Democracy Now!

It has been two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking a brutal war in which tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died. With Ukraine running low on both weapons and new recruits, and with more U.S. funding stalled in Congress, we host a discussion on the future of the conflict with peace activist Medea Benjamin of CodePink and Oberlin professor Stephen Crowley, an expert on Russian and Eastern European politics. While both agree on the need to end the war, Crowley says the $60 billion U.S. funding package should be passed in order to give Ukraine a stronger negotiating position. The only reason to fund Ukraine right now is to get both sides to the negotiating table to end this war," he says. Benjamin, however, says more funding will inevitably be used to continue the fighting. It will only give the impetus for Zelensky to keep trying to fight a war that is not winnable," she says, adding that progressives are making a mistake to cede the antiwar position to the extreme right of the Republican Party."

Biden Says He Is Hoping for New Ceasefire Deal by Monday as Talks in Qatar Continue, Israel Targets Gazans Seeking Food Aid as Besieged Strip Continues to Face Severe Food Shortages, Palestinian Artist Fathi Ghaben Dies After Israel Denies Permission to Leave Gaza for Treatment, World Court Concludes Hearings on Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Territories, Rights Groups Say Israel Has Failed to Comply with ICJ Order to Prevent Genocide in Gaza, Vigils Held for Aaron Bushnell After Self-Immolation Death to Protest Gaza Genocide, Pentagon Skirts Question About Military Members' Sentiments on U.S. Complicity in Gaza War, JVP Leads Protest Against Biden at 30 Rock Ahead of Late Night" Appearance, Irish Senate Votes to Impose Sanctions on Israel, Prevent U.S. Arms from Crossing Its Airspace, Israeli Airstrikes Kill 2 in Lebanon; U.S. Launches Preemptive Strikes in Yemen, Michigan Voters Head to Polls as Activists Urge Dems to Vote Uncommitted" to Protest Gaza Genocide, Navalny Aide Says Putin Foe Was on Verge of Being Released Before His Death, Denmark Finds Deliberate Sabotage" in Nord Stream Blasts But Drops Probe, Macron Does Not Rule Out Deploying Troops to Ukraine as He Rallies Support for Kyiv, Hungary Ratifies Sweden's NATO Bid, Ending 200 Years of Swedish Neutrality, Attack on Mosque in Burkina Faso Kills Dozens, Within Hours of Deadly Church Attack, Former Professor Donates $1 Billion to Albert Einstein College to Cover All Future Med School Tuition

As Israel continues to massacre Palestinians in Gaza with U.S. military and political support, Palestinians in the United States are increasingly being targeted by anti-terrorism laws in an attempt to silence their pro-Palestine activism. Anti-Palestinian animus is one of the most enduring areas of bipartisan appeal in Washington," says Darryl Li, an anthropologist and lawyer teaching at the University of Chicago. Li shares the history of U.S. anti-terrorism law, which dates back to the 1990s and the Anti-Defamation League-supported passage of a law banning material support" to U.S.-designated terror" groups. The very foundations of terrorism law in the United States, at key moments of their development, were crafted with the agenda of opposing or crushing Palestinian liberation in mind," he says. We also speak with Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal, an organization that provides legal assistance to people who have been targeted by and face prosecution under these laws, which not only have a huge chilling effect on people, on First Amendment rights," but that also provide cover for this genocide."

A new report on Gaza's escalating health crisis projects that due to the extent of destruction wrought upon the region's infrastructure since October, thousands of Palestinians will continue to die from disease, malnutrition, dehydration and starvation, regardless of whether Israel continues to pursue its military assault. In case of an escalation, we'd see around 85,000 deaths," warns Zeina Jamaluddine, a nutritionist and epidemiologist who is one of the lead authors of Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections" from the London School of Hygiene and Johns Hopkins University. Jamaluddine also says it is not too late to stop the bulk of these forecasted deaths, should a ceasefire be immediately put into place and aid deliveries resumed. In case of a ceasefire now, we would be saving around 75,000 lives."

A famine is unfolding in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have resorted to consuming animal feed amid soaring prices and dwindling supplies of food. The United Nations has already begun reporting deaths from starvation and malnutrition, while aid agencies have been forced to pause deliveries. Israel is not allowing food into the northern part of Gaza so people would regret not having left," says Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha, who fled Gaza for Cairo in November and has been attempting since then to secure safe passage for his extended family members, including his sister-in-law who has just given birth. He writes about his experiences in a New Yorker piece, My Family's Daily Struggle to Find Food in Gaza." Abu Toha urges international actors to take action and end Israel's siege of Gaza. They are killing us every day," he says. Where is the mind of the people in the world? How could you let this happen?"

