Democracy Now!

Senior Biden administration officials traveled to Michigan on Thursday to meet with Arab American and Muslim leaders amid growing opposition to Biden's candidacy over his support for Israel's assault on Gaza. Michigan is an important election battleground state and home to the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the United States. Michigan House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash, the state's highest-ranking Arab and Muslim leader, joined the meeting to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, restrictions on military aid to Israel, and recommitting humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Now the question is: Are they going to heed the call of their constituents and do something that a majority of Americans and Democrats support in demanding for a ceasefire and an end to the violence?" demands Aiyash, who has signed on to the Listen to Michigan" campaign and pledged to vote uncommitted" in the state's primary on February 27. We're focused on ending a war and stopping the military funding that supports genocide," says Layla Elabed, Palestinian American community organizer who is spearheading the Listen to Michigan" campaign. Until that happens, we cannot trust Biden and we cannot commit our votes to him."

UNICEF Warns Israeli Escalation in Rafah Attack Will Cause Hunger and Disease to Skyrocket, Palestinian American Brothers Detained by Israel After Raid on Gaza Home, Senate Moves Ahead with $95 Billion Funding Bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Northwestern Drops Case Against Students Who Made Mock School Paper, AFL-CIO Joins Labor Union Call for Gaza Ceasefire, Special Counsel Hur Declines to Charge Joe Biden in Classified Docs Case, Attacks Biden's Memory, SCOTUS Appears Skeptical of Colorado's Ruling That Disqualified Trump from the Ballot, Allies of Jailed Ex-PM Imran Khan Hold Lead in Tight Pakistani Elections, Russian Election Authorities Bar Opposition Candidate Boris Nadezhdin from Running Against Putin, Brazilian Police Confiscate Ex-President Bolsonaro's Passport as Coup Investigation Heats Up, Protests Continue in Haiti Amid Mounting Insecurity and as PM Ariel Henry Extends His Rule, U.N. Says $4B in Aid Needed for Sudan as It Faces Humanitarian Tragedy, 13 Sudanese Refugees Die, 27 Others Missing After Boat Capsizes in Mediterranean, Greek Court Acquits Aid Workers Who Rescued Refugees, as They Await Next Trial

The new Oscar-nominated film Io Capitano follows young Senegalese migrants on their journey from West Africa to Europe. We wanted to ... give visual form to a part of the journey that we don't see," says director Matteo Garrone. We are also joined by Mamadou Kouassi, whose journey from the Ivory Coast to Italy inspired the movie. Nearly 200,000 migrants traveled to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea last year. Thousands have died or gone missing during the perilous journey. We wanted to try to humanize this number," says Garrone. For migrants like Kouassi, who face increasingly xenophobic and racist anti-immigrant policies and sentiment in Europe, the film provides an opportunity also to express ourselves" and to share what African people are suffering before they arrive in Europe." Kouassi served as a script consultant for the film.

Senegal is in the midst of its worst political upheaval in decades after the president postponed this month's election. More than 200 opposition politicians and protesters have been arrested, and the government has shut down some internet access, amid what the decision's opponents are describing as a coup. This is just the latest step in a string of human rights abuses," says Amnesty International researcher Ousmane Diallo, who says Sall's latest anti-democratic move is characteristic of an increasingly repressive regime. We also hear from former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, who broke from Sall's political coalition in 2022 after accusing him of anti-democratic actions. Toure, now a leading opposition figure, was arrested Sunday at a protest. And we are joined by Mamadou Diouf, professor of African studies at Columbia University, who says Sall has been trying to circumvent the Senegalese presidency's two-term limit since his 2019 reelection. Toure and Diouf describe Senegal as an outlier in West Africa for its postcolonial record of strong democratic systems. We will do whatever we need to do to keep the foundation of our democracy solid," says Toure.

As Israel's assault on Gaza has displaced the majority of Palestinians in Gaza, more than half are sheltering in facilities run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Despite being the largest humanitarian agency in Gaza, UNRWA says it may run out of funds by the end of the month, after at least 18 states or institutions, including many of the agency's biggest funders, announced they were suspending their donations in January. The cuts came after the Israeli government accused several UNRWA employees of participating in the Hamas attack on October 7. Israel made the allegations in a document it provided to foreign governments which apparently contained no direct evidence of the claims. As of now, the evidence simply does not exist" outside of this dodgy Israeli dossier," says Chris Gunness, former chief spokesperson for UNRWA. He slams donors who have pulled their funding as doing Israel's political bidding" in its scheme to dismantle UNRWA" and further dispossess Palestinians in Gaza.

