Democracy Now!

Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The program included a reading by legendary singer Patti Smith from her new memoir Bread of Angels, in which she remembered the U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2003 while trying to protect Palestinian homes from destruction. Corrie inspired Smith's song Peaceable Kingdom," which she performed alongside Tony Shanahan on guitar and her daughter Jesse Smith on piano.

As the United States mobilizes thousands more troops for deployment to the Middle East, we speak with retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, who criticizes the bloodthirst" of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Bryant led the Pentagon office for civilian harm assessment from 2024 to 2025, before the unit was dissolved under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.The wholly illegal war" has been carried out recklessly from the start and with little regard for the innocent," Bryant tells Democracy Now! Pete Hegseth has already directed the committing of war crimes. And unfortunately, our senior military leadership is bending the knee and carrying out whatever he tells them to do."

Markwayne Mullin was sworn in Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem, who was ousted earlier this month. Mullin has served as senator for Oklahoma since 2023 following a decade in the House of Representatives. He joins the Trump administration amid a partial government shutdown, with Democrats demanding reforms to immigration enforcement before fully funding DHS.This agency of terror needs to be dismantled," says Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Illinois. And whether it is Mullin, whether it is Noem, whether it's Tom Homan, that agency is dangerous, and every American should say, 'Enough is enough.'"Ramirez also comments on the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court, the U.S. fuel blockade against Cuba and more.

Pentagon Reports as Many as 3,000 U.S. Troops Set to Be Deployed to the Middle East, Iran Continues to Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Gulf Countries, Philippines Declares National Energy Emergency Due to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran, Lebanon Expels Iranian Ambassador from the Country, Russia Launches Nearly 1,000 Drones at Ukraine, NYT: TSA Shared Personal Info with ICE Before Arrests at San Francisco Airport, CNN: Concerns Raised About Safety at LaGuardia Airport Before Deadly Runway Crash, New Mexico Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million for Harming Children's Mental Health and Safety, Eight Architecture and Cultural Organizations Sue Trump and Kennedy Center Board over Renovations, Democrat Flips Florida State House Seat in District That Includes Trump's Mar-a-Lago Home, Minnesota Officials Sue Trump Admin over Renee Good and Alex Pretti Investigations, Thousands March in Argentina to Mark 50 Years Since U.S.-Backed Military Coup in 1976

The partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused major staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration, an agency under DHS that handles airport security procedures created in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. TSA officers have not been paid for over a month, leading to hundreds of resignations and leaves of absence. As airports are hit with significant delays, Cameron Cochems, the vice president of a union representing thousands of fellow TSA workers, urges travelers to use their time waiting to call their elected representatives to fund the TSA so we can get our paychecks and we can get back to work."To fill staffing shortages, DHS has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports. This comes as ICE is under fire for a hiring surge with minimal vetting and training for new officers. It really feels like they're a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. Our officers, they're not getting paid, and having people that come in that are getting paid just feels like an insult," says Cochems, who adds that the ultimate goal of the Republican Party is to eliminate union protections and privatize the TSA.

Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including musician Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen performed his new song, Streets of Minneapolis," about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis and spoke about his upcoming tour, which begins in Minneapolis next week. Watch the full event here.

Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Mosab Abu Toha read his poem Under the Rubble" and spoke about his experience surviving Israel's genocide of Gaza, which killed 30 members of his extended family. Watch the full event here.

This is about how far Israel can extend its dominion, how much of a hard-power, dominant hegemon it can be in the region." Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project says that U.S. involvement in the ongoing war on Iran is being driven by Israel's expansionist ambitions in the Middle East. Israel is still on the impunity high from its Gaza genocide, which has led us here." Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, also provides analysis of current U.S., Israeli and Iranian wartime strategy, as well as potential ceasefire negotiations and Israel's settler and soldier-backed ethnic cleansing of the occupied West Bank. I think this will ultimately end very badly for Israel and generate tremendous blowback. But in the meantime, it is again the Palestinians bearing the brunt."