2-Month-Old Infant Dies of Starvation as Israel Blocks Aid, Gazans Face Famine, Netanyahu Reaffirms Plan to Take Control of Gaza; Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh Resigns, Biden Administration Condemns Israeli Plans for Settlement Expansion in Occupied West Bank, I Will No Longer Be Complicit in Genocide": U.S. Military Member Dies After Setting Himself on Fire in Protest, NYT Investigating Israeli Freelancer's Anti-Palestinian Social Media History, U.S. and U.K. Air Forces Attack Houthi Targets as Yemenis Take to Street in Solidarity with Gaza, Trump Beats Nikki Haley on Her Home Turf of South Carolina, Winning 60% of GOP Primary Votes, Trump: Black People Like Me Because I Have Been Indicted Multiple Times, Ukraine Marks 2nd Anniversary of War with Russia, Which Has Killed 31,000+ Ukrainian Soldiers, Burkina Faso Church Attack Kills at Least 15 People, South Korea Gives Striking Doctors Until End of February to Return to Work, Protesters in the Philippines Condemn President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Plans to Change Constitution, New York Jury Finds Ex-NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Used Group's Money to Fund Lavish Lifestyle, Man Convicted of Murdering Trans Woman Dime Doe in First Such Federal Hate Crime Trial, Vigils Held for Late Gender-Nonconforming Teenager Nex Benedict, The Apartheid Has to End": Director Yuval Abraham Highlights Palestinian Plight in Berlinale Speech, Johan Galtung, Father of Peace and Conflict Studies," Dies at 93

A federal court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of racial discrimination and rights violations of Haitian asylum seekers. The suit was brought on behalf of 11 Haitian asylum seekers who were abused by U.S. border agents as more than 15,000 people, mostly from Haiti, were forced to stay in a makeshift border encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna-Del Rio International Bridge in Texas. One of the plaintiffs is Mirard Joseph, the asylum seeker whose image went viral after being photographed while a Border Patrol agent on horseback lashed him with split reins, grabbed his neck and gripped Joseph by the shirt collar. This is a critical junction in our country here in the United States as we make sure to uphold human rights and understanding seeking asylum is a human right," says Guerline Jozef, executive director of immigrant advocacy organization Haitian Bridge Alliance, which helped bring the case on behalf of asylum seekers. We will continue to push forward and make sure that accountability is served but also we have systematic change in the way that we receive people in the United States."

As Julian Assange awaits a decision from a British court on his possible extradition to the United States, Democracy Now! speaks with Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, who worked with Assange to publish hundreds of thousands of classified records from the U.S. acquired by WikiLeaks that document war crimes in the Middle East. What the governments are now trying to do is to frighten journalists off," says Rusbridger. I think the world should wake up as to what the nature of the threat is going to be to mainstream journalism if this extradition is successful."

At a critical hearing this week in London, lawyers for imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asked the British High Court of Justice to grant him a new appeal in what is likely his last chance to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces a 175-year prison sentence for publishing classified documents that exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, says the judges were receptive to their arguments that Assange could face the death penalty in the U.S. and that an extradition would set a dangerous precedent for press freedom. If Julian is extradited and goes on trial under the Espionage Act, this is a case which is going to set precedent which criminalizes journalistic activity and will be used against the rest of the media." A ruling in the case is not expected until next month at the earliest.

We Are on the Edge of a Monumental Disaster": UNRWA Says It's Reached a Breaking Point, Israeli Attack on Homes in Deir al-Balah Kill at Least 40 Palestinians, Incl. Infants, MSF: Traumatized Gazan Children Tell Aid Workers They'd Prefer to Die, Norwegian Pension Fund Divests from Israeli War Machine; UC Davis Students Pass BDS Resolution, Zionism Misrepresents Judaism": Jewish American Activists Protest AIPAC, NY Politicians, Alexei Navalny's Mother Sees Son's Body, Says She Is Being Blackmailed into Having Private Burial, The Era of Peace in Europe Is Over": Ukraine Issues Dire Warning as War Grinds into 3rd Year, New York Judge Rejects Trump Attempt to Delay Payment of $455 Million Fine, Third Alabama Clinic Stops IVF Program After Court Ruled Frozen Embryos Have Same Rights as Humans, Indian Farmers Escalate Protests After Death of Young Farmworker, Social Media Censorship, Senegalese President Macky Sall Agrees to Leave Office at End of Term with No Date for New Election, Kenya's Ogiek Fight to Halt Evictions from Mau Forest, Indigenous Guna to Leave Disappearing Island, But Panamanian Gov't Has Not Prepared Relocation Site

On the 59th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, two former security guards are speaking out for the first time about how they were falsely arrested by the New York Police Department as part of a conspiracy to remove his protection before he was killed. We hear from Khaleel Sayyed, 81, who says he was detained on trumped-up charges just days before Malcolm X was fatally shot, and we speak with Ben Crump and Flint Taylor, two civil rights attorneys who are working with the family. They are calling on New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, to support the release of key evidence in the case. We are trying to peel back the layers to finally, after 59 years, get some measure of justice for Malcolm X's family," says Crump. Taylor also places the assassination in the context of police and the FBI targeting Black civil rights leaders through COINTELPRO, such as Fred Hampton, which he helped expose in a landmark case in Chicago.

