Democracy Now!

In Immigration Victory, Judge Blocks Trump from Ending DACA Program, In Reversal, Trump Appears to Endorse Sweeping Immigration Deal, Report: Trump Admin Planning to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Nuclear Weapons, South Korea's Moon Jae-in & North Korea's Kim Jong-un May Meet, Steve Bannon Resigns from Breitbart, Amid Public Feud with Trump, Feinstein Releases Transcript of Fusion GPS Congressional Interview, Notorious Racist Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Announces Senate Bid, Judges Strike Down North Carolina Congressional Map over Political Gerrymandering, As Many As 100 Refugees Have Died After Boat Sank Off Libya's Coast, Pakistan: 6 Killed in Suicide Bomb Attack on Police Officers in Quetta, Egypt Jails 262 People for 2013 Sit-In Protests Against Morsi's Ouster, Israel Faces Possible ICC Probe over 2014 Assault on Gaza & Expansion of Settlements, Ecuador Says Julian Assange's Stay in Embassy is "Untenable", Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Health Problems Suffered by U.S. Diplomats in Cuba, Report: Trump Admin Waives Part of Punishment for 5 Banks Convicted in Libor Scandal, First Fire, Then Floods: 13 Dead in Mudslides in California, Madagascar: 29 Killed and Tens of Thousands Displaced by Cyclone, New York City Moves to Divest Pension Funds from Fossil Fuels, Trump Admin Drops Plans for Offshore Drilling Off Coast of Florida, Louisiana Teacher Arrested for Questioning Superintendent Pay Raise in Now-Viral Video, Actor James Franco Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Lawmakers to Wear Black to Trump's 1st State of the Union to Protest Gender Violence

Rev. William Barber talks about the Poor People's Campaign, the Republican Party’s embrace of President Trump's racist policies, threats to voting rights and the GOP’s remaking of the federal courts. Rev. William Barber is president of Repairers of the Breach and the author of "Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement."

As the nation prepares to mark Martin Luther King Day next week, modern day civil rights leaders have launched a new Poor People's Campaign, inspired by the historic 1968 action led by King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In the coming months, organizers are planning six weeks of direct action at statehouses across the country and the U.S. Capitol to call attention to systemic racism, poverty, the war economy and ecological devastation. For more, we speak with Reverend William Barber, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach. He's the leader of Moral Mondays and the author of "Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement." We also speak with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, evangelical minister and director of the School for Conversion in Durham, North Carolina. He is author of the upcoming book, "Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion." Wilson-Hartgrove grew up as a white Southern Baptist, and he served as a page for the late South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, a fierce foe of the civil rights movement and supporter of segregation. Wilson-Hartgrove's political transformation began after hearing William Barber preach.

President Trump is meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the White House today over his offer to protect the nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants known as DREAMers in exchange for funding to build a border wall. The meeting comes one day after the Trump administration announced it is ending the temporary protected status for as many as 250,000 Salvadorans who have been living in U.S. since 2001. The temporary protected status, known as TPS, had given the Salvadorans legal permission to live and work in the United States. It was enacted in 2001 after a devastating pair of earthquakes hit El Salvador. The Trump administration has already said it will end temporary protected status for tens of thousands of Haitian, Nicaraguan and Sudanese immigrants living in the United States. For more, we speak with a Stony Brook University student named Rodman, who is a member of Make the Road New York. He is a U.S. citizen whose parents are Salvadoran TPS recipients. He asked us not to use his last name to protect his family. We also speak with Anu Joshi, immigration policy director at the New York Immigration Coalition.

In Harlem, New York, hundreds of people attended the funeral of anti-police brutality activist Erica Garner, who died at the age of 27 on December 30 after an asthma-induced heart attack, four months after giving birth to her second child. Erica's father, Eric Garner, was killed when police officers in Staten Island wrestled him to the ground, pinned him down and applied a fatal chokehold in 2014.