Iran Denies Trump's Claim of Productive" Negotiations to End War, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon, U.N. Special Rapporteur Says Israel Has Adopted Torture as State Policy, Cuba Says U.S. Oil Blockade Has Caused Massive Disruptions to Healthcare System, Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary, Replacing Kristi Noem, Unpaid TSA Workers Demand Paychecks as ICE Agents Deploy to U.S. Airports, Videos Show ICE Agents Violently Arresting Mother and Daughter at San Francisco Airport, Supreme Court Scrutinizes Mississippi Law Allowing Mail-In Ballots Postmarked by Election Day, Postmaster General Warns USPS On Track to Run Out of Funds by February, U.N. Warns of Worsening Climate Crisis as U.S. Suffers Record March Heat Waves, Nearly 1,000 New York University Professors Strike for Fair Salaries and Job Security

With thousands more U.S. Marines headed to the Middle East and President Trump reportedly considering a ground invasion of Iran, we speak with Mike Prysner, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, who says his organization has received a massive increase in inquiries from soldiers seeking to submit conscientious objector applications. Prysner cites a shift in consciousness" among young people in the United States, spurred by the Gaza genocide. And the military is made up of young people in the United States."

We look at how Europe is responding to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as President Trump denounces NATO allies for not joining the war. International affairs scholar Nathalie Tocci, speaking to Democracy Now! from Italy, criticizes Europe's ambiguous" response to the war on Iran as most of the continent has refused to condemn it. We were the ones that were for multilateralism, for international law, and that ambiguity is basically another nail in the coffin of our credibility."

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has now entered its fourth week. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces is being felt worldwide, as shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer have been drastically curtailed. A fifth of the world's oil supply transits through the strait, and the price of oil is up by about 50% since the war began in late February.On Saturday evening, President Trump threatened Iran on social media, saying he would obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first," if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully reopened within 48 hours. He later extended his deadline by five days following Iranian threats to destroy essential infrastructure, including energy and water systems, across the Gulf. Iran has denied reports of direct or indirect talks with the U.S.If Iran can keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and hold Washington to ransom," it will have significant leverage, says Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In a strategic analysis, Iran right now is in the dominant position."

Trump Says He's Pausing Attacks on Iranian Power Plants and Energy Infrastructure for Five Days, Saudi Arabia Orders Iran's Military Attache and Four Embassy Staff to Leave the Country, Israel Strikes Main Bridge in Southern Lebanon, Ordering Demolitions of Homes Near Border, Israeli Airstrikes Kill Four Palestinians in Gaza, as Israeli Settlers Carry Out Attacks in Occupied West Bank, U.K.'s Starmer Condemns Shocking Antisemitic Arson Attack" on Four Jewish Volunteer Ambulances, At Least 64 Killed in a Strike on Hospital in Sudan's Darfur Region, Cuba Partially Restores Power After Suffering Another Blackout Due to U.S. Oil Blockade, Two Killed, 41 Injured as Air Canada Plane Crashes into Fire Truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport, Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Returns to New Jersey After Year in ICE Dungeons", Security Requires a Free Press and an Informed People": Court Blocks Pentagon's Media Policy, States Sue to Halt Nexstar-Tegna Merger, Which Would Create Largest Owner of U.S. Local TV Stations, Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Who Led Trump-Russia Investigation, Dies at 81, Slovenia's Ruling Liberals Claim Victory in Election That Remains Too Close to Call, French Socialists Hold Power in Local Elections, On World Water Day, Chileans Protest President Kast's Environmental Rollbacks

Experts are calling it the worst voter suppression bill ever seriously considered by Congress." As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on a Trump-backed voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act, millions of citizens who lack easy access to its required forms of documentation are now at risk of disenfranchisement. Republicans are singularly focused on making it harder to vote and pursuing this MAGA fever dream," explains Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones. It is the overarching goal of the Republican Party now to make it harder to vote."The groups most at risk of disenfranchisement include people who have changed their names after marriage, older voters who never received birth certificates, rural voters who could find it increasingly difficult to register to vote and trans people who have changed their names or gender markers on government documents. The GOP and MAGA movement's goal, says Imara Jones, the founder and CEO of TransLash Media, is to enshrine anti-trans discrimination in the law, because what they're doing is using trans people as a road test in order to try to figure out how to disenfranchise and marginalize and strip citizenship away from millions of Americans who disagree with them."