The Alabama Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through the world of reproductive healthcare, relying on anti-abortion language inserted into the state Constitution in 2018 about rights of the unborn child" to rule that frozen embryos are children. Now Alabama's largest hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as it studies the impact of the ruling, which could set a template for other states to restrict IVF and other medical care. It was just very shocking," says Angela Granger, an IVF patient who previously received treatment in Alabama and who had been considering returning to the state for future rounds of IVF to get pregnant again. I just don't trust what's going on to be able to go back at this point." We also speak with Barbara Collura, president of the infertility patient advocacy group RESOLVE, who says the Alabama ruling will have far-reaching implications. It's going to terrify people all across the country that this might happen in their state," says Collura, who describes embryos as a microscopic group of cells" not even visible to the human eye. We do not look at that as a person, as a child or as a baby."

Gaza Has Become a Death Zone" Amid Soaring Hunger, Death and Illness, Itamar Ben-Gvir Calls for More Weapons for Civilians After West Bank Shooting Kills One Israeli, U.S. Addresses ICJ in Lonely, Unconvincing Defense of Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Lands, Biden Weighing Executive Action to Bar Asylum Seekers Who Enter Through Unofficial Ports of Entry, Texas Sues Shelter for Assisting Migrants in Need, Haitian Asylum Seekers Go to Court over Abuse by Federal Agents at U.S.-Mexico Border, Drug Trafficking Trial of Ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez Starts in New York, New Evidence of NYPD Plot to Assassinate Malcolm X Unveiled on 59th Anniversary of Death, Biden Cancels Additional $1.2 Billion in Student Loans, NYC Trans Leaders Respond After Catholic Church Condemns Funeral of Trans Icon Cecilia Gentili, Chicago Sues Big Oil over Climate Crisis, We Deserve a Livable Future": Climate Defiance Disrupts Event with Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Fire Burns Down Mississippi John Hurt Museum

Leaders at this year's African Union summit have condemned Israel's assault on Gaza and called for its immediate end. Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola explains the long history of African solidarity with Palestine, continuing with today's efforts to end the destruction of Gaza. African countries see really an identical experience between Palestinian occupation and what they have endured under colonization," says Nyabola. It's a question of history. It's a question of solidarity. It's a question of shared experiences of all of these systemic types of violence."

As the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel's assault on Gaza approaches 30,000 and the United States vetoes a ceasefire resolution at the U.N. Security Council for the third time, the Biden administration's support for Israel has come under fierce criticism both around the world and in the U.S. In Michigan, which is a key battleground state and home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, a campaign is growing to vote uncommitted" in next week's Democratic primary in protest of Biden's policies backing Israel. We're not standing against anyone, but we're simply reaffirming our stance for humanity and for the basic tenets of human rights," says Democratic state Representative Abraham Aiyash, Michigan's highest-ranking Arab and Muslim leader. The administration needs to change course in foreign policy in the Middle East in order to gain the trust of people who we have lost," says California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says the U.S. must call for an immediate ceasefire and place conditions on aid to Israel.

The final day of a critical appeal for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is underway today at the British High Court of Justice, in what could be Assange's last chance to stop his extradition to the United States. Assange faces a 175-year prison sentence for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the WikiLeaks founder's health is reportedly deteriorating rapidly, his lawyers are arguing the case is politically motivated to target Assange for exposing state-level crimes." Meanwhile, U.S. lawyers are attempting to portray Assange as a hacker rather than a journalist. It's clear to everyone that Assange is a journalist. He revealed more criminality by the world's most powerful country than anyone's ever done in history," says Matt Kennard, head of investigations at Declassified UK, who lays out the proceedings so far, what to expect from the British justice system and the precedent an Assange extradition would set for global journalism. It will be a huge nail in the coffin for investigative journalism, for any kind of publishing of information that state powers don't like, and it will be used by repressive regimes all around the world."

U.S. Vetoes UNSC Gaza Ceasefire Resolution for Third Time, WFP Pauses Life-Sustaining Food Delivery in Northern Gaza Amid Worsening Hunger, Yemen's Houthis Escalate Attacks Against U.S. and Israeli Targets over Gaza Assault, Biden to Issue New Russia Sanctions over Nalvany Death Amid Widespread Accusations of Assasination, Russian Defector Maxim Kuzminov Killed in Spain, U.K. High Court Hears U.S.'s Extradition Case Against Julian Assange in 2nd Day of Pivotal Appeal, Coalition Gov't Announced in Pakistan as Top Official Makes Stunning Admission of Election Tampering, U.S. Airstrike in Somalia Killed Two Cuban Doctors, Hunger and Violence Grips Democratic Republic of Congo as Tensions Mount with Rwanda, SCOTUS Turns Down Case on VA High School Admissions Policy Which Increases Diversity, Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are People, Nonbinary Oklahoma Teen Dies After Being Assaulted by Fellow Students, Ex-FBI Informant Who Lied About Bidens' Ties to Ukrainian Co. Says Russia Gave Him False Info

We speak with an American doctor just back from Gaza about the unimaginable scale" of its humanitarian crisis. Irfan Galaria, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, recently wrote an op-ed for the L.A. Times describing Israel's assault on Gaza's civilians as annihilation." Dr. Galaria, who has worked in conflict zones around the world, says he and his team witnessed a collateral humanitarian crisis of an unimaginable scale," involving the deliberate attempt" to both target civilians with military assault and to deprive them of aid. I thought I was going to be prepared, but I was not prepared for what I saw," he says.

