 2015 climate accord, oil began flowing through the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Trump greenlighted the Dakota Access pipeline, along with the Keystone XL pipeline, as one of his first environmental actions in office. The pipeline had faced widespread resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, hundreds of other indigenous nations from across the Americas, as well as their non-Native allies. Now a new investigation by Antonia Juhasz reveals more details about how the private military contractor TigerSwan carried out extensive military-style counterterrorism efforts targeting the indigenous-led movement. Published by the news outlets Grist and Reveal, it is headlined "Paramilitary security tracked and targeted #noDAPL activists as 'jihadists,' docs show."

We host a roundtable discussion on President Trump's announcement Thursday that he will withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate accord signed by nearly 200 nations in 2015 and heralded as a rare moment of international collaboration to avert imminent climate disaster. We are joined by Michael Mann, distinguished professor and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University; Kumi Naidoo, South African activist, former head of Greenpeace, now chairperson of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity; Asad Rehman, executive director of War on Want; and Antonia Juhasz, oil and energy journalist, author of several books, including "The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry—and What We Must Do to Stop It."

President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate accord that was signed by nearly 200 nations in 2015 and heralded as a rare moment of international collaboration to avert imminent climate disaster. Following the news, landmarks in cities around the world were lit up green in support of the agreement. Democracy Now! was there when demonstrators gathered near City Hall to protest.

President Trump Announces U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord, White House Issues "Retroactive" Ethics Waivers to Senior Officials, Russian President Says "Patriotic" Hackers May Have Meddled in U.S. Election, Senators Asked Former FBI Director for Perjury Probe into AG Sessions, Jared Kushner Used Loans for Low-Income Areas to Build Luxury Tower, Philippines: 36 Dead in Failed Robbery at Manila Casino Resort, Philippines: 11 Soldiers Die in Botched Airstrike Targeting ISIS, Iraq: Attack in West Mosul Kills More Than 20 Civilians, Venezuelan Judge Who Jailed Opposition Leader Shot Dead in Caracas, Colombia: Protests Grow in Afro-Colombian City of Buenaventura, Mexican Journalists Rally for Kidnapped Reporter Salvador Adame, U.N. Campaign Seeks to Aid Central American Migrant Children, Trump Administration Issues Tough New Rules for U.S. Visa Applicants, White House Asks Supreme Court to Reinstitute Travel Ban, Professor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Cancels Speeches Amid Death Threats

Ben Jealous, the youngest person to ever head the NAACP, has entered the race for governor of Maryland. He announced his bid Wednesday outside of his cousin's West Baltimore flower shop, which was opened after the 2015 unrest that followed the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody. A prominent Bernie Sanders surrogate in the 2016 presidential race, Jealous describes, in an extended interview, his plans to run as an activist, pursuing a broad agenda of civil rights, social and economic justice.

President Donald Trump says he will make his announcement today on whether to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate accord, a decision environmentalists warn would be a crime against the future of the planet and humanity. Will he or won't he? As the game show-like deliberations continue, we speak with Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, author of "Coming Clean: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal," and with South African environmental activist and former Greenpeace head Kumi Naidoo.

Afghans Mourn Kabul Bomb Victims as Death Toll Rises to 90, Iraq: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Bombing at Ice Cream Parlor, President Trump Set to Withdraw U.S. from Paris Climate Accord, Sri Lanka: Death Toll from Flooding Tops 200, Bangladesh: Cyclone Devastates Rohingya Muslim Refugee Camps, CNN: AG Jeff Sessions Held Additional Meeting with Russian Ambassador, House Intel Committee Chair Devin Nunes Unilaterally Issues Subpoenas, Brexit Leader Nigel Farage a "Person of Interest" in Russia Probe, Press Secretary Spicer Grilled over Trump's Bizarre "Covfefe" Tweet, China: Activists "Disappear" Amid Ivanka Trump Factory Investigation, New York City to Cut Ties to Wells Fargo, Mother of Portland Stabbing Victim Calls on Trump to Condemn Hate, Noose Found Inside Smithsonian's African American History Museum, Racist Graffiti Spray-Painted on Home of NBA Star LeBron James, New York City Police Sergeant Charged with Murder in Bronx Killing, Former NAACP Head Benjamin Jealous Enters Maryland Governor's Race

An explosive new investigation by The Intercept reveals how international private security firm TigerSwan targeted Dakota Access water protectors with military-style counterterrorism measures. TigerSwan began as a U.S. military and State Department contractor. It was hired by Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. The investigation is based on leaked internal documents, which show how TigerSwan collaborated closely with law enforcement agencies to surveil and target the nonviolent indigenous-led movement. In the documents, TigerSwan also repeatedly calls the water protectors "insurgents" and the movement an "ideologically driven insurgency." We are joined by Alleen Brown, reporter with The Intercept and co-author of their story, "Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies," and by Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth. She is Ojibwe from Couchiching First Nation.