As Israel continues to pummel Lebanon in its resumed war against the country and the Hezbollah paramilitary, we get an update from Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut. If you compare this particular war to the last one, less than two years ago, what happened in the past three weeks is what happened in the past seven or eight months," says Chehayeb, who describes masses of displaced people and fears of an imminent ground invasion. There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country, and it doesn't appear that these strikes will stop anytime soon."

A major New York Times investigation details the late co-founder of the United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez's sexual abuse of women and girls. The revelations about Chavez's history of grooming and abuse have sent shockwaves through the labor movement and California, where officials are already moving to cancel or rename public celebrations planned in his honor. Chavez is also accused of sexually assaulting fellow labor rights icon and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, now 95. Huerta says the assaults led to the births of two of her children. She concealed the pregnancies and had kept the children's paternity secret until now.Huerta spoke for the first time at length about her new public disclosures in an exclusive interview with Latino USA host Maria Hinojosa, who joins Democracy Now! to discuss how Huerta is not only coming to terms with her own assaults, [but also] coming to terms with the fact that the movement and the person who she admired as part of the movement is essentially being covered up, disappeared."

U.S. Offensive Seeks to Reopen Strait of Hormuz as Hegseth Confirms He's Seeking $200B for Iran War, Iran Warns of Zero Restraint" If U.S. or Israel Attacks Energy Infrastructure Again, Death Toll from Recent Israeli Attacks on Lebanon Passes 1,000 Amid Fierce Fighting in South, Israel Reopens Rafah Crossing for Small Number of Palestinians to Seek Medicare Care Abroad, Protesters in Tel Aviv Demand Israel End Wars with Iran and Lebanon, Trump Jokes About Pearl Harbor in Meeting with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, 19-Year-Old Dies of Apparent Suicide in Florida ICE Jail, Nashville Immigration Reporter Estefany Rodriguez Released on Bond, Bronx High School Student Dylan Lopez Contreras Returns to New York After 10 Months in ICE Jail, Judge Denies Asylum Claim to Family of Liam Conejo Ramos, 5-Year-Old Jailed by ICE, They Underestimated Their Workers": Nearly 4,000 Colorado Meatpackers Enter Fifth Day of Strike, De-ICE These Flights!": Immigration Activists Target NCAA Charter Airline

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee walked out of a closed-door briefing on the Epstein files with Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, less than an hour after it began Wednesday, after Bondi repeatedly declined to say whether she would comply with a subpoena requiring her to appear for a sworn deposition on April 14. Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who attended the briefing, said Bondi will have to answer why there are still 3 million documents being hidden" and why there was a cover-up of those files that implicated Donald Trump."Khanna also comments on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, noting that Trump's military actions are a total betrayal of his promise that he was going to focus on American needs."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned a new stage of war" has begun after Israel bombed Iran's South Pars gas field - the largest known natural gas reserve in the world. This comes as the price of oil has spiked to $118 a barrel, a 60% jump since the U.S. and Iran attacked Iran on February 28.Professor of Gulf studies Laleh Khalili lays out the global economic implications of the effective closing of one of the world's major choke points for oil," the Strait of Hormuz. It doesn't benefit the average U.S. citizen ... at the gas stations, but it does benefit the oil companies," says Khalili. The higher the price of oil goes up, the relatively cheaper it becomes to actually have sustainable alternatives. Of course, that means that it benefits China ... since China is way ahead of the rest of the world in producing these technologies."

In a major escalation in the war in the Middle East, Israel has bombed Iran's South Pars gas field, the largest known natural gas reserve in the world, leading Iran to attack energy sites across the Gulf. Iranian American professor of international affairs Vali Nasr says that Iran is prepared for a much longer war than the U.S. and Israel anticipated. The longer this war goes on, the more Iran is building leverage, and the more the strategic calculations of Israel and the United States appear to be falling short," he says. Iran thinks the longer that the war goes on, the less Israel and the United States will be able to defend against Iranian missiles, because they're going to run out of interceptors."In the latest sign the war on Iran could be just beginning, Reuters is reporting President Trump is considering deploying thousands of more U.S. troops to the Middle East. The Pentagon has also asked for $200 billion from Congress.The Iranian president has proposed terms for the end of the war including reparations and guarantees against future war. Nasr suggests that the Iranians are confident" that some of their terms may be met. President Trump may have to accept the fact that he has started a war that is not going to give him what he expected, and he has to settle for an exit in order to be able to go back to the agenda that it had before."

