Democracy Now!

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.

Five Dead as Unprecedented Hurricane Harvey Bears Down on Texas, 1,200 Die in South Asia amid Historic Flooding in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, China Hit by a Severe Tropical Storm, Days After Historic Typhoon Kills 22, Trump Pardons Notorious Racist Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, White Knights Member Arrested after Shooting at Black Man During Protests in Charlottesville, Oklahoma Police Chief Resigns over Ties to Neo-Nazi Website, Sebastian Gorka Leaves White House and Rejoins Breitbart News, Trump Signs Directive Banning Transgender People from Military, Yemen: Saudi-Led Airstrike Kills 16 Civilians in Sanaa, U.S. & Somali Troops Carry Out Raid That Leaves 10 Dead, Including 3 Children, South Sudan: U.S. Journalist Killed in Fighting Between Gov’t and Rebels, Iraqi Military Says It’s Seized Control of Tal Afar from ISIS, ISIS Suicide Bomb Attack in Kabul Kills 30 at Shiite Mosque, Half a Million Attend Peace March in Barcelona, Spain, Thousands Attend Funeral for 8-Year-Old Palestinian Run Over by Israeli Settler, Burma: At Least 100 Killed in Army Crackdown against Rohingya Muslims, Guatemalan High Court Blocks President from Expelling Head of U.N. Anti-Graft Unit, Trump Admin Imposes New Economic Sanctions on Venezuela, Trump Slated to Lift Ban on Transfer of Military Equipment to Local Police, NYC Mayor de Blasio Considers Removing Columbus Statue amid Protests

*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.

The science envoy for the U.S. State Department Dan Kammen has resigned in protest of President Trump's refusal to quickly condemn the deadly white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month. In his resignation letter, Kammen, referring to Trump, wrote, "Your presence in the White House harms the United States domestically and abroad and threatens life on this planet." The first letter of each paragraph of his resignation letter spells out the word: "Impeach." We speak with Dan Kammen, professor of energy at University of California, Berkeley.

Hurricane Harvey Bringing "Life-Threatening" Flooding to Gulf Coast, Florida Executes Prisoner Using Anesthetic Untested in Executions, White House Presses Senate Leader on Healthcare amid Feud with Trump, Trump Administration Threatens Government Shutdown Over Border Wall, Immigration Activists Warn Trump Admin. May Soon Cancel DACA Program, Rabbis Cancel Planned Call With Trump Over Charlottesville Response, St. Louis: Driver Injures Mourners at Vigil for Transgender Police Victim, Trump Associate Roger Stone Says Impeachment Would Lead to Violent Insurrection, Interior Dept. to Reduce Size of National Monuments, Open Lands to Exploitation, Brazilian President Abolishes Vast Reserve of Amazon Rainforest, Trump Envoy Jared Kushner Meets Israeli, Palestinian Leaders, Israelis Demolish West Bank School Ahead of New School Year, U.N. Calls for Humanitarian Truce in Raqqa Amid Civilian Deaths, Rights Groups Call for Release of Bahraini Activist Ebtisam al-Saegh, Peru: Police Crackdown on Lima Protest by Striking Teachers

On Monday President Trump announced an escalation of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. He also issued a warning to Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan. President Trump went on to say that the U.S. would develop its strategic partnership with India, calling on the Modi government to help in Afghanistan. Observers say that the move might be a signal to Islamabad that the U.S. would back India in the struggle between the South Asian rivals, unless Pakistan severed ties with the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, one of its factions. For more we speak with Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi, editor of the national Pakistani newspaper The Daily Times and a professor at Cornell University and Ithaca College.

Spanish police are continuing to investigate last week’s attack in Barcelona, where 15 people died after a van plowed into a crowded walkway along Las Ramblas—the city’s most famous avenue. On Monday police shot dead the man suspected of driving the van: a Moroccan-born, 22-year-old named Younes Abou-yaaqoub. Police believe he was part of a 12-person cell plotting to carry out a series of bomb attacks. Eight of the cell’s members are now dead, four suspected members have been detained. The events of the past week have shocked many in the Barcelona region. On Sunday, thousands of Muslims, including many from Morocco, marched against violence in Barcelona, chanting, "Islam is peace" and "not in my name." We speak to Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. Ramadan was named by Time Magazine as one of the most important innovators of the twenty-first century. In 2004, Tariq Ramadan accepted a job at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and Time magazine listed him among the top 100 thinkers in the world. But nine days before Ramadan was set to start teaching here in the United States, the Bush administration revoked his visa, invoking a provision of the PATRIOT Act that allows the government to deny entry to non-citizens who "endorse or espouse terrorism."