Arguments are underway at the International Court of Justice, where more than 50 countries are asking the World Court to issue a nonbinding legal opinion against Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967. The request is separate from South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Israel has been instrumentalizing the rules of international humanitarian law ... to further its settler-colonial project in Palestine," says Ahmed Abofoul of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, which submitted an advisory opinion on the case. I have no doubt that the court will decide that Israel's occupation is illegal," he says. We also discuss what comes after the ruling and Israeli society's reaction to the war.

The legal setbacks facing leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are piling up. He now has 30 days to pay $450 million in fines and penalties from a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. His two eldest sons face a two-year ban and were each ordered to pay $4 million. Trump says he plans to appeal the ruling, which he described as a complete and total sham." But the appeal is unlikely to succeed, says Russ Buettner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist whose reporting for The New York Times led to the state's case. He lays out how records showed an overwhelming pattern" of Trump's businesses lying to their lenders." Buettner, who describes Trump as cash-poor, says the penalties will result in a blow to his personal finances and his business finances that he really can't handle at this point."

U.S. for the First Time Calls for Temporary Ceasefire" in Draft U.N. Security Council Resolution, UNICEF Warns of Explosion in Preventable Child Deaths" in Gaza, U.N. Experts Report Sexual Assault, Executions and Other Abuses Against Palestinian Women and Girls, ICJ Continues Hearing on Israel's Occupation of Palestine, 50+ Countries to Testify, Israeli Knesset Fails to Oust Liberal Lawmaker Ofer Cassif; Brazil and Israel Deepen Diplomatic Rift, British High Court Hears Appeal in Julian Assange's Likely Last Chance to Avoid Extradition, Haiti Judge Indicts Former First Lady in 2021 Assassination of Her Husband, Pres. Jovenel Moise, Indian Farmers Resume March Toward New Delhi After Rejecting Gov't Proposal on Crop Prices, Wisconsin Enacts New Congressional Maps After More Than a Decade of GOP-Gerrymandered Districts, Capital One Announces $35B Merger with Discover; Colorado Sues over Kroger-Albertsons Merger, Immigrants Rights Activists Demand Closure of Tacoma ICE Center, Camp Amache, Former Japanese American Internment Camp, Opens as New National Park in Colorado

More than 400 people have reportedly been detained in Russia for publicly mourning the death of Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on Friday at age 47. He was the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin in Russia and was serving a 19-year sentence at the time of his death on extremism" charges. U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders directly have blamed Putin for Navalny's death. Prison authorities say Navalny died of sudden death syndrome," but his family has not yet been given access to his body to allow for an independent autopsy. For more, we speak with Russian American writer Masha Gessen, who charts Navalny's political evolution from an ethnonationalist libertarian tapping into xenophobic discontent" to an anti-corruption activist promoting a vision of civic nationalism. I have no doubt ... that he was killed," says Gessen. Putin was determined to see Navalny die in prison."

As Israeli forces raid Nasser Hospital in Gaza, trapping hundreds of patients there and arresting medical staff, we speak with emergency room physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who just recently returned to the United States after three weeks volunteering at the hospital. We're just asking that hospitals not be targeted, that they not be bombed, and that doctors and nurses can provide for their patients without being worried that they may be killed, that they may be abducted or arrested," says Ahmad. We need a ceasefire now. Hospitals need to be protected and functioning." He also criticizes the American Medical Association for speaking out against Russian attacks on hospitals in Ukraine but staying silent on much more widespread attacks on medical facilities and personnel in Gaza.

As the death toll in Gaza tops 29,000, we get an update on one of the largest hospitals in southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which is no longer functional amid a dayslong raid on the facility by Israeli forces. About 200 patients remain trapped there, with Israel preventing the WHO and the U.N. from delivering aid or evacuating the patients. The Gaza Health Ministry says at least eight people died in the hospital after Israel cut off electricity and oxygen supplies, and that soldiers also arrested many hospital staff. Dr. Ahmed Moghrabi, a surgeon who worked at Nasser, sent Democracy Now! a video on Sunday describing what happened when it was stormed by Israeli troops. They arrested all the medical team who remained at Nasser Hospital. We don't know the fate of my colleagues," said Moghrabi, who had to walk for miles with his family in the night. Nothing remains in Khan Younis. Nothing. It's like horror movies. No streets, no buildings are there. Only dead bodies."