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The United States and more than a dozen other countries quickly moved to suspend funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, a vital lifeline for millions of people in Gaza, shortly after Israel accused a handful of the agency's staff of taking part in the Hamas attack on October 7. But the U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 obtained the intelligence dossier on UNRWA that Israel shared with allied countries, and found no evidence to support its explosive new claim." The Financial Times and Sky News also reviewed the materials and came to the same conclusion. Israel's claims about UNRWA are just the latest example of what journalist Jeremy Scahill says is a deliberate propaganda campaign" to justify its brutal assault on Gaza. This is one of the most epic frauds in modern history, reminiscent of the lies told to explain and justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq," says Scahill, senior reporter and correspondent at The Intercept.

We speak with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy about ongoing efforts to reach another truce in Gaza after four months of intense Israeli bombardment and siege. Hamas has put forward a counterproposal to a U.S.-backed Israeli plan that includes a three-phase ceasefire over 135 days where Hamas would release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is also calling for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza - demands Israel has so far opposed. A successful ceasefire and wider regional stability depends on U.S. actions to create circumstances in which Israel has hard choices to make," says Levy. America is apparently willing to risk being further entangled yet again in Middle East wars because it is unwilling to stare down an Israeli leader ... who is insistent on maintaining his apartheid regime."

Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Claim to Immunity from Prosecution, Republican Effort to Impeach Alejandro Mayorkas Falls Short; Israel Funding Bill Also Fails, Republicans Turn Against $118 Billion Border & Foreign Aid Bill, Hamas Proposes Three-Phase 135-Day Ceasefire & Hostage Exchange, Palestinians Seek Refuge in Cemeteries as Israel Threatens to Attack Rafah, Israel to Probe Israeli Tank Shelling of Hostages on Oct. 7, Harvard Faces Federal Probe over Treatment of Muslim and Palestinian Students, Two Pro-Palestinian Students at Northwestern Charged for Publishing Mock Newspaper, None of These Candidates" Wins Nevada Primary, Beating Nikki Haley, RNC Chair to Resign After Facing Pressure from Trump, Record-Breaking Storm Kills at Least Nine in California, Mother of Michigan School Shooter Convicted of Four Counts of Involuntary Manslaughter, 26 Die in Pakistani Blasts Ahead of Thursday's Election, Over 200 Arrested in Senegal After President Postponed Election, Ex-Head of Honduran National Police Pleads Guilty to U.S. Drug Charges Ahead of Juan Orlando Hernandez Trial, Death Toll from Chilean Fire Tops 120, Former Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Dies in Helicopter Crash, Namibian President and Anti-Apartheid Activist Hage Geingob, 82, Dies, Transgender Activist & Author Cecilia Gentili, 52, Dies

Democracy Now! speaks with Dr. Seema Jilani, a pediatrician who spent two weeks in Central Gaza volunteering in the Al-Aqsa Hospital emergency room. I saw the fall of a hospital before my very own eyes," says Jilani, who shares recorded voice notes from her time in the besieged territory while trying to save children in a health system collapsing under Israeli pressure and bombing. I have never treated this many war-wounded children in my career." Finally, Jilani shares why she continues to serve as a doctor in war zones with the International Rescue Committee. It is the absolute honor of my life to serve the people of Gaza," she says. It is all of our responsibility to consider those orphans, consider those families who are completely bereft of any and all human dignity that has been taken from them. ... Their fate will sit with us."

Secretary of State Tony Blinken is on his fifth trip to the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, reportedly pushing for a pause to Israel's assault on Gaza and for Hamas to release all remaining hostages. Blinken's trip to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank comes in the wake of U.S. strikes in Syria, Iraq and Yemen against militant groups across the region. There's not a lot of goodwill or faith right now for the U.S.," says Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, who lays out where diplomatic negotiations stand today in the Middle East. The longer there's a delay here, the more it seems that this deal isn't achieving what the Palestinians or Hamas might really want." Ahmed also reports on the different position of Arab states on Palestine, the culture of impunity" Washington grants Israel, and why the Biden administration is insulated from growing U.S. dissent on Gaza.