Fuel Prices Soar as Israeli Strike on Iranian Gas Field Triggers Retaliatory Attacks, Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion More for Iran War as Senate Rejects War Powers Resolution, Tulsi Gabbard Dodges Questions About Trump's Claim of Imminent Nuclear Threat" from Iran, Capitol Hill Protest Demands Not One Dime More for Trump's Illegal Iran War", Lebanese Health Ministry: Israeli Attacks Kill 45 People Across Lebanon in the Past Two Days, Iranian Missiles Kill Civilians in Israel and Occupied West Bank, Markwayne Mullin Grilled by Senate Colleagues in Combative DHS Confirmation Hearing, ProPublica: DHS Demanding Access to Federal Parent Locator Service, CBS News: FBI and IRS to Probe Nonprofits over Possible Links to Domestic Terrorism", Democrats Walk Out of Briefing with AG Pam Bondi on DOJ's Handling of Epstein Files, Cesar Chavez Accused of Abusing and Molesting Multiple Women and Girls

The Trump administration is escalating threats against news organizations, with President Trump suggesting outlets should face treason" charges for disseminating false information. Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has also threatened to revoke broadcasters' licenses over their coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. This all comes as allies of President Trump consolidate their control over several major media outlets. Paramount Skydance, led by Trump ally David Ellison, is poised to acquire Warner Bros., which includes CNN.They want these companies to be afraid," says Craig Aaron, CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action. As we've seen, whether it's lawyers, universities, media companies, when the bullying works, you just get more and more bullying."

A top national security official resigned from the Trump administration Tuesday in response to the war on Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," Joe Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, wrote in his resignation letter.We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned in 2023 to protest the Biden administration's Gaza policy. He says Kent is at least the 16th U.S. official in the last few years to resign over policy related to Israel, spanning both the Biden and Trump administrations.We know that there is a very visible, very vocal debate happening in the Democratic Party on that topic. It's clear that there is also a very vocal debate happening within the right wing of American politics," says Paul.

As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continues, we look at how the Pentagon is using artificial intelligence in its operations. The system, known as Project Maven, relies on technology by Palantir and also incorporates the AI model Claude built by Anthropic. Israel has used similar AI targeting programs in Iran, as well as in Gaza and Lebanon.Craig Jones, an expert on modern warfare, says AI technology is helping militaries speed up the kill chain," the process of identifying, approving and striking targets. You're reducing a massive human workload of tens of thousands of hours into seconds and minutes. You're reducing workflows, and you're automating human-made targeting decisions in ways which open up all kinds of problematic legal, ethical and political questions," says Jones.

Israel Kills Iran's Intelligence Minister in an Overnight Strike on Tehran, Iran Continues to Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Gulf Countries, Israel Launches Airstrikes on Central Beirut, Demolishing High-Rise Building, Iran's Parliament Speaker Says Strait of Hormuz Won't Return to Its Pre-War Status", U.N. Warns 45 Million People at Risk of Acute Hunger Due to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy AG Blanche Set to Brief Lawmakers on DOJ's Handling of Epstein Files, Senate Democrats Send White House Counteroffer to Fund DHS, HRW: Several Immigrants from El Salvador Deported by the Trump Admin Have Been Forcibly Disappeared, Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin from Terminating Temporary Protected Status for Somali Immigrants, NYT: Trump Admin Considers Withholding HIV Treatments from Zambia in Exchange for Greater Access to Country's Minerals, Cuba Restores Power After Nationwide Blackout, DOJ Dismisses Charges Against Army Veteran Who Burned U.S. Flag Across from White House Last Year, Federal Judge Orders Trump Admin to Restore Union Contract with Veterans Affairs Department Workers, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton Wins Democratic Senate Primary

A jury in Texas has convicted eight people in the first federal anti-terror case since the Trump administration declared antifa" a terror group. Nine defendants alleged to be members of an antifa terror cell" stood trial on federal and state charges including rioting, using explosives and attempted murder. The charges stemmed from their attendance at an anti-ICE protest outside the Prairieland ICE jail on July 4, during which fireworks were set off and a police officer was shot and wounded. Eight protesters now face at least 15 years in jail. Their legal teams plan to appeal. The antifa of it all, from my perspective, was purely political," says one of the defendants' attorneys, Xavier de Janon, who joins Democracy Now! to break down the case.