Trump Admin Ends Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Salvadorans, Trump Meeting with Lawmakers to Debate DREAMers & Border Wall Funding, Robert Mueller Likely to Interview President Trump for Ongoing Investigation, Ivanka Trump Tweet Celebrating Oprah's Golden Globes Speech Sparks Ridicule, Senate Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing for HHS Secretary Nominee Alex Azar, North & South Korea Officials Meet at DMZ for First High-Level Talks in 2 Years, Tunisia: 1 Protester Killed in Crackdown Against Anti-Austerity Protests, Turkey Extends State of Emergency for Another 3 Months, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Rejects Trump's Plan to Bolster Coal & Nuclear Plants, Alabama: Woman Who Accused Roy Moore of Groping Her Has Home Burned to Ground, #SayHerName: Young Black Lesbian Named Kerrice Lewis Shot & Burned Alive in D.C., "Her Heart Was Attacked": Hundreds Gather in Harlem for Funeral of Erica Garner

At Sunday night's Golden Globes ceremony in Hollywood, actors embraced the #MeToo movement and called for gender and racial justice in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. Eight actresses brought social justice activists with them: Michelle Williams brought #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke; Meryl Streep walked the red carpet with Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Shailene Woodley was accompanied by Suquamish Tribe member Calina Lawrence; Emma Stone brought tennis champ and LGBT advocate Billie Jean King; Susan Sarandon brought Puerto Rican media justice and former Green Party vice-presidential nominee Rosa Clemente; and Amy Poehler's guest was Saru Jayaraman, president of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. For more, we speak with Rosa Clemente and Saru Jayaraman.

Hollywood actors and actresses celebrated the #MeToo movement and demanded gender and racial justice at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards. Many attendees answered the call to wear black and wore pins that read "Time's Up!" On Sunday, Oprah Winfrey made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win the Golden Globe lifetime achievement award. The first African American to receive the honor was Sidney Poitier in 1982. During the ceremony, Golden Globes host Seth Meyers joked with Oprah, suggesting she should run for president. The joke, and Oprah's powerful acceptance speech, fueled a wave of speculation and enthusiasm about a possible 2020 bid by the actress. In response, Oprah's longtime partner Stedman Graham said, "It's up to the people. She would absolutely do it." We air Oprah's acceptance speech, as well as speeches by Golden Globes host Seth Meyers and award winners Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern of "Big Little Lies," Elisabeth Moss of "The Handmaid's Tale," Frances McDormand of "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," and Sterling K. Brown of "This Is Us."

Trump Demands $18 Billion for Border Wall in Exchange for DREAMer Protections, Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Salvadorans to Be Decided Today, CDC to Hold Briefing to Outline How Public Should Prepare for Nuclear War, Trump Claims He's a "Stable Genius" Amid Mounting Questions About Mental Health, Trump Plans to Attend College Football Championships, Sparking Protests, Report: Explosion in Idlib, Syria, Kills 23, Israel Bans Members of 20 Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Groups from Entering Israel, Reports: Trump Admin Freezes $125 Million in Funding for U.N. Agency for Palestinians, NYT: Kushner's Empire Received $30 Million in New Investments from Israeli Firm, NYC: Activists Rally to Demand Freedom for Palestinian Teen Ahed Tamimi, Honduras: Thousands March to Protest Fraud in Re-Election of Juan Orlando Hernández, Pacifica Foundation Faces Potential Asset Seizures by NYC Landlord, BBC's China Editor Resigns to Protest Gender Pay Gap, Time's Up!: Hollywood Actresses Demand Gender and Racial Justice at Golden Globes, Owner of New York City's Massive Bookstore The Strand Dies at 89, NYC: Crews Respond to Small Fire on Roof of Trump Tower

We spend the hour with former New York Times reporter James Risen, who left the paper in August to join The Intercept as senior national security correspondent. This week, he published a 15,000-word story headlined "The Biggest Secret: My Life as a New York Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror." The explosive piece describes his struggles to publish major national security stories in the post-9/11 period and how both the government and his own editors at The New York Times suppressed his reporting, including reports on the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, for which he would later win the Pulitzer Prize. Risen describes meetings between key Times editors and top officials at the CIA and the White House. His refusal to name a source would take him to the Supreme Court, and he almost wound up in jail, until the Obama administration blinked.