Israeli Strikes Target Aid Groups as UNRWA Hangs On by a Thread and 2 Million Gazans Need Help, Amnesty Report Reveals Chilling Disregard for Palestinian Lives" as West Bank Killings Soar, Blinken's Middle East Tour Aims to Advance Truce, Ease Tensions as U.S. Bombs Region, Arms Israel, Nicaragua, South Africa Pressure Gov'ts Through International Courts, Police Arrest 100+ Activists as They Take Over Pennsylvania Capitol to Protest War, CNN Toes Israeli Line as WSJ and NYT Platform Islamophobia, Endangering Muslim Communities, 4 Muslim Americans Attacked, One Stabbed, While Returning from Palestinian Rights Protest, Senegal Delays Elections to Dec. 15 Amid Mounting Political Turmoil, MSF Warns 13 Children Dying Every Day in North Darfur IDP Camp, Poor People's Campaign Unveils Nationwide Voting Push Focusing on Low-Income Americans, Millions Mourn, Struggle to Rebuild, and Demand Accountability 1 Year After Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Israel is accused of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, as Israeli forces continue to severely restrict the delivery of humanitarian aid, food and medical supplies to millions inside the besieged territory. It is not possible to create a famine by accident," says Alex de Waal, an expert on the subject who serves as the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University. Despite months of international warnings calling on Israel to open up aid channels, de Waal says famine in Gaza is inevitable" as those warnings have been ignored and Israel's war on Gaza is poised to continue.

We speak with Dr. Tariq Haddad, a Palestinian American leader who refused to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week in protest of the Biden administration's ongoing support of Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Instead, the doctor wrote a 12-page letter to Blinken admonishing the latter for his role in the deaths of nearly 100 of his family members. I wanted him to see me and see Palestinians as human beings, not as some part of a political game," says Haddad. He shares stories of some of his lost loved ones and condemns U.S. political and military partnership with Israel. I just kept looking for evidence that our government actually cares about the lives of my family, and I saw none."

As the White House steps up its shelling of targets in the Middle East amid regional unrest over Israel's monthslong assault on Gaza, we discuss the possibility of wider war with Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, now with the Center for International Policy. The Biden administration's strategy here is failing," says Duss. Voter outrage over its unwavering pro-Israel stance is incandescent" and on track to harm the president's reelection campaign as Democratic Party members pull back on get-out-the-vote efforts, while some may refuse to vote at all. The issue of Israel-Palestine is not just a foreign policy issue. It is an issue of social and racial justice," explains Duss. This is going to be fixed, if it can be fixed at all, by changing policy and ending support for this massacre."

As the Pentagon launched airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against Iran-backed militants and carried out new attacks on Houthi forces in Yemen over the weekend, we speak with Narges Bajoghli, professor of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University. She is an expert on the Axis of Resistance, the informal coalition loosely led by Iran that consists of the Iranian and Syrian governments, the Houthi movement in Yemen, militant groups in Iraq, Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza and the West Bank. She lays out how, despite their different ideologies, the groups are united in their goal of opposing Western influence and control in the region and moving understanding of the Palestinian liberation struggle out of the narrative terrain of the 'global war on terror'" and into a language of hegemony and colonialism."

U.S. Military Bombs Syria and Iraq Following Drone Attack Against U.S. Base in Jordan, Gaza Death Toll Tops 27,300; Palestinian Doctor Describes Torture During Israeli Imprisonment, Brown Univ. Students on Hunger Strike to Demand Divestment from Arms Makers Supplying Israel, Senate Border Package Threatens Immigrant Rights; Sanders Amendment Would Cut $10B in Israeli Aid, Biden Easily Clinches South Carolina Primary, Chile's Worst-Ever Wildfires Kill 112; Hundreds Still Missing as Blazes Approach Coastal Cities, Atmospheric River in California Brings Major Flooding, Winds, Landslides, Dutch Police Arrest 1,000 Climate Activists as They Shut Down Major Road, Nayib Bukele Declares Victory in El Salvador Elections Amid Warnings over Abuse of Power, Lysychansk Attack Kills 28 People in Russian-Occupied Ukraine, Protests Erupt in Senegal After President Macky Sall Moves to Delay Elections, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill Becomes Northern Ireland's First Irish Nationalist Leader, At Least 10 Killed in Pakistani Police Station Attack as Elections Near, Annie Lennox Calls for Gaza Ceasefire During Sinead O'Connor Tribute at Grammys

We speak with award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay about her latest feature film, Origin, which explores discrimination in the United States and beyond through a dramatization of the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, whose process of writing the book is a central part of the film's story. DuVernay, whose previous projects include Selma and 13th, says she was captivated by the ideas in the book after reading it in 2020 amid mass protests over the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Isabel Wilkerson writes it in a beautiful way, but it is pretty dense material. And so my goal was to attach character into that so that there could be a deeper empathy," DuVernay tells Democracy Now! The film follows Isabel Wilkerson in her pursuit of truth as she writes the book."