In Syria, the local journalistic group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reports dozens of civilians have been killed by U.S.-led bombing and artillery fire over the last few days amid the ongoing battle to seize control of the city of Raqqa from ISIS. Amnesty International has just released an in-depth investigation documenting how hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured since the offensive began in June to capture the ISIS stronghold. Survivors and witnesses told Amnesty International that they were trapped on "all sides" between ISIS militants, the U.S.-led coalition force's aerial bombardment, and Russia-backed Syrian government airstrikes. Amnesty is now calling on all warring parties to prioritize protecting civilians and granting them safe passage. We speak to Donatella Rovera, Senior Crisis Response Adviser at Amnesty International.

Charlottesville Covers Confederate Statues with Black Fabric as Residents Demand Their Removal, White Supremacist Christopher Cantwell Surrenders to Police in Virginia, Trump Administration Issues Permit for White Supremacist Rally in San Francisco, Amnesty: Hundreds of Syria Civilians Killed in Raqqa amid US Bombing, Paris: Family & Activists Mourn Death of Syrian Actress Fadwa Suleiman, Yemen: U.S.-Backed Saudi-Led Airstrike Kills 41 North of Sanaa, Kushner Travels to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Israel and Palestine, White House to Direct Pentagon to Bar Transgender Troops, Indian Supreme Court Deals Landmark Victory to Privacy Activists, U.S. Science Envoy Dan Kammen Resigns in Protest of Trump, Mexican Journalist Candido Rios Vazquez Murdered in Veracruz, Remains of Swedish Journalist Kim Wall Discovered on Copenhagen Beach, Philippines: Major Protests Against Duterte’s Drug War Spread Across Manila, Johnson & Johnson Speaks Out Against Its Drug Being Used in Execution, Judge Blocks Revised Texas Voter ID Law, Saying Law is Still Discriminatory, NYC: More than Thousand People Rally to Support Colin Kaepernick, Marshall Islands’ Politician, Climate & Anti-Nuclear Activist Tony de Brum Dies

In a prime-time address on Monday, President Trump vowed to step up the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan which began nearly 16 years ago, extending the longest war in U.S. history. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Trump may have found a reason to prolong the nearly 16-year war: Afghanistan’s untapped mineral deposits, which could be worth nearly a trillion dollars. Shortly after the Times piece came out, we spoke with Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. We also spoke with Jodi Vittori, senior policy adviser for Global Witness on Afghanistan policy. Vittori spent 20 years in the U.S. military, where she served in several countries, including Afghanistan. She has received numerous military awards, including two Bronze Stars.

Earlier this week, we sat down with award-winning actor Alec Baldwin, the acclaimed Donald Trump impersonator on Saturday Night Live. Baldwin’s performances have been seen by millions—including President Trump himself. Baldwin is currently preparing for another run of Trump impersonations on the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live. We spoke with Baldwin on Monday at Guild Hall, in East Hampton, New York.

Ahead of Trump’s speech in Phoenix on Tuesday, there was much speculation that Trump would pardon Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for defying an order to stop his deputies from detaining people on suspicion of being undocumented. While he didn’t pardon Arpaio on Tuesday, Trump hinted during his speech that a pardon would be coming soon. For more we speak with Francisca Porchas, organizing director of Puente Arizona, a grassroots human rights movement for migrant justice.

In a campaign rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly defended his response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville as thousands of protesters who had gathered outside were attacked by police with tear gas and pepper balls. During his speech, Trump blasted the corporate media and also threatened a government shutdown if he didn't get Congressional approval to build a wall along the southern border.

Phoenix: Thousands Protest Trump as He Threatens Gov’t Shutdown over Border Wall, Judge Rules Arizona Ethnic Studies Ban is Unconstitutional, After Massive Boston Protest, White Nationalists & Right-Wing Groups Cancel 67 Planned Rallies, After Charlottesville, Four Universities Refuse to Allow Richard Spencer to Speak, Missouri Gov. Stays Execution of Marcellus Williams After New DNA Evidence, Did a Photo of Afghan Women in Miniskirts Influence Trump’s Decision on U.S. War?, Israeli-Imposed Power Shortages in Gaza Cut Water Access by One-Third, Up to 800 Dead in Flooding Across India, Bangladesh and Nepal, U.S. Cuts Military Funding to Egypt Amid Human Rights Concerns, U.S. Court Revives Lawsuit Seeking to Block Construction of New U.S. Base in Japan, Energy Transfer Partners Sues Greenpeace & Earth First!, Accusing Groups of "Eco-Terrorism", Peru: Indigenous Nations in Amazon Seize Control of Canadian Company’s Oil Facilities, Nicaragua: Hundreds of Former Sandinista Fighters March to Demand Housing, Pensions, Justice Dept. Drops Request for 1.3M Visitor IP Addresses for Website DisruptJ20.org, The Village Voice to Stop Printing after 62 Years, St. Louis: Black Transgender Woman Kiwi Herring Killed by Police