Cuba's electrical grid has collapsed. The island-wide blackout comes amid a harsh U.S. oil blockade and recent comments from President Donald Trump that he wants to take" Cuba. No oil shipments have reached the country, located just south of Florida, in three months, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by decades of severe U.S. sanctions. Sanctions are literally killing people right now," says Cuban journalist Daniel Montero with Belly of the Beast, speaking from Havana. We understand what this oil embargo means, and [what] sanctions have always meant. This is regime change through starvation." Historian Sara Kozameh, who recently returned from Cuba, adds, Cubans have fought for sovereignty many, many times. And they're not going to just sort of lie there while this is happening."

We get an analysis of the Trump administration's Iran war strategy from former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Harrison Mann. From day two of this war, the Trump administration has not known what to do and how to get out of this," says Mann, who resigned from the U.S. Army's Defense Intelligence Agency in 2024 over the Biden administration's policy in Gaza. As Trump is rumored to be eyeing the oil export hub of Kharg Island for seizure, Mann gives his assessment of a potential ground invasion of Iran. Any attempt to seize this island would be close to a suicide mission," he says. While U.S. leaders struggle to respond to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on military bases in U.S.-allied Gulf states, Mann notes that the people who drove [Trump] into this war pretty much expected this. I don't think this is a surprise to Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio or Benjamin Netanyahu - who is very much getting what he wanted, which is dragging the U.S. into what he hopes will be a decisive war of annihilation against Iran."

How long will the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran last? Regime change in Iran will not be as easy and quick" as U.S. warmongers may have initially believed, says Iranian American political analyst Trita Parsi. Israel claims that it has successfully assassinated Iran's powerful security chief Ali Larijani, who Parsi says could have played a role in future ceasefire negotiations. The Israelis have fought so hard to get the United States to go into a full-scale war with Iran for more than 20 years," says Parsi. It is in their interest to prolong this war as long as they can, and kill off any potential off-ramps that Trump may be looking for."

Israel Says It Killed Iran's Security Chief Ali Larijani and Commander of Basij Paramilitaries, Iran Says Infant, Toddler, Mother and Grandmother Among Latest Victims of U.S.-Israeli Strikes, Rocket from Lebanon Injures 7 in Northern Israel as Iranian Drone Damages Jerusalem Holy Sites, Baghdad's Green Zone, UAE Oil Field Among Mideast Sites Hit by Iranian Drones, Israel's Attacks on Lebanon Have Driven More Than 1 Million from Their Homes, U.S. Allies Refuse Trump's Call to Send Warships to Strait of Hormuz, Jared Kushner Seeks $5 Billion for Private Equity Firm While Serving as Mideast Negotiator, Leqaa Kordia Released from ICE Jail After More Than a Year in Custody, Federal Judge Blocks RFK Jr.'s Changes to Childhood Vaccinations, Cuba's National Electricity Grid Collapses as Trump Says It Would Be a Big Honor" to Take" Cuba, Afghanistan Says Pakistan Airstrike on Kabul Killed Over 400, Trump Admin Approves BP's $5 Billion Drilling Project Off Louisiana Coast, Voters in Illinois Head to the Polls for Primary Elections

Mr Nobody Against Putin won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature on Sunday. Democracy Now! recently spoke with co-director David Borenstein and the subject of the film, the Russian teacher Pavel Pasha" Talankin, who personally documented Russia's use of wartime propaganda. I need for as many people as possible to see what is happening inside of Russian schools," says Talankin. Putin is forcing propaganda into their schools, and [the children are] absorbing all of this."Borenstein says the film is also a reflection on the value of one person's resistance, about how much one person can do, about how much we can overcome complicity while the systems around us are succumbing to authoritarianism."

Democracy Now! speaks with Iranian Israeli political activist Orly Noy about her recent piece, Longing for My Tehran." It's been a very emotional time since the beginning of the war, not just because we are constantly running in and out of shelters," says Noy, but because this time, the footage of the bombing that I grew accustomed to seeing for over two years from the genocide in Gaza was now coming from my homeland."Noy also comments on Israeli political support for the war on Iran, saying the very few attempts to protest against the war were brutally crushed by the Israeli police." Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is also increasing. Up until now, our worry was about the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. Now it is just about executing Palestinians, both by the army and by the settlers," says Noy.