President Biden faced protests in Michigan this week over his ongoing support for the Israeli assault on Gaza. Michigan is a crucial swing state that could prove decisive in this year's presidential election and is also home to the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the United States. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who refused to meet with Biden's campaign manager last week, says it's inappropriate to consider electoral politics as U.S. policy supports an ongoing genocide. For us, the lives of Palestinians should not be measured simply in poll numbers," Hammoud tells Democracy Now! We also speak with veteran pollster James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who says the Biden team is cut off from reality" if they believe people will forget their outrage over Gaza by the time of the November election. The White House is taking for granted that they've got support - and they don't," says Zogby.

Case of Missing Girl, 6, Tragically Lays Bare Deadly Conditions for Gaza's Children, Health Workers, Biden Issues Order Sanctioning Israeli Settlers Who Committed Violence in Occupied West Bank, Biden Admin Approves Strikes on Syria, Iraq After Deadly Attack on U.S. Troops in Jordan, Activists Shut Down D.C. Streets, Canada's Port of Vancouver to Demand an End to Genocide Funding, Ron DeSantis Sends Troops to Texas Border Amid Mounting Crackdown on Migrants, EU Agrees to 50B Euro Package for Ukraine; Zelensky to Dismiss Top General, ICJ Delivers Mixed Judgment in Ukraine's Terrorism Case Against Russia, Remember Who the Real Enemy Is": Greta Thunberg's U.K. Trial for Climate Protest Gets Underway, Georgia Senate Passes Bill Criminalizing Bail Funds, Judge Sentences Ex-CIA Software Engineer to 40 Years in WikiLeaks Vault 7" Case, WHO Forecasts Cancer Rates Will Rise by 77% in 2050

On the first day of Black History Month, we take a look at how racism shapes healthcare in America. We speak with Dr. Uche Blackstock about her new book, Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. The instant New York Times best-selling book tells her family's story through multiple generations of Black women physicians while revealing the history of racism that created today's disparities in medical training and treatment in America. I use my mother's story and my story to really emphasize how deeply embedded systemic racism is in our country, in the past and in the present," says Blackstock. There is nothing biologically wrong with Black people ... but there is something very wrong with the social institutions, not just healthcare, within our country that are deeply embedded with bias and racism."

Democracy Now! speaks with filmmaker Nawal Al-Maghafi about her BBC investigative report which reveals new details about how the United Arab Emirates hired American mercenaries to carry out over 100 assassinations in southern Yemen, targeting politicians, imams and members of civil society. Al-Maghafi interviewed several mercenaries for the first time on camera about how they conducted the targeted killings and trained others to run similar operations. What we've seen is a systematic targeting campaign of ... political activists, members of Al-Islah, civil society members," says Al-Maghafi. It's just created a climate of fear in southern Yemen."

The U.S. continues to launch airstrikes on Yemen in response to the campaign of missile and drone attacks on commercial ships along key global trade routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden led by Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis. The Houthi strikes have expanded from targets connected to Israel, in protest of the siege and bombing of Gaza, to ships affiliated with the U.S. and U.K. in what the group calls acts of self-defense. The Houthis have been extremely explicit and repeat on an almost daily basis that their attacks on ships in the Red Sea will stop as soon as the Gaza war ends," says Helen Lackner, author of several books on Yemen, who describes the history of the Houthis, the political landscape in Yemen, and debunks the idea the group is controlled by Iran. The Iranian involvement has become greater, but it's very important to know that the Houthis are an independent movement. The Houthis are not Iranian proxies. ... They make their own decisions."

Mass Grave in Gaza Points to Execution-Style" Killings by Israeli Forces, Gaza Health Providers Confront Monumental Challenges to Save Lives Despite Destroyed Medical System, South Africa Urges Nations to Halt Military Support for Israel Following ICJ Genocide Case, U.S. Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Biden But Does Not Rule Out Israel Is Committing Genocide, U.S. Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen; Kata'ib Hezbollah to Suspend Attacks on U.S. Forces, Chicago Becomes Largest U.S. City to Pass Gaza Ceasefire Resolution, Protesters Target Biden Administration over U.S. Backing of Israel's Genocide in Gaza, Kenya's Ruto Vows to Send Forces to Haiti, Despite Court Order, as Gang Violence, Incl. Rape, Soars, European Farmers Gather in Brussels to Put Pressure on EU Lawmakers After Weeks of Protests, Study Links Toxic Water to Cancers at Camp Lejeune, Adding to Evidence for 160,000+ Victim Claims, You Have Blood on Your Hands": Senators Go After Social Media CEOs in Fiery Senate Hearing, Tom Cotton Uses Senate Tech Hearing to Redbait TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Progressives Vote No" on $78B Bill That Trades Corporate Tax Breaks for Reduced Child Tax Credit, Judge Voids Elon Musk $56B Pay; Sanders's Bill to Raise Corporate Taxes Could Generate Billions