On Friday billionaire investor Carl Icahn left his role as regulatory adviser to Donald Trump, just before the _New Yorker_ published an article entitled "Carl Icahn's Failed Raid on Washington." The article detailed Carl Icahn's potential conflicts of interest, including his heavy lobbying for a rule change about blending ethanol into gasoline, a rule which affects the profits of Icahn's Texas-based petroleum refining company, CVR. According to the _New Yorker_, in the months after Trump's election, the stock price of CVR nearly doubled, which meant Icahn's own wealth surged, at least on paper, by a half a billion dollars. For more we speak with Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program. In March Public Citizen asked lawmakers to investigate Carl Icahn's actions."Watch extended interview with Tyson Slocum":https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/22/billionaire_carl_icahn_resigns_as_trump_adviser

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has left the White House and rejoined the far-right-wing website Breitbart News as the executive chairman. Bannon has been one of Trump's closest and most trusted advisers. After departing the White House, he said, "In many ways I think I can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda President Trump ran on. And anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with.” Before his departure, Bannon granted an extraordinary interview to Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of the liberal magazine _The American Prospect_. For more on Bannon’s departure and his interview, we speak with Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of _The American Prospect_.

On Monday night, President Trump announced that the U.S. would continue the ongoing war in Afghanistan, which is already the longest war in U.S. history. The Pentagon is likely to deploy about 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in the coming months. This summer, the U.S. already began intensifying its air war in Afghanistan. During the month of June, the U.S. carried out 389 airstrikes in Afghanistan—the highest monthly total in five years. For more we speak with award-winning journalist Azmat Khan, who has reported extensively from Afghanistan.

President Trump has announced plans to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan—already the longest war in U.S. history. While Trump offered few specifics during his prime-time address Monday night, he has reportedly already signed off on a plan to send about 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan. For more we speak with Matthew Hoh, who resigned from the State Department in 2009 over the Obama administration’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan including time as a Marine Corps company commander in Anbar Province.

Trump to Continue U.S. War in Afghanistan, Likely Deploy 4,000 More Troops, Syria: U.S.-Led Bombing Reportedly Kills Dozens of Civilians in Raqqa, University of Texas in Austin Removes 3 Confederate Monuments, Baltimore Activists Take Sledgehammer to Christopher Columbus Statue, Liberty Grads to Return Diplomas to Protest University Head’s Support for Trump, Secret Service Has Run out of Money to Protect Trump & Family, Remains Discovered of Some U.S. Sailors Missing after USS McCain Crash, Pope Francis Calls on Governments to Protect Refugees, Not Criminalize Them, "50 Years Is Too Long!": Protests Erupt in Togo Against Ruling Family Dynasty, Spain: Police Kill Suspected Driver of Van in Barcelona Attack, Spain: German-Turkish Author Critical of Erdogan Briefly Arrested at Turkey’s Request, India: Bank Workers Strike to Protest Privatization of Banking Sector, Chile Rolls Back Strict Anti-Abortion Laws Imposed Under Military Dictatorship, Tens of Thousands Expected to Protest Trump’s Speech in Arizona, Ohio: Father of Steubenville HS Football Player Shoots & Wounds Judge, Pokanoket Nation Launches Occupation at Brown U. to Reclaim Ancestral Land

In a special broadcast today, we remember legendary comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, who passed away on Saturday in Washington, D.C. at the age of 84. Gregory became one of the most popular comedians in the country, paving the way for generations of African-American comedians. On Sunday Chris Rock wrote on Instagram, "We lost a king. They'll never be another. Read his books. Look him up you won't be disappointed. Unfortunately the America that produced Dick Gregory still exists." Dick Gregory was the first African-American comedian to sit on the couch of The Tonight Show, then hosted by Jack Parr. As his popularity grew, so did his activism. In 1967, Dick Gregory ran for mayor of Chicago against the infamous Richard Daley. He was a close friend of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and in 1968 he ran for president against Richard Nixon. Dr. Greg Carr, chair of Afro-American Studies at Howard University and a friend of Gregory, described him as a perpetual student. “His intellectual capacity was honed to precision with a lifetime of deep study,” Carr told _Diverse Magazine_. We feature Dick Gregory in his own words in our 2002 interview with the comedian in our old firehouse studio. We first interviewed Gregory just months after _Democracy Now!_ went on television.