As the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran extends into a third week, President Trump is demanding other countries send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely shut, as oil prices keep rising. This comes as the U.S. and Israel continue to launch major strikes on Iran, while Iran has retaliated by repeatedly striking Israel and U.S. allies in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. Despite the violence in Iran, pro-war voices are definitely in the diaspora and very strong, but they also exist inside Iran," says Naghmeh Sohrabi, professor of Middle East history at Brandeis University.I think most Iranians want this war to end as soon as possible, and at the same time, they fear nothing more than the day after the war, if this regime remains intact," says Iranian American novelist Amir Ahmadi Arian.

U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Enters Third Week as Iranian Foreign Minister Denies Asking for Ceasefire, Iran Continues Retaliatory Strikes in the Middle East as Six U.S. Service Members Killed in Iraq, Trump Urges Other Countries to Send Warships to Secure the Strait of Hormuz, Israeli Troops Begin Ground Operations in Southern Lebanon, FCC Chair Brendan Carr Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters' Licenses over Iran War Coverage, Israeli Forces Kill 16 Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, Explosion Damages Jewish School in Amsterdam, Trump Administration Reopens U.S. Embassy in Venezuela for the First Time Since 2019, Protesters Reportedly Attack Communist Party Office in Cuba as Energy Crisis Deepens, Haitian Asylum Seeker Found Dead After ICE Released Her at Bus Shelter in Pittsburgh, Afghan Asylum Seeker Who Worked with U.S. Special Forces Dies in ICE Custody, Anti-ICE Protesters Convicted on Terrorism Charges in Texas, Immigration Judge Orders the Release of Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia, Sinners" Makes Oscars History as Autumn Durald Arkapaw Becomes the First Woman to Win for Best Cinematography

The global economy has been rocked by the war in the Middle East, with Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatening energy flows and sending the price of oil soaring to its highest level in years. The United Nations Security Council responded to the unprovoked U.S.-Israeli war by passing a resolution this week condemning Iran - specifically for its attacks on U.S. allies in the region - while ignoring the role of the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government in instigating the bloodshed. Economist Jeffrey Sachs joins Democracy Now! to discuss the fallout of the war of choice" and why it also constitutes an assault on the United Nations.This is so out of control, without any logic, any rationality, not any humane, moral, legal justification whatsoever," says Sachs. It will lead to world war the way we're going, because we have two malignant narcissists, Netanyahu and Trump, that are leading us to disaster."

Inside Israel, there is no room for any question marks or doubts about this war," says journalist Gideon Levy, a columnist for Haaretz and a member of the newspaper's editorial board. He says war fever has taken over the country, with polls showing 93% support for the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, Lebanon and beyond - at least among the Jewish public. Israel is doing as much as it can," he says. As long as the American support is so massive, so blind and so automatic, this will go on."Levy also criticizes Israel's military censorship system that strictly limits publishing information about war damage and other material deemed to be counter to national security. He says much of it is driven by self-censorship by a press that sees itself as an agency of the government and of the military establishment, and this is very worrying."

We speak with journalist Lylla Younes in Lebanon, where she says Israel's massacres are multiplying" amid the broader U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Israeli strikes have killed nearly 700 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, while attacks have expanded to include areas of central Beirut, which Israel claims are aimed at the powerful Hezbollah militia. This comes as Israel has vowed to expand its incursion into southern Lebanon.The vast majority of southern Lebanon is now under displacement orders," says Younes. That is approximately 15% of the country."