We speak with an Israeli reporter who covered a major conference in Jerusalem calling for Palestinians to be removed from Gaza in order to rebuild Jewish settlements. The conference was attended by about a third of the Israeli Cabinet, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom have long been involved in the extremist settler movement in the West Bank. Conference-goers were greeted by a huge map of planned illegal settlements in Gaza, and the atmosphere was joyful and celebratory, in contrast to what Israeli journalist Oren Ziv with +972 Magazine says is a somber atmosphere in Israeli public life following the October 7 Hamas attack. This is not just a bunch of extremists; it's the government," adds Palestinian physician and activist Mustafa Barghouti in Ramallah.

In a shocking raid on a hospital in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, three Palestinians were killed by undercover Israeli assassins disguised as Muslim women and doctors. Citing no evidence, the Israeli military claimed the three men it targeted were involved in planning an imminent attack and were using the hospital as a hideout. Hospital officials said there was no exchange of fire and that the three men were asleep. One of the men had been receiving treatment at the hospital since being injured in an Israeli drone attack on October 25 and was partially paralyzed. Our guest, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative, decries the silence of Western governments in the face of the incident's brazen and multipronged violation of international humanitarian law." It's part of an extensive pattern of Israeli impunity on the world stage, says Barghouti, while all the condemnation, all the collective punishment, is directed only at one people: the Palestinians."

President Biden says he holds Iran responsible for the drone killing of three U.S. soldiers at a base in Jordan and that he has decided on a U.S. response. Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack and threatened to decisively respond" to any U.S. retaliation. Responsibility for the strike was claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a term used to describe a loose coalition of militias that oppose U.S. support for Israel's assault on Gaza. This is leading us into a war whose aims we have not defined, whose exit we cannot envision," says Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who warns that continued warfare in Gaza by the Israelis is a direct threat to U.S. national interests."

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A new Amnesty International report titled The Cost of Doing Business? The Petrochemical Industry's Toxic Pollution in the USA" documents the health and environmental impact of fossil fuel and petrochemical plants run by corporations like ExxonMobil and Shell along the Houston Ship Channel in Texas, identifying it as a sacrifice zone" where the harms are disproportionately borne by marginalized communities. Our findings are exemplary of broader challenges and issues in terms of poor regulations and inadequate laws at the state and federal level," says author Marta Schaaf, who calls for a moratorium on new projects while pursuing the long-term phase-out of fossil fuels.

A damning new Human Rights Watch report documents the devastating human toll of fossil fuel projects in Louisiana's Cancer Alley, an 85-mile corridor stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans that is filled with fossil fuel and petrochemical plants. Human Rights Watch found newborns living in Cancer Alley experience low birth weights at more than three times the national average. Residents of the predominantly Black communities in the area report a range of other health problems, as well, including respiratory illness, cognitive issues and cancer. Louisiana citizens are exposed to the worst toxic pollution of any people across the United States," says the report's author, journalist Antonia Juhasz, who outlines recommendations for better regulation and enforcement to reduce the harms while pushing for a phase-out of the industry in the long term.

In what many are calling a major victory for the climate movement, the Biden administration on Friday paused approvals for new liquified natural gas export terminals. In Louisiana, environmental justice activist Roishetta Sibley Ozane helped push for the change and calls the pause a monumental decision in the fight for climate justice," a result of years of organizing by activists and frontline communities. There is nothing natural about releasing methane pollution into the community where children play."

In an extraordinary development, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled Oklahoma death row prisoner Richard Glossip will now get the chance to argue for a new trial, after maintaining his innocence for three decades. Glossip has faced nine separate execution dates and been given his final meal three times. In 2015, he was saved from death just hours before his execution only after prison officials admitted they had ordered the wrong drug. On Monday, Democracy Now! spoke to Sister Helen Prejean, one of the world's most well-known anti-death penalty activists, who has been Glossip's spiritual adviser since 2015. I believe what will happen is they will remand it back for a new trial, which I don't believe any court in Oklahoma is about to do, because they did so many underhanded things that will all be exposed, and I think they'll let Richard go free," says Sister Prejean.