A civilian monitoring group says U.S.-led airstrikes killed more than 100 civilians—including 47 children—on Thursday and Friday in the ISIS-held town of Al Mayadeen in eastern Syria. This comes as U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says the U.S. is shifting to "annihilation tactics" in its fight against ISIS. But as the U.S. ramps up airstrikes, are Syrian civilians paying the price? That is the question posed by The Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain, whose latest piece is headlined "The U.S. Has Ramped Up Airstrikes Against ISIS in Raqqa, and Syrian Civilians Are Paying the Price."

A newly declassified Pentagon audit shows the U.S. Army failed to keep track of more than $1 billion worth of weapons and military equipment sent to Iraq and Kuwait, including tens of thousands of assault rifles and hundreds of armored vehicles. The audit found improper record-keeping, including duplicated spreadsheets, handwritten receipts and a lack of a central database to track the transfers. Some of the weapons have been tracked down In Iraq, says our guest Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International's arms control and human rights researcher. "It's very difficult to actually track individual weapons, but we have been looking at a lot of images and films of Islamic State deploying weapons and also the Shia militias that are now grouped under the Popular Mobilization Units," Wilcken says. "We have looked at what type of weapons that they are deploying, and they're deploying weapons from all over the world, including fairly recently produced U.S. weapons."

We go live to Kabul to speak with Lotfullah Najafizada, news director for TOLOnews, Afghanistan's 24-hour news channel, about the massive bomb blast in the Afghan capital that killed more than 80 people and wounded over 350 when it exploded during rush hour traffic on Wednesday morning in the heart of the city's diplomatic area. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. "The Afghan story [and] probably the Syrian or the Iraqi stories are just about numbers when attacks happen. And I hope it will change again for better one day, and you hear more about the human side of it," Najafizada says. "What happened today is definitely a tragic and a huge attack, but this is not the only attack which happens in this country," Najafizada says. "We lose tens of Afghans on a daily basis across Afghanistan. And some of them are not even in the news, even locally, because of the amount of incidents and attacks you see across Afghanistan." Today's bombing comes as the White House is weighing the Pentagon's proposal to send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Massive Bombing in Kabul Kills 80 People and Wounds 350, Trump Escalates Feud with Germany over Trade and NATO Dues, Michael Flynn to Turn Over Subpoenaed Documents to Senate Intel Committee, Trump Complains About Unnamed Sources as He Retweets Article Based on Unnamed Source, Report: Trump Expected to Roll Back Relations with Cuba, Philippines: Duterte Tells Soldiers They Can Rape Women in Region Under Martial Law, After Court Ruling, Taiwan Poised to Legalize Marriage Equality, Cleveland: Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Fired—But Not for Killing, North Carolina: Undocumented Grandmother Taking Sanctuary in Episcopal Church, Benjamin Melendez, NYC Gang Leader Who Brokered Historic Peace Deal, Dies at 65, Reports: Trump to Pull U.S. Out of Landmark 2015 Paris Climate Deal

Is the United States sliding toward tyranny? That is the question posed by Yale University history professor Timothy Snyder in his new book that draws on his decades of experience writing about war and genocide in European history in order to find 20 key lessons that can help the United States avoid descending into authoritarianism. "I was trying to get out front and give people very practical day-to-day things that they could do," Snyder says. "What stood behind all of that was a lifetime of working on the worst chapters of European history, a sense of how things can go very wrong."