U.S.-Israeli Attacks Have Forced 3.2 Million Iranians to Flee Their Homes, In First Public Statement, Iran's New Supreme Leader Vows to Keep Blocking Strait of Hormuz, 250+ Groups Call on Congress to Reject Request for $50 Billion in Funding for Iran War, Iranian Strike on Oman Kills Immigrant Workers as NATO Shoots Down Missile Fired at Turkey, Lebanon Death Toll Rises as Israel Bombs Central Beirut and Targets Civilian Infrastructure, Israel Drops All Charges Against Soldiers Accused of Sexually Abusing Palestinian Prisoner, Thousands March in Athens to Protest Greek Role in U.S.-Israeli Assault on Iran, A Crime Against Humanity": U.N. Inquiry Condemns Russia's Abduction of Ukrainian Children, Suspect in Michigan Synagogue Attack Lost Family Members to Israeli Airstrike on Lebanon, Former National Guardsman Attacks ROTC Class at Old Dominion University, Killing 1 and Injuring 2, Rights Groups Demand Release of Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia, Jailed by ICE for 1 Year, 4,000 Meatpackers in Colorado Authorize Strike at JBS, World's Largest Meat Producer

Democracy Now! recently sat down with Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International and a former United Nations special rapporteur, while she was in New York City to mark International Women's Day and attend the U.N.'s annual conference on women's rights. Callamard responded to the assassination of Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed, U.S. sanctions against U.N. special rapporteur Francesca Albanese and the rise of Christian nationalism under the Trump administration.

This is all being read inside of Iran as a war on the Iranian people." As oil prices threaten to spike to $200 a barrel amid Iran's pressure campaign against the U.S. and its allies, professor Narges Bajoghli returns to Democracy Now! with an update on the war on Iran and its place in the modern history of U.S.-Iran relations. Bajoghli explains how the combination of harsh sanctions and an insidious propaganda campaign has created a deep political divide within Iran and its diaspora, as Iranians are stuck between theocratic governance and the prospective return of the U.S.-backed monarchy.

Iran Says U.S. and Israeli Strikes Have Killed 1,348 Civilians, Senators Demand Accountability as Pentagon Admits U.S. Struck Iranian Girls' School, Iranian Missiles and Drones Continue to Strike at Israel, Gulf States and Oil Infrastructure, IEA Announces Record Release of Oil Reserves as Iran Warns Prices Could Top $200 Per Barrel, Lebanon Death Toll Tops 630 as Israel Continues Relentless Bombing Campaign, Israel Strikes Gaza Marketplace and Tent Camp, Killing and Wounding Palestinians, RSF Drone Strike in Sudan Kills 17 People, Most of Them Girls, GOP Sen. John Cornyn Reverses Position on Filibuster to Help Pass the SAVE America Act, New Hampshire Democrat's Special Election Victory Is Latest Red Flag for GOP in Midterms, Longtime Epstein Accountant Richard Kahn Testifies to Congress in Closed-Door Deposition, Family of Six Detained at ICE Jail in Texas Describes Harrowing Conditions

Killers of Roe is a new book by the reproductive rights journalist Amy Littlefield on what she describes as the death of abortion rights in the United States. The book is framed as a murder mystery, examining a twisted alliance of believers and opportunists" in the years and decades before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. It started out as a murder mystery because it was a way to entice myself to tell a really difficult story about women dying preventable deaths as a result of anti-abortion policy," says Littlefield.

A Marine Corps veteran suffered a broken arm last week after he disrupted a Senate hearing to voice his opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Democracy Now! speaks with the veteran, Brian McGinnis, who is also a Green Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina. McGinnis is critical of U.S. policy in Israel and the Trump administration's decision to go full speed ahead with military action" in the Middle East.McGinnis is charged with three counts of assault on police officers and resisting arrest, according to Sellano Simmons, an attorney representing McGinnis.

Iranian authorities say the U.S. and Israel killed more than 1,300 civilians, striking over 10,000 civilian sites during the first 12 days of the war. This comes as Israel escalates attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 570 since the war began and displacing nearly 800,000 people. As President Trump dodges questions on how long the war will continue, reporting by Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, has revealed that a lot of the experts on international law, the laws of war, international humanitarian law have quietly been leaving the Trump administration."