Tens of Thousands March Against White Supremacy in Boston & Other U.S. Cities, Thousands in Berlin, Vancouver & Quebec City Protest Nazis & Xenophobic Extremists, Steve Bannon Leaves White House & Rejoins Right-Wing Website Breitbart, Entire President’s Committee on Arts & Humanities Resigns, Calls on Trump to Step Down, U.S. & South Korea Launch Massive Military Drills on Korean Peninsula, Trump to Give Update on U.S. Military Strategy in Afghanistan Tonight, U.S.-Backed Iraqi Military Launches Campaign to Seize Tal Afar from ISIS, 10 U.S. Navy Sailors Missing After USS John S. McCain Collides with Oil Tanker, Philippines: Protests Growing Against Duterte’s Bloody Drug War, 200 People Die in Mudslide in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan Poised to Pass Law Ensuring Full Rights for Transgender People, Hong Kong: 20,000 March to Protest Jailing of Pro-Democracy Student Activists, Comedian & Civil Rights Activist Dick Gregory Dies at 84, Total Eclipse Visible Across Continental United States for First Time in 99 Years

The Justice Department is demanding web hosting provider DreamHost turn over 1.3 million IP addresses of people who visited the website DisruptJ20.org, which was used to organize the protests against President Trump's inauguration. The Justice Department is also seeking names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other information about the owners and subscribers of the website. More than 200 protesters were arrested during the Inauguration Day protests and are now facing decades in prison on trumped-up charges. We are joined by Nate Cardozo, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. His group is assisting DreamHost in its opposition to the government’s search warrant.

We feature Part 2 of our discussion with a former neo-Nazi and the nephew of a white supremacist who marched in the Charlottesville, Virginia, protest. Christian Picciolini is 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 1980s and 1990s. We also speak with Jacob Scott, the nephew of Peter Tefft, who was disowned by his father, Pearce Tefft, in a letter published in a local newspaper. Scott discusses what it means for the family to speak out.

President Donald Trump continues to face outrage over his response to last weekend's deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where racism and anti-Semitism were on clear display. We speak with Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, which is calling on Twitter to suspend Trump's personal account, after branding him an accomplice to domestic terrorism.

"We Are Not Afraid": Thousands Take to Streets of Barcelona After Van Attack Kills 14 People, After Barcelona, Trump Revives Debunked Myth of Executing Muslims with Bullets Dipped in Pigs' Blood, From GOP Senators to Murdochs, Criticism of Trump Grows, Trump Praises "Beautiful" Confederate Statues as Protests Escalate, In Wake of Charlottesville, ACLU Rethinks Defending Armed Hate Groups, Report: U.S.-Led Airstrikes Kill 59 Since Monday in Raqqa, Despite Protests from China, U.S. & S. Korea to Stage Massive Joint Military Drill, Three Hong Kong Student Pro-Democracy Activists Sentenced to Jail, Settlement Reached In Landmark Torture Suit Against Psychologists, Racial Gerrymandering Ruled Unconstitutional in Texas, KKK Members Who Worked as Prison Guards Convicted of Plotting to Kill Black Prisoner, ExxonMobil Escapes Responsibility for Role in Massive Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Spill, Solidarity on the Gridiron: White NFL Player Embraces Teammate Giving Black Power Salute, NBA Star Kevin Durant on Trump: "I Don't Respect Who's in Office", Resistance Grows in Puerto Rico over Dumping of Toxic Coal Ash

One of the participants in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville was a man named Peter Tefft. He was outed by the Twitter group "Yes, You're Racist," which had been posting screenshots of participants in an effort to expose them. His father, Pearce Tefft, has come out and publicly denounced his white supremacist son in an open letter published in The Forum, a newspaper in Fargo. The letter read, in part, "I, along with all of his siblings and his entire family, wish to loudly repudiate my son's vile, hateful and racist rhetoric and actions. We do not know specifically where he learned these beliefs. He did not learn them at home." We speak with Jacob Scott, the nephew of Peter Tefft.