Trump Admin Moves to Open Nearly All U.S. Coastal Waters to Offshore Drilling, Following Winter Blizzard, Freezing Cold Sets in Across Midwest & East Coast, "Fire and Fury": Tell-All Book Released Today, Despite Trump Efforts to Block Publication, Jeff Sessions Rescinds Obama-Era Marijuana Policies, Sparking Fear of Crackdown, North & South Korea to Hold High-Level Talks on January 9, U.S. Suspends $900 Million in Military Aid to Pakistan, Afghanistan: 20 People Killed in ISIS Bombing in Kabul, Reports: 2 Dozen Civilians Killed in Russian Airstrikes in Syria, Russia: 10 Workers Killed in Fire at Shoe Factory, Republicans Declare Victory in Virginia House of Delegates Election Tiebreaker

In a case that highlights what some are calling the "Palestine exception” to free speech on college campuses across the nation, we look at students who are suing Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in New York for their right to start a Students for Justice in Palestine group. The student government approved the group unanimously, but the dean of students overruled the approval, saying the group would "stir up controversy" and be "polarizing." On Wednesday, the students asked a judge to reinstate the student government’s approval. We speak with Ahmad Awad, who has graduated from Fordham University and is the lead petitioner, now a law student at Rutgers University. We also speak with Dima Khalidi, director of Palestine Legal.

Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday the country will stop supplying weapons and ammunition to the United Arab Emirates, citing "great concern" over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Britain continue to supply the Saudis with billions of dollars' worth of weapons. The U.S. also provides logistical military support to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi air campaign has killed more than 10,000 civilians in Yemen and displaced more than 3 million. More than 80 percent of Yemenis now lack food, fuel, water and access to healthcare. We speak with journalist Iona Craig, who was based in Sana'a from 2010 to 2015 as the Yemen correspondent for The Times of London. She was awarded the 2016 Orwell Prize for her reporting on Yemen.

President Trump tweets that his "nuclear button" is "much bigger & more powerful" than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's. Meanwhile, North and South Korea have opened lines of communication, saying they are open to direct negotiations. We speak with Bruce Cumings, professor of history at the University of Chicago, author of "North Korea: Another Country."

Trump Says Former Aide Steve Bannon "Lost His Mind" After Explosive Comments Published, Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Sues Special Counsel, Trump Ends "Election Integrity" Commission Amid Voter Suppression Charges, Winter "Bomb Cyclone" Brings Fierce Winds, Heavy Snow to East Coast, Baltimore Students Left Freezing in Unheated Classrooms, Palestinian Teenager Killed by Israeli Forces in West Bank Protest, Israel Orders African Refugees to Leave or Face Arrest, Israel's Knesset Advances Bill Seeking Death Penalty for "Terrorists", Iran: Thousands Join Pro-Government Rallies Amid Crackdown on Dissent, Ethiopian Leader Promises to Close Notorious Jail, Release Political Prisoners, Nigeria: Suicide Bomber Kills 11 at Mosque During Morning Prayers, Acting ICE Director Wants Politicians Jailed over Sanctuary Cities, Washington State Sues Motel 6 After Guests' Information Given to ICE, New York: Haitian Immigrant Jean Montrevil Detained by ICE, Two Democratic Senators Seated, Narrowing Republican Majority, Senators Say Trump Admin Hasn't Released Hurricane Aid to Puerto Rico

We remember Black Lives Matter activist Erica Garner, who died Saturday after she fell into a coma following an asthma-induced heart attack. She was just 27 years old. Erica helped lead the struggle for justice for her father, Eric Garner, who was killed when police officers in Staten Island wrestled him to the ground, pinned him down and applied a fatal chokehold in 2014. His final words were "I can't breathe," which he repeated 11 times. In August, Erica gave birth to her second child, a boy named after her late father. Doctors say the pregnancy strained her heart. We feature Erica in her own words on Democracy Now!, and we speak with two people who were close to her: The Intercept's Shaun King and The Root's Kirsten West Savali, whose piece is headlined "Erica Garner: 'I'm in This Fight Forever.'"

As anti-government demonstrations enter their second week in Iran and spread to several key cities, President Donald Trump tweeted it's "TIME FOR CHANGE!" and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley called for an emergency meeting to discuss the developments. "Despite the attention that these anti-government protesters have gotten over the past week, there was no indication … that this was a repeat of 2009. … This was not a mass uprising," says Tehran-based reporter Reza Sayah. We also speak with Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council, who notes a new budget deal in Iran's parliament that would cut government payments to the poor and raise fuel prices 50 percent was "the straw that broke the camel's back" prior to the protests.