Rights Groups Call for Probe into Navalny's Death; Russian Police Arrest Hundreds of Mourners, Nasser Hospital No Longer Functional" After Israeli Raid; U.N. Aid Teams Barred from Entry, Israel Warns of Rafah Invasion Within Weeks as Egypt Builds Enclosed Area Amid Fears of Mass Exodus", World Court Kicks Off Hearings on Israeli Occupation of Palestine, Protest Actions Against Israel's Genocide Continue Around the World, NYC Students Walk Out to Protest Assault on Gaza, Israelis Rally in Tel Aviv to Demand New Elections, Return of Hostages, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Likens Israel's Assault on Gaza to Holocaust, Houthis and U.S. Escalate Attacks on Red Sea Trade Route, NYT: Israel Responsible for Iranian Pipeline Attacks, Russian Forces Seize Avdiivka as Biden Blames Congressional Inaction" for Ukrainian Losses, New York Court Orders Trump to Pay Over $355 Million for Lying About Value of Businesses, Greg Abbott to Build Massive Base in Texas Border City of Eagle Pass

We look at the case of Hind Rajab, the 6-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza whose case reverberated around the world when audio of her pleading for emergency workers to save her was published online. Her body was found two weeks later alongside those of her aunt, uncle and three cousins. The bodies of two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics, also missing since they had been dispatched to rescue her, were located in their ambulance just yards away. All had been killed by Israeli fire. She was killed alone and scared, and our rescue teams were only meters away from her," said Palestine Red Crescent Society spokesperson Nebal Farsakh, who adds that more than a dozen PRCS aid workers have been intentionally targeted during Israel's assault on Gaza. Farsakh also discusses the kidnapping and assault of healthcare workers by Israeli forces laying siege upon Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

Imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to find out next week whether he has exhausted opportunities to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces life in prison for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A two-day hearing before the British High Court of Justice is scheduled to take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has been held in London's infamous Belmarsh Prison since 2019 awaiting his possible extradition. Jennifer Robinson, an Australian human rights attorney and legal adviser to Assange and WikiLeaks, discusses public and governmental support for Assange in Australia, where an unprecedented" parliamentary resolution was passed Wednesday calling for Assange's release. Robinson calls the charges against Assange a dangerous precedent for free speech" and says, It's time that the United States respects our special relationship and listens to the calls of the Australian people and our Parliament and our government and drops this case."

The shooting in Kansas City on Wednesday came on the sixth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school massacre that left 17 dead and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. To mark the anniversary, gun control advocates have launched a project called The Shotline," which calls lawmakers with AI-generated audio messages that feature the voices of gun violence victims, pushing them to pass stricter gun control laws and prevent future tragedies. One of the victims featured is Parkland student Joaquin Oliver, who was just 17 years old when he was killed. We speak to Joaquin's father, Manuel Oliver, a gun reform activist who worked on the Shotline" project. He describes the project as the result of more than six years being ignored" while begging these politicians to pass laws," and reacts to the news of the Super Bowl parade shooting in Kansas City.

In the first 46 days of 2024, there have been 49 mass shootings in the United States - over one per day. In total, almost 5,000 people have died from gun violence this year, including Elizabeth Lisa" Lopez-Galvan, a radio host and mother of two who was shot and killed Wednesday at a rally held after the Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, Missouri. Twenty-two others were wounded, many of them children, when the shooting broke out near the end of the rally. Missouri has some of the weakest gun control laws in the country, with no universal background checks, no assault weapon restrictions, no ban on large-capacity magazines, no waiting periods to purchase a gun and no domestic violence gun laws. This, unfortunately, is not surprising," says Missouri-born activist and host of the Undistracted podcast, Brittany Packnett Cunningham. Last year, Kansas City set a new high for gun violence, and the city has one of the country's highest murder rates. Packnett Cunningham traces this violence to the influence of the powerful gun lobby, and calls on lawmakers to refuse funding from pro-gun groups like the NRA.

Russian Media Reports Alexei Navalny Has Died in Prison, 5 Patients Killed as Israel Attacks Nasser Hospital, Forcing Thousands onto Streets, A Safe Place in Gaza Is an Illusion": U.N. Says There Is No Way to Evacuate Rafah, 75% of All Journalists Killed in 2023 Died Over 3 Months of Israel's War on Gaza, Stanford Students Ends Monthslong Gaza Ceasefire Sit-In, Will Hold Talks with University Officials, NYC Trump Hush-Money Trial Set for March 25 as Verdict Expected in Trump Org. Civil Fraud Case, Fulton County DA Fani Willis Pushes Back Against Defense Lawyers on Stand, Ex-FBI Informant Charged with Fabricating Story About the Bidens Receiving Millions from Burisma, Russian Antiwar Politician Will Not Run Against Putin in March After Losing Legal Challenges, Senegalese Court Rules President Macky Sall's Delay of Presidential Poll Was Unlawful, Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Despite Pushback from Orthodox Church, Epstein Assault Survivors Sue FBI for Failing to Act on Accusations Against Deceased Serial Abuser, Climate Groups Sue Biden over Offshore Drilling Plans in Gulf of Mexico, Red Alert": Half of Amazon Rainforest Could Reach Climate Tipping Point by Mid-Century, Oil and Plastics Industry Duped Consumers and Regulators for Decades in Plastic Recycling Fraud"