Ohio lawmakers are taking the next steps to kickstart" their execution chamber with experimental nitrogen gas, just days after Alabama used the same method for the first time in U.S. history, which the U.N. has warned is a form of torture. Alabama officials claim the execution was humane and effective, but we speak with Kenneth Smith's spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeff Hood, who was there and says it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."

Israeli Forces Storm West Bank Hospital Disguised as Civilians, Kill 3 Palestinians, Hamas Reviewing New Internationally Mediated Truce Proposal as Deadly Gaza Assault Continues, U.N. Chief Meeting UNRWA Donors in Bid to Keep Life-Saving Agency Running, Pentagon IDs Soldiers Killed in Jordan as Reports Indicate Mix-Up Led to Access for Enemy Drone, Palestinian, Muslim Students Sue Harvard for Failing to Respond to Harassment, Abuse on Campus, Pakistani Court Sentences Imran Khan to 10 More Years in Prison, Iranian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers Meet to Mend Ties After Attacks in Both Countries, 54 Killed in Attacks on Border Between Sudan-South Sudan; ICC Warns of War Crimes in Darfur, U.S. Reinstates Venezuela Sanctions After Top Court Upholds Election Ban on Opposition Leader, Biden Touts Toughest" Border Crackdown Plan, Vows to Shut Down" Border If Bill Passes, NYC Councilmember Yusef Salaam Stopped by NYPD While Driving with Family, NYC Council to Vote on Overriding Mayor Adams Veto on Police Accountability Bill

On the same day the U.N.'s highest court accepted South Africa's case alleging genocide in Gaza, Israel accused 12 employees with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, of taking part in the Hamas attack on October 7. The United States and at least 10 other nations have now suspended funding to the agency, which retains a staff of over 13,000 and provides essential aid to most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents. It's the worst possible reaction to these allegations," says Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He calls for an investigation but says donors must continue to support aid groups, with UNRWA being the most important. All of us combined other groups are not even close to being what UNRWA is for the people of Gaza," says Egeland. UNRWA has responded to the allegations by announcing the group will immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation."

We get an update on conditions in southern Gaza's Khan Younis area, where displaced Palestinians who fled there to seek refuge are reporting heavy aerial and tank fire as Israel intensifies its ground offensive around two main hospitals there. Dr. Thaer Ahmad is an emergency room physician who spent three weeks volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. I thought, 'This can't be real.' This is not something that I would expect in 2024," says Ahmad, who worked alongside doctors who have been volunteering without pay for months as waves of Gazans, including their own families, seek help and safety at the remaining hospitals. They assume that the hospital can be a sanctuary, and time and time again that has been proven incorrect in Gaza."

The Biden administration is on trial in the United States for failure to prevent the unfolding genocide" in Gaza. On Friday, lawyers for the Biden administration argued the court lacks the proper jurisdiction to decide the case, while Palestinians and Americans testified about atrocities committed by Israel with American support. I can't think of another time where, in a U.S. federal court, Palestinians have been on the witness stand, one after the other after the other, describing their experiences under Israeli occupation," says Diala Shamas, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the case against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November. Being Palestinians in America necessitates our involvement in this case," says Laila El-Haddad, a Palestinian writer who testified in court about her family's experience under Israeli assault. It obligates us to do everything we can to take every possible recourse, including legal recourse, to try and put an end to this, since it's our tax dollars."

The Pentagon is accusing Iranian-backed militants of killing three U.S. soldiers in a drone strike at a base in Jordan along the Syrian border, making the troops the first U.S. armed forces killed by enemy fire in the region since October 7. A group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the attack and said attacks would escalate if the U.S. continues to support Israel during the latter's destruction of Gaza. President Biden vowed the U.S. would respond. There will be more of these attacks, for sure," says Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri, who lays out the simmering regional conflict and questions U.S. foreign policy running counter to American opinion and strategic goals. All these actions, are they for the sake of Israel? ... Or is this really about U.S. strategic interests?"