For the second time in a week, a military man was killed by a white extremist. On Friday, 53-year-old Ricky Best, a retired Army veteran, and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche were fatally stabbed, with a third man critically injured, as they tried to defend two teenage girls against an attack by a man going on an anti-Muslim rant. The two young women, one of whom wore a Muslim hijab, were riding a commuter train when, according to witnesses, Jeremy Joseph Christian started shouting ethnic and religious slurs. Police arrested Christian, a convicted felon, soon after the attack. "In many ways, I think his rhetoric has more to do with the campaign and the ideas unleashed in the campaign over the last 16, 18 months by the Trump folks than it does with hardcore neo-Nazism. Or at least it's a mix of the two sets of ideas," says our guest Heidi Beirich, Intelligence Project director of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Trump Faced Stern Words & Clenched Hands from European Allies, Jared Kushner Under Fire for Meeting with Russian Banker in December, Report: U.S.-Led Airstrikes in Syria Kill 100+ Civilians, Including 47 Children, Iraq: 27 Die in ISIS Attack on Ice Cream Parlor; Families Continue Fleeing Mosul, Egypt Launches Airstrikes in Libya After Attack on Coptic Christians, Sri Lanka: Half a Million Displaced by Widespread Flooding, Brazil: Thousands of Protesters Demand Ouster of President Temer, Colombia: Gov't Reaches Deal with Chocó Residents Amid Massive Civic Strike, Spain: Taxi Workers Launch Nationwide Strike to Protest Uber, Palestinian Prisoners End Hunger Strike as Israel Agrees to Some Strike Demands, Afghanistan: 18 Killed in Taliban Suicide Bombing on First Day of Ramadan, Morocco Arrests Leader of Protests Sparked by Death of Fish Seller, Portland, OR: 2 Men Killed After Intervening in Islamophobic Attack, NYC: Linda Sarsour Faces Death Threats Ahead of Her CUNY Commencement Speech, Minnesota: Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez on Trial for Killing Philando Castile, Texas: Hundreds Flood Texas House to Protest Anti-Immigrant Law SB 4, Intercept: Private Security Firm Used Counterterrorism Tactics Against DAPL Water Protectors, Former Panama Dictator Manuel Noriega Dies at Age 83

In this Democracy Now! special, we spend the hour with the world-renowned linguist and political dissident Noam Chomsky. In a public conversation we had in April, we talked about climate change, nuclear weapons, North Korea, Iran, the war in Syria and the Trump administration's threat to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and his new book, "Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power."

As Brazil is engulfed by a political crisis, we are joined in studio for an extended exclusive interview by Brazil's former President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached last year in what many describe as a legislative coup. Her removal ended nearly 14 years of rule by the left-leaning Workers' Party, which had been credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty. Rousseff is a former political prisoner who took part in the underground resistance to the U.S.-backed Brazilian dictatorship in the 1960s. She was jailed from 1970 to 1972, during which time she was repeatedly tortured. Rousseff would later become a key figure in the Workers' Party under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. She was elected president in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Her successor, Brazilian President Michel Temer, is now facing mounting calls to resign or be impeached, following explosive testimony released by the Supreme Court accusing him of accepting millions of dollars in bribes since 2010. This week, he authorized the deployment of the Army to the capital Brasília as tens of thousands of protesters marched to Congress to demand his resignation.

We spend the hour looking at the growing political crisis in Brazil and air an exclusive interview with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached last August in what many described as a legislative coup. Her impeachment came as Brazil was engulfed in a major corruption scandal, but Rousseff herself was never accused of any financial impropriety. Her removal ended nearly 14 years of rule by the left-leaning Workers' Party, which had been credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty.Since Rousseff's removal from power last year, Brazil's corruption scandal has only widened. At the center of the scandal are many of the right-wing politicians who orchestrated Rousseff's ouster. Rousseff's successor, Brazilian President Michel Temer, is now facing mounting calls to resign or be impeached, following explosive testimony released by the Supreme Court accusing him of accepting millions of dollars in bribes since 2010. Removing Dilma Rousseff "was just so perverse, because what you were doing was actually strengthening and empowering corruption," says our first guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, who lives in Brazil. He notes that a third of Temer's Cabinet are now the targets of criminal investigations.

Appeals Court Upholds Block on Trump's Muslim Travel Ban, GOP Millionaire Wins Montana Congressional Seat a Day After Body-Slamming Journalist, Report: Jared Kushner Becomes a Focus of Probe into Russian Meddling, Trump Accuses NATO Members of Owing "Massive Amounts of Money" to U.S., 24 Coptic Christians Killed in Egypt in Attack on Bus, Egypt Blocks Access to Many News Websites , Sister of Manchester Bomber: He Wanted Revenge for Killing of Muslim Children, U.K. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn: The War on Terror Is Not Working, Report: U.S.-Led Strikes Kill 35 Civilians in Syria, Pentagon Admits U.S. Airstrike in Mosul Killed 105 Iraqi Civilians, Lawmakers Launch Bipartisan Effort to Block $110 Billion Saudi Arms Deal, Obama: Progress on Healthcare Is Being Imperiled

Last month here in Toronto, journalist Desmond Cole was told by his editor at the Toronto Star that he had violated the newspaper's rules on journalism and activism, after Cole protested a Toronto Police Services Board meeting. In his writings, Cole has long criticized the controversial police practice of carding—stopping, interrogating and collecting data on individuals without probable cause, a practice which disproportionately targets people of color in Canada. In 2015, he wrote a widely read piece for Toronto Life titled "The Skin I'm In: I've been interrogated by police more than 50 times—all because I'm black." For more, we speak with Desmond Cole, former columnist for the Toronto Star and now a freelance journalist, activist and radio host on Newstalk 1010.