Trump Threatens North Korea with "Bigger & More Powerful" Nuclear Button, Trump Admin Seeks U.N. Security Council Meeting on Iran Protests, Iran: Supreme Leader Khamenei Accuses Enemies of Fomenting Protests, Trump Threatens to Cancel U.S. Aid to Palestinian Refugees, Trump Administration Will Withhold Pakistan Military Aid, Trump Calls Justice Department "Deep State," Wants Huma Abedin Jailed, Report: Up to 30 Percent of Earth Could Be in Drought by 2050, Interior Secretary Asks Trump to Shrink Marine Monuments, Honduras: Presidential Candidate Salvador Nasralla Calls for Uprising, German Police Press for Incitement Charge Against Far-Right Lawmaker, Sen. Orrin Hatch to Retire, Prompting Speculation over Mitt Romney, Georgia: Police Arrest 60+ at House Party over 1 Ounce of Marijuana, Trump Claims Credit for Worldwide Airline Safety Record, Iceland: New Law Will Fine Employers Who Fail to Close Gender Pay Gap

Three major U.S. news outlets in early December promoted a story alleging WikiLeaks had secretly offered the Trump campaign special access to the Democratic National Committee emails before they were published. The reports suggested the correspondence proved collusion between the Trump family and Russia, since the U.S. intelligence community regards WikiLeaks as an "arm of Russian intelligence." It turns out this information was false. The issue of collusion with Russia was also a key focus in President Trump's recent interview with reporter Michael Schmidt of The New York Times, where Trump said repeatedly, "There was no collusion. … There was no collusion." We talk about the probe into Russia collusion and coverage by mainstream media with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald, one of the founding editors of The Intercept.

Facebook is being accused of censoring Palestinian activists who protest the Israeli occupation. This comes as Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked reportedly said in December that Tel Aviv had submitted 158 requests to Facebook over the previous four months asking it to remove content it deemed "incitement," and said Facebook had granted 95 percent of the requests. We speak with Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Greenwald about his new report for The Intercept headlined "Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments."

At least 22 people are dead and hundreds have been arrested, as Iranian authorities move to quell the largest anti-government protests since 2009. President Donald Trump responded to the protests on Monday in one of his first tweets of the new year, writing "TIME FOR CHANGE!" "This is the same president who, not more than three months ago, announced a ban on Iranians from coming to the United States," says Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald. "He's somebody who has aligned with the world's worst, most savage dictators."

Iran: 22 Dead, Hundreds Arrested Amid Mass Protests, Trump Lauds Tax Cuts, Arctic Drilling in Exclusive New Year's Gala, Pakistan Summons U.S. Ambassador Following Trump Tweet, North Korean Leader Declares "A Nuclear Button is Always on My Desk", Congo: At Least Seven Dead Amid Protests Against Joseph Kabila's Rule, Gaza: Funeral Held for Man Killed by Israeli Forces While Protesting Trump, Israeli Military Court Indicts 16-Year-Old for Slapping Soldier, Afghanistan: Bomb Kills 15 at Jalalabad Funeral, Syrian Warplanes Pound Rebel-Controlled Damascus Suburb, Egypt: Gunmen Kill 11 at Coptic Christian Church in Cairo, Hong Kong Protests Decry Chinese Crackdown on Free Speech & Democracy, Colorado: Ambush of Denver Police Officers Caps Year of Mass Shootings, Hollywood Women Declare "Time's Up" for Sexual Abusers, Trump Justice Department Pushes for Citizenship Question on 2020 Census, California: Legal Recreational Marijuana Sales Begin, 4.5 Million U.S. Minimum Wage Workers Get Raise with New Year, New York Anti-Police Brutality Activist Erica Garner Dies at 27

We revisit our interview with someone who's led a discussion of mental health professionals who are deeply concerned about President Trump's psychological instability. Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine who organized the "Duty to Warn" conference at Yale and edited the best-selling book, "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President."_Dr. Bandy Lee declares that she is not representing the views of Yale University, Yale School of Medicine or Yale Department of Psychiatry._

As some say the movement to impeach President Trump will grow stronger in 2018, this fall a half-dozen Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of obstruction of justice and other offenses. In December, the House rejected the effort, even as 58 Democrats voted in support of the resolution—nearly a third of their caucus. Meanwhile, at least 17 communities around the country are on record calling for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. We revisit our interview with constitutional attorney John Bonifaz, co-founder and director of Free Speech for People.