Drone Attack in Jordan Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers; Pentagon Blames Iran, UNRWA Blasts Additional Collective Punishment" as U.S. and 12 Other Countries Halt Aid, Israeli Settlers, Far-Right Cabinet Members Meet in Jerusalem, Vow to Build More Illegal Settlements, U.S. Court Hears Testimony in Trial Against Biden and His Admin for Funding Israeli Assault on Gaza, Jury Ordered Trump to Pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 Million for Defaming Her in 2019, Biden Admin OKs $23 Billion Fighter Jet Sale to Turkey, Court Blocks U.N.-Approved Plan for Kenyan Police to Deploy to Haiti, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso Withdraw from ECOWAS, Biden Pauses New LNG Exports After Years of Activist Organizing, Court Paves Way for New Formosa Plastics Plant in Louisiana's Cancer Alley"

In a highly anticipated ruling, the International Court of Justice at The Hague has found that there is a real and imminent risk" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and supported at least some" of the provisional measures South Africa had requested when it brought the case in order to rein in Israel's military assault. Though the ruling falls short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, analysts say it is nevertheless a significant milestone. We discuss the unprecedented" decision by the World Court with a panel of experts: Palestinian human rights attorney Diana Buttu, genocide scholar Raz Segal and scholar of colonialism Mahmood Mamdani. It becomes imperative upon the world community to now act," says Buttu. This is the beginning of a process of isolating Israel," adds Segal.

ICJ Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide But Stops Short of Calling for Ceasefire, Israel Pounds Khan Younis, Targets Hospitals as Death Toll Tops 26,000, CIA Dir. Burns to Travel to France for Truce Talks with Qatar, Egypt and Israel, Minneapolis and Somerville, MA, Pass Gaza Ceasefire Resolutions, U.S. and Iraq to Start Talks on Phased Withdrawal of U.S. Coalition Forces, Humanity Takes a Step Backwards": Alabama Executes Kenneth Smith Via Nitrogen Asphyxiation, Trump Adviser Peter Navarro Sentenced to 4 Months for Defying Congressional Subpoena, 65,000 Pregnancies a Result of Rape Since End of Roe in States That Now Ban Abortion, Manslaughter Trial Starts for Mother of Oxford High School Mass Shooter, French Court Throws Out Large Parts of Hard-Line Anti-Immigrant Bill, Indigenous Activists Lead Protests Against Australia's Invasion Day", Activists Protest in Front of Henry Kissinger's Memorial Service

Students at Columbia University in New York held an emergency protest" Wednesday over the school's response to an attack on members of Columbia University Apartheid Divest at a rally on campus last Friday. Police in New York are investigating the attack on pro-Palestinian students, who say they were sprayed with a foul-smelling chemical. Eight students were reportedly hospitalized, complaining of burning eyes, headaches, nausea and other symptoms. Organizers allege the attack was carried out by two students who are former members of the Israeli military, using a chemical weapon known as skunk" that the Israeli military and security forces regularly deploy against Palestinians. The university responded to the attack by first scolding the organizers for holding an unsanctioned" rally, then later said it had banned the suspects from campus while police investigate. This comes after Columbia administrators banned the local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace in November, with students describing a climate of censorship and retaliation for pro-Palestinian activism on campus. Overall, it's been a very clumsy handling," Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani says of the school's response to student protests and campus safety. We also speak with Columbia Law School professor Katherine Franke, who says concerned faculty have been spending an enormous amount of time protecting our students from the university itself."

Among the consequences of Israel's war on Gaza is the destruction of the local economy. Even before the latest Israeli assault, daily life and commerce in Gaza were crumbling as a result of a 15-year siege on the territory enforced by Israel and Egypt. Meanwhile, Israel is withholding millions in taxes collected on behalf of Palestinians, leaving the Palestinian Authority unable to distribute wages to many public sector employees, while more than 150,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank are now unable to work inside Israel due to new restrictions imposed after October 7. We go to Ramallah to speak with economist Raja Khalidi, director general of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. Khalidi says Israel is using a range of tools in its economic warfare" against Palestinians, and warns, We are on the precipice of a warlike situation in the West Bank."

We go to Rafah to speak with Palestinian journalist Akram al-Satarri in Gaza as the death toll continues to climb amid Israel's relentless assault on the territory. The Health Ministry says at least 20 people were killed Thursday as they lined up to receive humanitarian aid, and at least 12 others were killed a day earlier at a U.N. shelter hit by tank shells. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have surrounded the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, stranding thousands of patients and displaced people inside, and evacuated a third hospital. Over 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza and more than 25,000 have been killed in Israel's assault over the past three months, as the population continues to move further south in a desperate search for safety. People are dying. People are scared," says al-Satarri. There is an eradication attempt that is taking place in Gaza."