Swedish prosecutors recently dropped the investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange has always denied the allegations, which he calls a pretext for his ultimate extradition to the U.S. to face prosecution under the Espionage Act. Since 2012, Assange has taken refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. It's not clear whether he will emerge any time soon. Last month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed that the U.S. has prepared a warrant for Assange, calling his arrest a "priority." To talk more about Julian Assange, we speak with two of the founders of The Intercept: Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald.

In Britain, police are expanding their investigation into Monday's suicide bombing in Manchester that killed 22 and left dozens injured. Many of those killed were young girls. While the Manchester story has dominated international headlines, far less attention has been paid to other stories this week involving the deaths of civilians. In Syria and Iraq, U.S.-led or backed airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians in the last week alone. Meanwhile, in Yemen, the human rights group Reprieve says U.S. Navy SEALs killed five civilians during a raid Tuesday night on a village in Ma'rib governorate. To talk more about how the media covers civilian casualties, we speak with two of the founders of The Intercept: Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald.

In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte has suggested he might impose martial law across the country, after declaring it this week in his native island of Mindanao. This comes as a transcript of the call of Trump praising Duterte for his controversial drug war was leaked and published by The Intercept. According to the leaked transcript, Trump said, "I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing, and I just wanted to call and tell you that." Duterte’s bloody war on drugs has led to the deaths of nearly 9,000 people, most of whom are poor. Human rights groups have blasted Duterte for the way he’s waged his anti-drug campaign, defined by extrajudicial killings of thousands of suspected drug dealers and users. For more on Trump and Duterte, we speak to Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of The Intercept and host of the new weekly podcast, "Intercepted." Scahill recently co-wrote a three-part series on the leaked call for The Intercept.

NYT: U.S. Spies Heard Russian Officials Plotting to Influence Trump Through Aides, WashPost: Comey Views on Clinton May Have Been Swayed by Fake Russian Document , CNN: Sessions Hid Meetings with Russians When Applying for Security Clearances, CBO: 23 Million Would Lose Insurance Under Republican Healthcare Plan , Thousands Protest Trump's Visit to Brussels for NATO Meeting, Report: U.S. Navy SEALs Killed 5 Civilians in Raid in Yemen, Brazil: Temer Deploys Army to Capital Amid Massive Protests , Gov't Report: DEA Lied About Its Killing of 4 Civilians in Honduras in 2012, Britain Accuses U.S. of Leaking Manchester Probe Details to News Media, 34 Refugees, Including Small Children, Drown Off Coast of Libya, Montana Congressional Candidate Greg Gianforte Body-Slammed Reporter, Hundreds Protest McDonald's and United Airlines Shareholder Meetings

In Britain, nearly 4,000 soldiers have been deployed to support local police departments in the wake of a suicide bombing that killed 22 people and injured dozens at a concert on Monday night. The victims were mostly young girls and parents who had taken their daughters to the concert by American pop star Ariana Grande. Authorities have identified the bombing suspect as Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British man whose parents emigrated from Libya. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. We speak to British political commentator Tariq Ali.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan testified to the House Intelligence Committee that he had growing concerns last year that Trump’s campaign may be colluding with Russian officials to influence the 2016 election—and that the Russians might lead Trump officials down a "treasonous path." Trump has now hired a lawyer to represent him in the ongoing investigation, which has sparked mounting calls for Trump’s impeachment. For more, we speak with John Bonifaz, co-founder and president of Free Speech for People, one of the organizations that launched the "Impeach Donald Trump Now" campaign just moments after Trump's inauguration.

Last week, Texas Democratic Congressmember Al Green became the first congressmember to call for President Trump’s impeachment from the floor of the House of Representatives. Since then, the African-American lawmaker has received a barrage of racist threats, including voicemails in which callers threaten to lynch him. For more, we speak with Congressmember Green.

As controversy continues to swirl around the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials ahead of the 2016 election, we speak to Democratic Congressmember Al Green of Texas. Last week he became the first congressmember to call for President Trump’s impeachment from the floor of the House of Representatives.