Democracy Now!

Ahead of the initial public offering for SpaceX, we speak with historian Quinn Slobodian, author of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. He says Elon Musk is creating a situation where he becomes deeply reliant on state contracts" as the U.S. government then becomes reliant on Musk. It's not about demolishing the government," Slobodian says of his work with DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that Musk led for the Trump administration. It's about making the government more compatible, ready for the kind of products that Musk offers, and to make him then an indispensable part of the infrastructure." Slobodian goes on to warn that Musk's wealth is helping to fuel his anti-immigrant, racist political ideology. We really should be worried about the possibility of those things to live together: tech-driven prosperity and radical right-wing racist politics."

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to go public this week targeting a $1.8 trillion valuation, potentially making it the largest initial public offering in history. It is also projected to make Elon Musk, already the world's richest man, the world's first trillionaire.The nonprofit newsroom More Perfect Union has released a new report from business reporter Eric Gardner called We Uncovered a Hidden Wealth Transfer in the SpaceX IPO. You're Holding the Bag." It details how Musk convinced Nasdaq to forgo the usual waiting period to include SpaceX in its index fund, potentially exposing retirement savers to what many professional investors believe will be an overinflated stock price. While Musk and early investors are positioned to see their wealth skyrocket, the SpaceX IPO could hurt these regular investors, says Gardner. He has essentially financially engineered the IPO as a massive wealth transfer from everyday investors to insiders," Gardner says of Musk.

Israel is continuing to carry out attacks on Lebanon amid ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran to end the war. Iran is maintaining its demand that Lebanon be included in a ceasefire deal. Lylla Younes, an investigative journalist based in Beirut, says President Trump's claims that he wants peace with Iran are absurd" because the United States continues to support Israel's aggression in southern Lebanon." She argues that an angry phone call between Netanyahu and Donald Trump is ultimately meaningless" as long as Israel is granted impunity and arms." Younes also talks about reporting she did for Drop Site News on the ethnic cleansing in Ain Arab, a village in southern Lebanon.

Trump Again Claims He's Nearing a Deal with Iran, as Tehran Says U.S. and Israel Broke Ceasefire, Israel Bombs Lebanese City of Tyre After Ordering All Residents to Flee, Israeli Strike on Gaza Refugee Camp Kills 8-Year-Old Palestinian Leaving School, Nigeria's Military Says It Has Freed 360 People Abducted by Boko Haram, Progressive L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman Advances to November Runoff Against Incumbent Mayor Bass, Trump Formally Nominates Former Personal Lawyer Todd Blanche as Attorney General, Immigrant from Republic of Georgia Dies in Louisiana ICE Jail, New Jersey Gov. Sherrill Says ICE Strictly Limited Her Inspection of Delaney Hall, Trump's Border Czar" Tom Homan Threatens Surge of Immigration Agents to New York, NYC Mayor Mamdani Pushes Back Against Border Czar Homan's Threats, Federal Judge Rules Against Trump's $100,000 Annual Fee on H-1B Visa Applications, Trump Loudly Booed During Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden

Peru's presidential runoff is too close to call as ballots continue to be counted from Sunday's election between Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former dictator Alberto Fujimori, and leftist lawmaker Roberto Sanchez. Peruvian election officials say final results could take up to a month to confirm.Peruvian economist and public policy expert Gustavo Guerra-Garcia Picasso says democracy has been undermined" by Fujimori and her right-wing coalition, and that reforms must be implemented quickly to restore a presidential system with checks and balances."We also speak with historian Greg Grandin, who situates the Peru election in a wider battle between right and left across Latin America - with the Trump administration conducting an unprecedented program of aggression" against leftists.

Voters are casting ballots in primary elections Tuesday in Maine, one of a handful of states that could decide which party controls the Senate after this year's midterm elections. Democrats believe they have their best shot in years to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins, but their presumptive nominee has been mired in controversy.Graham Platner is a 41-year-old oyster farmer and Marine veteran who entered the race as a populist progressive. Democratic Governor Janet Mills, who was urged to run by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, suspended her campaign in April amid polls predicting Platner would easily beat her - though she remains on the ballot. Platner's past, however, has cast a shadow on his campaign. The initial controversies focused on offensive posts Platner made on Reddit years ago and on a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, which he has since apologized for and covered up. In recent weeks, sexually explicit text messages came to light that Platner had sent to women after getting married in 2023. The New York Times then reported that several women who had dated Platner recalled unsettling" and abusive behavior by him, which he has denied.For more, we speak with Kim Villanueva, national president of the National Organization for Women PAC, which supports Mills in the primary, and Maine resident Shay Stewart-Bouley, executive director of Community Change, Inc., who says Platner is speaking to people's material concerns and that voters may be forgiving" for his messy" personal life.