The U.S. Senate has approved a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes $14 billion in military funding to Israel, despite the finding by the International Court of Justice that it is plausible Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza. The Senate bill passed on a 70-29 vote, though its fate remains uncertain in the Republican-controlled House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is demanding the inclusion of new anti-immigrant and border enforcement measures before scheduling a vote. William Hartung, a national security and foreign policy expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says the massive spending package's main effect would be to ship weapons overseas into war zones," noting that lawmakers rarely show the same urgency when it comes to issues like poverty or the climate crisis. We're putting the bulk of our resources into implements of war."

South Africa has urgently requested the International Court of Justice to intervene if Israel proceeds with its planned ground invasion of Rafah. The South African government says Israel's actions in Rafah could lead to significant loss of life, harm and destruction, potentially violating international law and the top U.N. court's January order that Israel must take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. The person who, frankly, does have the most power to stop all of this bloodshed is Joe Biden," says Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, now a visiting professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Roth also discusses Israel's ideological vendetta against UNRWA" and possible war crimes charges against top Hamas and Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court.

We speak with journalist Akram al-Satarri, reporting from Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza bordering Egypt, where more than a million Palestinians are now packed together following forced relocations from elsewhere in the territory. Israel is threatening to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, which Israel had previously designated as a safe zone. Al-Satarri describes how hunger, thirst and other pressures are impacting the displaced population as the death toll continues to rise from Israel's assault. Every single time I walk one step in Gaza, I always imagine myself being blown up," he says. The killing is massive. The killing is thorough. And I think no one in Gaza is protected, no safe haven."

Israeli troops stormed Nasser Hospital, the largest hospital in southern Gaza, on Thursday after days of besieging the complex, where thousands of displaced Palestinians have been taking shelter among hundreds of wounded. Israeli forces reportedly demolished the southern wall of the hospital before storming inside. Troops also targeted ambulances, tents of the displaced, and bulldozed mass graves inside the hospital. The assault came hours after Israeli forces bombed a wing of the hospital, killing one patient and wounding several others. Democracy Now! reached Dr. Khaled Alserr, one of the last remaining surgeons inside Nasser Hospital, shortly before the Israeli raid as he described desperate conditions inside. The situation here is getting worse every time and every minute," Alserr said, describing sniper, drone and tank attacks on the hospital.

1 Dead, 22 Injured in Shooting at Super Bowl Victory Parade in Kansas City, Kansas City Mass Shooting Came on Sixth Anniversary of Parkland School Massacre, Israeli Forces Raid and Bomb Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Canada, Australia and New Zealand Warn Israeli Attack on Rafah Would Be Catastrophic", Palestinian Journalist Mutaz Al-Ghafari Killed with Wife & Child in Gaza City, Netanyahu Blocks Israeli Negotiators from Returning to Cairo for Ceasefire Talks, 11 Killed in Lebanon as Israel Launches Heaviest Strikes Since Oct. 7, Ukrainian Strike Kills 5 at Russian Shopping Mall, Australian Parliament Approves Motion Calling for Release of Julian Assange, California Air Regulators Win Decisive Victory" Over East Bay Oil Refineries, Uber & Lyft Drivers Hold Largest Ride-Share Strike in U.S. History

We look at the killing, arrests and attacks on Palestinian Americans both in the Occupied Territories and in the United States. We speak with the son of Palestinian American Samaher Esmail, who was detained in the West Bank by the Israeli military last week, beaten in custody and denied medication, according to her family. They came in the middle of the night, raided our home, dragged her out of the house in her pajamas, didn't even give her a chance to wear her hijab," says Suliman Hamed, who says Israeli forces are persecuting Palestinians like Esmail for social media posts. We also speak with Edward Ahmed Mitchell, civil rights attorney and national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, about other cases, including 17-year-old Palestinian American teenager Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour, who was shot dead on Saturday in the town of Biddu in the occupied West Bank; 17-year-old Palestinian American Tawfiq Ajjaq, who was fatally shot in the head in January in the West Bank; and the stabbing of Zacharia Doar, a 23-year-old Palestinian American in Texas. There is a war happening against Palestinian Americans, a war on their right to free speech, a war on their culture," says Mitchell.

For the first time ever, the House has voted to impeach a Cabinet member. After failing on its first try last week, the Republican-led House voted Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the Biden administration's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. This comes as Congress continues to debate packaging hard-line immigration measures with foreign military aid. The sad reality is that the politics of immigration policy have really taken over in Congress," says law professor Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez, who discusses the Democrats' dead-end strategy" of trying to out-tough the Republican Party when it comes to immigration policy." He also discusses his new book, Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the Criminal Alien", which makes the case for not deporting undocumented immigrants even if they commit a crime. I want immigration law to reflect the reality of the humans that it is supposed to serve."