We begin our Democracy Now! special by looking at the growing movement of people calling on President Trump to resign over multiple claims of sexual harassment and assault. The renewed calls come amid the international #MeToo movement, in which women across the world have come forward to accuse a slew of powerful men of sexual harassment, assault and rape. Meanwhile, three of the 16 women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual harassment held a press conference last month in New York, demanding that Congress take action. The women shared accounts in which they said Trump groped, fondled and forcibly kissed them. We speak with two of them: Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA contestant for North Carolina when Trump owned the pageant, and Jessica Leeds, who describes what happened to her when she encountered Donald Trump in the first-class cabin of a commercial flight in 1979.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has published its 25th annual survey of journalists killed and jailed around the world. This year, the list of those killed included 42 journalists and four media workers. A record 262 journalists were imprisoned around the world, with Turkey, China and Egypt topping the list for the second year in a row. Mexico reached an historic high in journalists killed this year, and the country leads the world in journalists killed in a non-conflict zone. This comes as President Donald Trump has waged a relentless campaign to discredit journalists in the United States, often with rhetoric that could potentially incite his followers to violence. We speak with María Salazar-Ferro, the director of the Emergencies Department of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

After a visit from Texas Democratic Congressmember Beto O'Rourke and a flurry of news reports, including on Democracy Now!, the Board of Immigration Appeals has reopened the asylum case of award-winning journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, vacating his deportation order and granting him a full stay of his removal order. This means Gutiérrez cannot be deported, at the moment, and that the BIA will now issue a new ruling. But Gutiérrez has still not been released. We play an excerpt from our exclusive jailhouse interview with Gutiérrez and speak with William McCarren, the executive director of the National Press Club, who visited Gutiérrez in detention and said Gutiérrez broke down crying several times, and Gutiérrez's lawyer, Eduardo Beckett.

This month, Senators Mike Lee, a Republican, and Edward Markey, a Democrat, called for a halt to the expansion of a $1 billion airport facial scanning program that the Department of Homeland Security uses to identify travelers on some flights that depart from nine U.S. airports: Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, New York’s John F. Kennedy, Washington Dulles, both Houston airports, Chicago O‘Hare and Atlanta. Congress has approved the program for use on non-U.S. citizens but never expressly authorized its use on Americans. The senators also asked DHS to provide data about the accuracy of the scans and cited a study by the Center on Privacy and Technology that said the technology had high error rates and was subject to bias, because the scans often fail to properly identify women and African Americans. We speak with Ron Nixon, homeland security correspondent for The New York Times.

A New York Times investigation has revealed how the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly going global, with thousands of agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration stationed in more than 70 countries around the world. Hundreds more DHS workers are deployed at sea on Coast Guard ships or in the skies on surveillance planes. Stationing ICE overseas is reportedly about four times as expensive as a domestic post. Now some countries are accusing DHS of attempting to export the United States' restrictive immigration laws, with one German politician saying DHS's interrogations and detentions at foreign airports constitute an extrajudicial travel ban. We speak with Ron Nixon, The New York Times's homeland security correspondent who broke the story, "Homeland Security Goes Abroad. Not Everyone Is Grateful."

Alabama Officially Declares Doug Jones Winner of U.S. Senate Race, Trump Uses Winter Weather to Try to Cast Doubt Upon Global Warming Science, Trump Admin Slated to Roll Back Offshore Oil Drilling Safety Regulations, Trump on Russia Collusion Probe: "It Makes the Country Look Very Bad", Russia Accuses U.S. of Breaking Arms Control Treaty & Interfering in Russian Election, At Least 12 Dead in New York City Apartment Fire, At Least 14 Dead in Mumbai Restaurant Fire, U.N.: 68 Civilians Killed in Saudi-Led Bombing in Yemen on Tuesday, Syria: A Dozen Critically Ill Patients Evacuated from Eastern Ghouta, Liberia: Ex-Footballer George Weah Wins Presidential Election, Palestinian Girl Faces Charges After Video of Her Slapping Israeli Soldier Goes Viral, George Ciccariello-Maher Resigns from Drexel Amid Death Threats from White Supremacists, Erica Garner Suffers "Major Brain Damage" After Heart Attack

We speak with journalist and author Jaime Lowe about her remarkable memoir, "Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind." She shares and investigates her experience with mental illness and the drugs used to combat it. She was on lithium for two decades but was forced to go off it when she experienced serious kidney problems as a result of the medication. Lowe notes mental illness is still associated with social stigma despite affecting tens of millions of Americans.