Gaza Deaths Mount Amid Mass Displacement as Israel Continues to Attack Schools, Hospitals, Aid Sites, U.K. Foreign Sec. David Cameron Urges Netanyahu to Agree to Pause" in Gaza Assault, ICJ to Announce Interim Ruling Friday on South Africa's Genocide Case Against Israel, Israelis Continue Protests to Demand Gov't Prioritize Release of Hostages, U.S. Mercenaries Share Details of Taking Part in UAE's Targeted Killing Campaign in Yemen, U.S. Forces Strike Somalia for First Time in 2024, Killing 3, UAW Endorses Joe Biden for 2024 Despite President's Refusal to Call for Gaza Ceasefire, Ohio's GOP Overturns Gov. DeWine's Veto on Anti-Trans Legislation, Minnesota Charges White State Trooper with Murder of Ricky Cobb II, Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrectionist Who Showed No Remorse Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison, Kenneth Smith Set to Be Executed Via Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation After SCOTUS Rejection, Texas Defies SCOTUS Order to Remove Illegal and Deadly Barrier on Mexico Border, Argentines Take to Street to Protest Javier Milei's Crackdown on Speech, Austerity Agenda

Former President Donald Trump is the clear front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination despite efforts nationwide to remove him from the 2024 presidential ballot based on the 14th Amendment, which says public officials who have engaged in insurrection" are disqualified from ever serving again. Did Trump violate the Constitution, and should he be barred from running for president based on his attempts to overturn the 2020 election? Or is taking Trump off the ballot an anti-democratic measure that will only energize his base? Democracy Now! hosts a debate with Praveen Fernandes, vice president at the Constitutional Accountability Center, who argues the amendment clearly applies to the president and enforcing the law protects democracy, and Samuel Moyn, a professor of law and history at Yale University, who says the legal case is not strong enough and Democrats must appeal to more voters to defeat Trump. The Supreme Court has agreed to review Colorado's case and will hear oral arguments next month.

Former President Donald Trump trounced runner-up Nikki Haley in Tuesday's Republican primary, in what Jeff Sharlet, expert on the far right, says is another landmark in the acceleration of fascism in the United States. Trump is the nominee. Fascism is on the ballot," says Sharlet, who describes how Trump is appealing to broader groups of Americans, why the political press is failing to capture the fascist movement, and the importance of resisting its growth. It's popular front time. It's broad coalition time."

Former President Donald Trump won New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday with 54% of the vote to 43% for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, the last major challenger to Trump's Republican bid. If there was a state she could win in, in the entire United States, it was this state, and she still lost by 11 points," says Arnie Arnesen, longtime New Hampshire radio and TV host and former politician. She doesn't have a future." On the Democratic side, President Biden won his party's primary as a write-in candidate after the state refused to cooperate with Democratic National Committee rules, and therefore did not win any delegates from New Hampshire. Refusing to recognize the state's primary and not campaigning in the state was a stupid political mistake" by Democrats that allowed Trump's claims to go uncontested, says Arnesen. This is an invitation to fascism."

Trump Wins GOP NH Primary; Nikki Haley Vows to Stay in Race, Biden Wins New Hampshire Primary as Write-In Candidate, Israel Orders Over 500,000 Palestinians to Evacuate Khan Younis as Attacks Intensify, ITV Films Israeli Forces Fatally Shooting Palestinian Man Moments After He Gave Interview, U.N.'s Guterres Calls Again for Ceasefire in Gaza & Two-State Solution, IDF Admits 21 Israeli Soldiers Were Killed in Gaza During Operation to Blow Up Palestinian Buildings, Genocide Joe": Protesters Demanding Ceasefire Repeatedly Disrupt Biden Speech in Virginia, NYPD Probing Chemical Attack Targeting Pro-Palestinian Students at Columbia, U.S. Bombs Yemen & Iraq Again as Risk of Regional War Grows, Russia Says Plane Carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs Has Crashed Near Belgorod, Turkish Parliament Votes to Approve Sweden as Member of NATO, Doomsday Clock Remains at 90 Seconds Before Midnight, U.S. Court Revives Mexican Lawsuit Against U.S. Gun Manufacturers, Los Angeles Times Slashes 115 Newsroom Jobs; Time Lays Off 30 Journalists

It's primary day in New Hampshire. As Donald Trump and Nikki Haley square off in the Republican race, we speak to 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson on her longshot campaign against President Biden. In an unusual twist, Williamson's name is on today's ballot, but Biden's is not. Biden opted out of running in New Hampshire after the state refused to move its primary until after South Carolina's. Williamson discusses why she's running for president, her antiwar platform, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, immigration reform and the New Hampshire primary election. Just like with health and sickness, you don't just treat sickness, you learn to cultivate health," she says. We need to not just drop bombs and put people in prison when there is conflict. We need to learn to prevent conflict. We need to proactively create peace."