South Africa Urges ICJ to Take Action over Israel's Planned Invasion of Rafah, Israel Blocks Flour Shipment to Gaza; Siege on Gaza Hospital Intensifies, Two Al Jazeera Journalists Seriously Wounded in Israeli Drone Strike in Gaza, Israel Shoots Dead 17-Year-old Palestinian American in Occupied West Bank, Israel Demolishes Home of Palestinian Activist Who Campaigned Against Eviction Efforts, Palestinian Human Rights Lawyer Held Without Charge in Israeli Prison, Hezbollah Vows to Keep Attacking Israel Until Aggression Stops Against Gaza", Ex-General Prabowo Subianto Appears Headed to Victory in Indonesian Presidential Election, House Republicans Vote to Impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Democrat Tom Suozzi Wins in House Election to Fill Seat of George Santos, Biden Pushes for House to Vote on Ukraine & Israel Military Aid as U.S. Arms Sales Face Scrutiny, It's Dangerous. It's Un-American": Biden Blasts Trump for Encouraging Russia to Attack NATO Allies, Crackdown Intensifies in Senegal Following Postponement of Presidential Election, Ethiopia Accused of Killing 45 During Raid in Amhara, Texas Megachurch Shooter Legally Bought AR-15 Despite History of Mental Illness, CDC Considers Ending Guidelines for 5-Day Isolation Period for New COVID Infections, Paramount to Lay Off 800, Days After Record-Breaking Super Bowl Broadcast

We speak with The Nation's environment correspondent Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now, about how journalists under attack by climate deniers must not let fear of retaliation stop them from covering the subject, especially during an election year. It's not our job as journalists to censor ourselves because one party or one candidate decides that they're going to deny climate science. We owe it to the public to report that to the public without fear or favor," he says. Hertsgaard also discusses the role of climate policy in the 2024 election and the fifth anniversary of progressive lawmakers' first attempt to pass a Green New Deal.

We speak with world-renowned climate scientist Michael Mann, who was just awarded more than $1 million in a defamation lawsuit against two right-wing critics who smeared his work connecting fossil fuels to rising global temperatures. He joins us to discuss the importance of resisting climate denialism through free scientific inquiry and expression. We all pay the price when scientists don't feel empowered to speak out about the implications of their science," says Mann. Mann says he hopes his legal win will protect others who have been silenced by the threat of defamation so that scientists will feel more comfortable in leaving the laboratory and speaking to the public and policymakers."

As Israel continues to threaten to invade Rafah, where over a million Palestinians have sought refuge, we speak to a surgeon who recently returned from a humanitarian mission at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in Gaza. What I saw in Khan Younis were the most horrific scenes in my entire life," says Canadian ophthalmologist Dr. Yasser Khan. He describes the dire conditions of injured civilians in Gaza, the majority of whom are children. The genocidal intent of Israeli politicians, the Israeli army, is really clear. What is really bizarre is that they haven't hid it," says Khan. The killing machine that Israel has unleashed on the healthcare system, I think, is unprecedented. ... If the bombings are not going to get you, then disease will surely get you."

Wednesday's presidential election in Indonesia could see the ascendance of General Prabowo Subianto, who has tried for years to seize power after decades of involvement in mass killings, kidnapping and torture across Indonesia, in occupied East Timor and in independence-seeking Western New Guinea. Subianto is a longtime U.S. protege and the son-in-law of former Indonesian dictator Suharto. He once mused about becoming a fascist dictator" and has said the country is not ready" for democracy. We are joined in Jakarta by longtime investigative reporter Allan Nairn, who has spent decades covering Indonesia and East Timor. Nairn discusses Subianto's bloody, authoritarian record and concerns about potential voter fraud and intimidation.

Biden Says Israel Should Not Attack Rafah by Land, Refuses to Set Any Consequences If It Does, Gazan Child Describes Seeing Her Father Die After Israeli Airstrikes Kill Over 100 People in Rafah, West Bank Arrests Top 7,000 Since Oct. 7; U.N. Experts Say Ibn Sina Attack Was a War Crime, We Cannot Sit By Idly": Protests Erupt Across the U.S. over Planned Invasion of Rafah, Senate Passes $95B Funding Package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, Trump Asks SCOTUS to Intervene in Immunity Case as Federal Election Subversion Case Looms, Police Attack Indian Farmers Marching Toward New Delhi for Fair Crop Prices, Trinidad and Tobago Faces National Emergency After Capsized Vessel Causes Major Oil Spill, Protesters Call Out U.S., Western Complicity in DRC Violence, New York's 3rd Congressional District Votes to Fill George Santos's House Seat

Bishop William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, talks about the moral case for a ceasefire" in Gaza and why he joined a group of Christian leaders for a vigil outside the White House in November demanding action from President Biden. We must speak as one voice - Christians, Muslims and Jews - to say the indiscriminate killing of women and children in this war is immoral," Barber says.