A major new investigation by The Guardian examined how cities are struggling to solve the problem of homelessness throughout the year, and found many have come to rely on an old solution: a one-way ticket out of town. Relocation programs that offer homeless people free bus tickets to move elsewhere have been around for at least three decades. But as the homeless population rises for the first time since the Great Recession, relocation programs are becoming more common and are expanding to more cities. We speak with The Guardian's homelessness editor, Alastair Gee, about many people who were bused out, remained homeless and eventually returned to the city they had left.

Afghanistan: 40+ Killed in ISIS Suicide Bombing in Kabul, Trump Falsely Claims He Broke Previous Legislative Records, Roy Moore Sues to Stop Alabama from Certifying Doug Jones Winner of U.S. Senate Race, Trump Administration Rolls Back Regulations for Nursing Homes, Honduras Opposition Seeks to Annul Hernández's Re-Election over Reports of Fraud, Liberia Slated to Announce Results of Runoff Presidential Election Today, Bolivia: Health Workers Escalate Protests and Strike in La Paz, France: Residents March to Demand Answers in Case of Missing 9-Year-Old Girl, Burmese Authorities Extend Reuters Journalists' Detention, Immigration Officials Reopen Asylum Case for Detained Mexican Journalist, International Falls, Minnesota, Hits -37 Fahrenheit Amid Record-Smashing Cold, Pioneering Argentinian Filmmaker Fernando Birri Dies at 92

We look at one of the most progressive city councils in New York City's history and the woman who helped lead the agenda: Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who occupies the second most powerful post in city government. Mark-Viverito was first elected to the New York City Council in 2005 and was named speaker in 2014. During her time as speaker, the council expanded living wage requirements, expanded paid sick leave, established a city bail fund and a municipal identification card for undocumented immigrants, limited cooperation between immigration authorities and the city's police and jails, also funded free legal advice for immigrants in detention who face deportation. During her tenure, she also got Mayor Bill de Blasio to agree to close the city's notorious Rikers Island jail. We speak with Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, whose term winds down at the end of this year due to term limits.

We speak with Judge Shira Scheindlin, former United States district judge for the Southern District of New York, about her role in a case that found the controversial police policy of stop-and-frisk unconstitutional. While running for president, Donald Trump called for a nationwide stop-and-frisk program. "It was a bad policy," Judge Scheindlin says. "It was not effective law enforcement … It obviously wasn't deterring crime. All it was doing was alienating the community from the police."

With the confirmation of a 12th circuit court judge earlier this month, Trump set a record for the most appellate judges confirmed in a president's first year in office. Early in his first year, Trump appointed conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. But legal experts say Trump's appointments to the lower courts will have the most impact on American life because they decide nearly all cases, ranging from voting rights and contraception to gay rights and immigration. Meanwhile, Trump's nominee to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. District Court in Washington withdrew from consideration, after widely circulated video showed he was unable to answer basic questions about the law and had never tried a case in court. We get response from Judge Shira Scheindlin, former United States district judge for the Southern District of New York, where she served for 22 years.

NYT: Homeland Security Dept. Has Thousands of Agents Deployed to 70 Countries, U.S. & U.N. Security Council Impose New Sanctions on North Korea over Missile Tests, In Rare Interview, Obama Speaks of Freedom of Speech, Youth & Political Polarization, Fossil Fuel Companies Plunging Billions into Global Plastics Industry, Egypt Executes 15 People Convicted of Attacks in Sinai Peninsula in 2013, Egyptian Labor Lawyer Khaled Ali Announces Bid for Presidency, Chile: Court Sentences 4 Ex-Military Officials to Prison for Student's Disappearance in 1974, Erie, PA, Receives Record 5 Feet of Snow, with More to Come, Whistleblowers Concerned That Spy Agency Ombudsman Put on Leave, Author, Activist and Policy Advocate Marcus Raskin Dies at 83

We look back at the biggest news headlines from 2017 with award-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn, from the Republican tax bill to net neutrality to Colin Kaepernick and the #MeToo movement.

At the United Nations last week, over 120 countries defied President Trump by voting in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted against the United States. Now the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is claiming the U.S. helped push the United Nations to cut its budget for the upcoming year by $285 million. We get response from Allan Nairn, award-winning investigative journalist, and also examine how Trump has ratcheted up military responses to threats from North Korea.