U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Enters Its 12th Day, Pentagon Reportedly Considers Deployment of Special Forces into Iran to Capture Enriched Uranium, NYT: Missile Fragments Add to Mounting Evidence That U.S. Forces Struck Girls' School in Iran, Israel Continues Attacks on Lebanon, Killing 570 and Displacing 750,000, Iran Fires Retaliatory Missiles and Drones at Targets Across the Gulf, U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Causes Oil Prices to Surge, Reuters: Chevron and Shell Close to Finalizing Oil Production Deal with Venezuela, Anthropic Sues Trump Admin After Pentagon Designates It as a Supply Chain Risk", WaPo: Former DOGE Employee Took Social Security Information to New Job, Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence of Charles Sonny" Burton, Independent Report Finds That Columbia University's Culture of Silence" Protected Dr. Hadden's Sexual Abuse, Justice Department Reaches Major Settlement with Live Nation, Federal Judge Restricts Immigration Agents from Using Tear Gas on Protests in Portland, Chile's New Right-Wing President Jose Antonio Kast Takes Office

Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel this week as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran threatens global energy supplies and the broader economy. Iranian officials say no oil will be allowed to leave the Middle East until the bombardment stops, raising fears of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which about 20% of the world's oil and gas flows. This comes as Israel has struck oil depots in Tehran, blanketing the capital in smoke and toxic rain.What we're seeing is just one of the clearest depictions yet of the frailty of a global order that is grounded in fossil fuels. All sides in this war are using fossil fuels as a weapon of war," says independent investigative journalist Antonia Juhasz, who reports on energy and climate.

We speak with Kareem Shaheen, Middle East editor at New Lines Magazine, about the regional response to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. He says the Gulf countries are in a no-win situation, stuck between a belligerent Israel that has no qualms about using violence to achieve its strategic aims and a desperate Iran lashing out against U.S. allies in the region as it tries to survive. He says that no matter which side prevails, Gulf states have realized how vulnerable they are despite U.S. security guarantees. In either scenario, I don't think that the Gulf states will be happy with the outcome," he says.Shaheen's recent article is The Gulf Fears Whoever Wins This War."

As President Trump gives conflicting statements about the length and objectives of the war he launched with Israel against Iran, fears are growing that the conflict could continue to expand throughout the region and beyond. Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S. Army colonel and former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, says the U.S. and Israel are committing wanton war crimes" in Iran. We have bombed civilians relentlessly. We have bombed a school. We have bombed a hospital," says Wilkerson, who also suggests Western media outlets are downplaying the extent of the damage in Israel and how successful Iran has been in defending itself.This is a war with long legs. Trump has completely misinterpreted it," says Wilkerson. The only one who's interpreted it correctly is Bibi Netanyahu, and I think he's ready to use a nuclear weapon, should it become as bad as it looks like it might right now, because Iran has not even began to shoot its most sophisticated missiles."

Trump Denies U.S. Responsibility for Bombing of Girls' School That Killed 175 in Iran, Huge Crowds Rally in Tehran to Support New Supreme Leader and Oppose U.S.-Israeli Assault, State Department Orders U.S. Diplomats to Leave Saudi Arabia as Iran Strikes Gulf Neighbors, U.N. Warns Israel's Assault on Lebanon Has Displaced 700,000 People, Oil Prices Fall After Soaring to Nearly $120 a Barrel as Trump Sends Mixed Messages on Iran War, Ukraine Sends Drone Experts to Counter Iranian Attacks Across Mideast, FBI Requests Arizona Voting Records Related to Joe Biden's 2020 Election Victory, New Mexico Investigators Search Epstein's Former Ranch After Reopening Probe Closed in 2019, DOJ Releases Previously Withheld Documents from Epstein Files Alleging Sexual Assault by Trump, Video Refutes ICE Claim That Ruben Ray Martinez Ran Over" Federal Agent Before Fatal Shooting, Teen Mariachi Musicians Released with Family from ICE Jail After Lawmakers Intervene, Two Men Charged with Terrorism for Allegedly Throwing Bombs Outside NYC Mayor Mamdani's Residence, Judge Rules Kari Lake Unlawfully Led U.S. Agency for Global Media, Voids Cuts and Layoffs

U.S. military commanders have reportedly been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric to push war on Iran, selling the conflict to American troops as an existential holy war" in apocalyptic language that experts fear could exacerbate the violence and death toll of military operations. Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, attributes the rise in extremism at the Pentagon to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has created a template that the only approved member of the U.S. military is to be straight, Christian, nationalist and male." Weinstein warns that whenever you attach an extremist aspect of any religious faith to that machinery responsible for war ... we end up with one thing: oceans and oceans of blood."