As the 2024 election heats up, the Poor People's Campaign has launched a 40-week effort aimed at mobilizing the voting power of some 15 million poor and low-wage voters across the United States ahead of the November election. The campaign's first major coordinated actions are set to occur outside 30 statehouses on March 2, just days before Super Tuesday. Statehouses are where the political insurrections are taking place," says Bishop William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. The enormous undertaking" is in response to an enormous economic and moral problem" of inequality in the United States, he notes, and poor and low-wage workers have the voting power to affect the 2024 elections in every single state in the country. We also speak with economist Michael Zweig, who is a member of the New York State Coordinating Committee of the Poor People's Campaign. His new book on inequality is Class, Race, and Gender: Challenging the Injuries and Divisions of Capitalism.

As the United States, the European Union and countries around the world are warning Israel against a ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, we speak with Palestinian human rights attorney Noura Erakat. This is disproportionate, excessive force that is meant to terrorize a population," says Erakat. Israel must stop its genocidal campaign now." Erakat also responds to news that one of President Biden's top foreign policy aides has admitted the administration has made missteps" in the Middle East, and discusses calls to stop arms transfers under international law to prevent war crimes.

As Palestinian health officials say overnight Israeli strikes killed dozens in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge, we speak with a teacher trying to evacuate Rafah with her young children, who urges the U.S. government to stop the bloodshed. My message to President Biden: We are innocent civilians, and we have no fault in what is happening," says Duha Latif. Our children deserve to live a normal life like the rest of the world's children." Latif is fundraising to gather the money she needs to enter Egypt. The latest Israeli bombardment was conducted as part of an operation to free two Israeli hostages and came amid warnings from U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders against Israel's expected ground invasion of Rafah. Aid agencies fear the offensive would cause massive casualties.

Israeli Strikes Kill 67 in Rafah; Two Hostages Freed in Raid by Israeli Special Forces, 6-Year-Old Hind Rajab Found Killed by Israeli Forces 2 Weeks After Desperate Plea to Aid Workers, Dutch Court Orders Halt to Exporting F-35 Fighter Jet Parts to Israel, We Have Made Missteps": Biden Official Admits Errors in Gaza, Blasts Netanyahu Gov't in Private Mtg., Hundreds Protest Art Institutions' Complicity and Silence over Gaza, Forcing MoMA to Close Doors, Brown University Students End Hunger Strike, Will Continue to Demand Divestment, Talks Resume on U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq; Defense Sec. Austin Transfers Power to Receive Care, Trump Says Russia Should Attack NATO Allies Who Pay Less Than Others, Conservative Former PM Alexander Stubb Wins Finnish Presidential Election, Allies of Jailed Ex-PM Imran Khan Pull Off Upset in Pakistan Elections But Fall Short of Majority, U.N. Sounds Alarm over Humanitarian Catastrophe in Sudan as 18 Million Face Emergency Hunger Levels, Burma Marks 3 Years Since Military Takeover; Amnesty Calls on U.N. to Refer Ruling Junta to ICC, Al-Shabab Attacks Mogadishu Base, Killing 5 Foreign Troops, D.C. Jury Awards $1M to Climate Scientist Michael Mann for Right-Wing Smear Campaign, Minneapolis Will Pay Nearly $1M to Journalists Attacked by Police in Wake of George Floyd Murder

Initial election results in Pakistan show a lead for candidates affiliated with imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan's political party was blocked from running for office, and supporters have accused Pakistan's military-backed interim government of trying to rig the election by shutting down cellphone and internet services just as voting began and by delaying election results. It's up in the air exactly how many seats each party has got," says journalist Munizae Jahangir, who reports from Karachi that there is no clarity" on who won, despite substantial voter turnout. Irrespective of the results, the political crisis that we're seeing in Pakistan is going to continue," says Pakistani political activist Alia Amirali, who describes the long history of military interference with democratic processes in the country. It's not that people's votes don't matter; it's just that the military will certainly manipulate the results."

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a historic case Thursday to determine if Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is eligible to remain on the ballot for the 2024 election. The justices are reviewing a decision by Colorado's high court that found Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution makes Trump ineligible to run for office because he engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021. The Nation's justice correspondent Elie Mystal responds to the first day of proceedings, saying he was disappointed to hear both liberal and conservative justices casting doubt on the Constitution's application in this case to avoid the political ramifications of keeping Trump from office. They decided to lock hands and ignore that because it would be too messy for the country to apply the law to Donald Trump," says Mystal, who also explains Trump's far-fetched plan to claim immunity from prosecution until after the presidential election, the scandal surrounding Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis during Trump's prosecution in Georgia, and writer E. Jean Carroll's successful defamation suit against the former president.