On Friday, the United States congratulated incumbent Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández on what it said was his re-election. This came one month into a standoff between the Honduras government and the opposition over the disputed vote tally, and days after the government-controlled election commission declared Hernández the winner. Previously, the opposition front, the Alliance Against the Dictatorship, as well as the Organization of American States have called for new elections amid reports of widespread fraud, saying the victory was "impossible" to verify. Last week, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet officials at the OAS and State Department, but U.S. officials claimed he did not present evidence to back up his allegations of fraud. We speak with Allan Nairn, award-winning investigative journalist who has just returned Saturday from Honduras. His latest story for The Intercept is headlined "U.S. Spent Weeks Pressuring Honduras Opposition to End Protests Against Election Fraud."

Trump Signs Tax Plan, Reportedly Tells Friends "You All Just Got a Lot Richer", Man Delivers Christmas Gift of Horse Manure to Treasury Secretary to Protest Tax Plan, California Students Launch Campaign for Ballot Measure to Make Universities Free, NYT: Trump Slandered Haitian Visa Holders, Falsely Claiming "They All Have AIDS", Federal Judge Partially Lifts Trump's Latest Travel Ban, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to Resign, Leadership of Miss America Organization Resigns Amid Scandal over Sexist Emails, U.S. Claims It Pushed United Nations to Cut Budget by $285 Million, Yemen: Residents Say Saudi Airstrikes Killed 70+ over the Weekend, Afghanistan: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Suicide Blast in Kabul That Killed 10, HRW: Syrian Gov't & Russia Escalating Bombing Campaign in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, Peru: Protests as President Pardons Fujimori, Imprisoned for Ordering Death Squad Massacres, 200+ Die as Typhoon Tembin Hits Philippines, Kashmir: Indian Soldiers Kill Alleged Militant, Amid Deadliest Year in a Decade in Disputed Territory, Texas: Sheriff's Deputy Kills 6-Year-Old Boy Kameron Prescott, Erica Garner in Medically Induced Coma After Suffering Heart Attack, Photographer Don Hogan Charles Dies at 79, Pope Francis Calls for Two-State Solution & Peace for Rohingya in Christmas Eve Mass

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 President Trump, climate change, nuclear weapons, North Korea, Iran, the war in Syria and his new book, "Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power."

In a major setback for Spain, Catalan separatist parties have won a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Voters went to the polls Thursday in a snap election called for by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had sacked the previous separatist government. Thursday's vote comes after Catalonia's regional Parliament voted in October for independence by a margin of 70 votes to 10. The Spanish Senate in Madrid swiftly responded by granting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unprecedented powers to impose direct rule on Catalonia under Article 155 of the Constitution, which had never been used before in modern Spain's democratic history. The move stripped the northeastern region of its autonomy in efforts to crush Catalonia's growing independence movement. Rajoy then called for new elections, counting on Catalan voters to support pro-unity parties. We speak with Sebastiaan Faber, professor of Hispanic studies at Oberlin College and author of the new book "Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War: History, Fiction, Photography."

In a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to silence dissent, the first trial of people arrested at Inauguration Day "Disrupt J20" protests ended Thursday with all of the defendants found not guilty of all charges. Six people faced multiple felonies and 50 years in prison for just being in the area where anti-fascist and anti-capitalist protesters were marching. During the protest, police blockaded more than 200 people into a corner in a process known as "kettling" and carried out mass arrests of everyone nearby, including medics, legal observers and some journalists. This first case was closely watched as a bellwether for free speech, because one of the six people on trial was Alexei Wood, an independent photojournalist from San Antonio, Texas, whose work focuses on resistance movements. He came to document protests during the inauguration on January 20 and live-streamed the street detentions by police and even his own arrest. Alexei Wood joins us from Washington, D.C., and we speak with Jude Ortiz, a member of the organizing crew of Defend J20 and the Mass Defense Committee chair for the National Lawyers Guild.

At the United Nations, over 120 countries defied President Trump Thursday by voting in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The final vote was 128 to 9, while 35 nations abstained and 21 countries casted no vote. Control of Jerusalem is one of the most contested issues: Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Sustained protests continue in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, despite a brutal Israeli military crackdown. We speak with Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of Arab studies at Columbia University and author of "Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East."

U.N. Defies Trump, Condemning His Decree on Jerusalem, Spain: Separatist Parties in Catalonia Win Majority, Red Cross in Yemen: Cholera Cases Reach 1 Million, Iraq: U.S. Coalition Killed 11,000 Civilians in Battle for Mosul, Pence Visits Afghanistan, Vows to "Win This War on Our Terms", First J20 Trial Ends with Not-Guilty Verdicts, Judge Dismisses Ethics Lawsuit Against Trump, Congress Passes Short-Term Spending Bill with No DREAM Act, Senator Al Franken Targets Trump in Final Speech from the Floor, Two-Year Drop in U.S. Life Expectancy Linked to Opioid Crisis, Much of Puerto Rico Will Celebrate Christmas in the Dark, Without Electricity, Confederate Statues Removed from Public Parks in Memphis, New York Public Radio Fires Two Hosts After Allegations of Sexual Harassment, AlterNet Exec. Put on Leave After Allegations of Sexual Harassment by Several Women, Mamie Johnson, Woman Who Pitched in Negro Leagues, Dies at 82

A shocking new investigation by the ACLU of Texas and The Intercept reveals how state troopers are essentially acting as deportation officers. After poring through public records of traffic stops by the Texas Highway Patrol, the ACLU of Texas uncovered what amounts to a deportation machine operated by the state's Department of Public Safety. State troopers stop drivers for minor traffic infractions, and if they are unable to produce a driver's license, they are taken into custody and turned over to Border Patrol. Several DPS dashboard camera videos show immigrants being detained for trivial traffic violations and then carted away by Border Patrol. We speak with Debbie Nathan, investigative reporter for the ACLU of Texas.

We look at the danger facing journalists in Mexico and how the U.S. has responded to one of them. This week, Mexican journalist Gumaro Pérez Aguinaldo was assassinated in the southern state of Veracruz, becoming at least the 12th journalist to be killed in Mexico so far this year. Reporters Without Borders says the killing puts Mexico alongside Syria as the most murderous country for journalists. In a broadcast exclusive jailhouse interview, we speak by phone with another Mexican journalist: Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, who is fighting his deportation to Mexico as he is being held in a U.S. detention center in El Paso, Texas. Gutiérrez first sought asylum in the United States in 2008 after receiving death threats for reporting on alleged corruption in the Mexican military. He was detained then and eventually released while his asylum appeal was pending. The Trump administration denied asylum to the award-winning reporter last week. We also speak with his lawyer, Eduardo Beckett.

As Congress passes a massive rewrite of the U.S. tax code that could mean the largest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in history, it is also negotiating a stopgap spending measure that will not include the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. This comes as seven young DACA recipients and one ally were released from jail Wednesday after six days in jail on hunger strike. The eight were arrested Friday during nonviolent sit-in protests inside the offices of Democratic lawmakers, demanding they commit to voting "no" on the spending bill this month unless it includes a version of the DREAM Act without concessions for funding for the border wall or enhanced border security. We are joined by Erika Andiola, one of the eight activists just released and a nationally known immigrant activist who served as a spokesperson for Bernie Sanders and helped him craft immigration policy. She is the political director for Our Revolution. She is a DACA recipient who grew up in Arizona, where her house was raided in 2013 and immigration agents picked up her mother and brother.

Republican Congress Passes Massive Tax Overhaul to Benefit Rich & Corporations, Amid Protests, Congress Negotiates Stopgap Spending Measure That Won't Include DREAM Act, Sen. Warner: Firing Mueller Could Provoke Constitutional Crisis, Trump Threatens to Cut Aid to Nations over U.N. Jerusalem Vote, Trump Raises Yemen War in Phone Call with Theresa May, U.N. Expert on Freedom of Speech Worried About U.S. Repeal of Net Neutrality, Honduras: Protesters Killed Amid Crackdown Against Election Demonstrations, Colombia: 100 Human Rights Activists Killed in 2017, According to U.N., Mexico: Journalist Gumaro Pérez Aguinaldo Assassinated in Veracruz, EU Threatens Sanctions over Polish Overhaul of Judiciary, Trump Admin Approves License Allowing Ukraine to Buy Weapons from U.S. Dealers, Peru: Congress Slated to Vote Whether to Impeach President Amid Odebrecht Scandal, Virginia: Judges Now Declare Pivotal House of Delegates Race Tied, Olympic Gold Medalist Says USA Gymnastics Paid Her to Stay Silent About Sexual Abuse, Swedish Parliament Slated to Change Rape Laws to Require Affirmative Consent