Iran and Israel exchanged fire overnight in the most serious escalation since a U.S.-Iranian truce was reached in April. Iran launched a wave of missiles at northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli attacks near Beirut on Sunday. Israel responded with attacks on Iran, with explosions reported in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan. This comes as peace talks appear stalled between the United States and Iran, largely over Iran's insistence that any agreement must include Lebanon and halt Israel's attacks on that country. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly expressed frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reports from NBC News and The New York Times indicate the Pentagon is growing increasingly concerned over Israel spying on U.S. officials.I was not surprised by the Iranian attack on Israel," says analyst Trita Parsi, who notes that Iran's leaders want to extend their deterrence" to Lebanon. What is perhaps a bit surprising is ... that the Israelis defied Trump's expressed wishes."

Iran Says It's Halting Attacks on Israel After Both Countries Exchange Fire, Israeli Strikes Hit Beirut Despite a U.S.-Brokered So-Called Ceasefire, Israeli Strikes Kill at Least Seven Palestinians in Gaza, Russian Drone Hits Nuclear Fuel Facility Near Chernobyl, Killing 3 People, Hegseth Uses D-Day Anniversary to Attack European Immigration Policies, Saying Continent Facing New Invasion", Federal Lawsuit Seeks to Block White House UFC Event Set for Trump's 80th Birthday, Trump Storms Out of Interview with NBC News's Welker After She Questions Him About Slush Fund, Ex-60 MInutes" Anchor Pelley Claims Bari Weiss Wanted to Push False Narratives on Renee Good's Killing, New Jersey Boosts Legal Funding for Immigrants Held at Delaney Hall ICE Jail, Hunger Strikers at Adelanto ICE Jail Moved to Solitary Confinement After Talking to Lawmakers, 12 Injured as Gunfire Erupts at Toledo, Ohio, Street Festival, Brussels Warns Albania That Jared Kushner's Luxury Resort Could Violate EU Environmental Rules

The British government earlier this week barred left-wing political commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur from entering the U.K. ahead of several speaking events. The Home Office said it was canceling their travel permits because their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good." Piker and Uygur, who are related, are both outspoken in their criticism of Israel. While the government did not cite a specific reason for the ban, some lawmakers and pro-Israel groups had accused the two of promoting antisemitism, which they reject.I find what the British government did here to be objectionable. I find it to be disgusting. I also find it to be terrifying," Piker tells Democracy Now! I think it's a sign that we're ... headed down a very different - dare I say, fascist - direction in the Western world."Piker also discusses his participation in a recent humanitarian mission to Cuba, for which he is reportedly under investigation by the Trump administration, and his support for progressive and antiwar candidates in this year's midterm elections. We don't have a lot of time. Fascism is here," Piker says.

We speak with Dr. Adam Hamawy, the former U.S. Army combat surgeon who just won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. He is now the heavy favorite to win the Democratic-leaning district in November and, if elected, would become New Jersey's first Muslim member of Congress. Hamawy is an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights and volunteered in Gaza during Israel's genocidal assault on the territory. He has been endorsed by prominent progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, who credits Hamawy with saving her life after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004.I was running on something very simple: that we should be spending on healthcare, not bombs," Hamawy tells Democracy Now!, criticizing the $1 trillion Pentagon budget. We need to be spending some of that right here at home to restore our nation, to fund universal healthcare like Medicare for All, to fund tuition-free public college, to rebuild our roads and bridges, to address the housing crisis."

Senate Approves $70 Billion in Additional ICE and Border Patrol Funding, Hezbollah Rejects Extension of U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire Between Israel and Lebanon, WFP Warns Strait of Hormuz Closure Has Pushed Millions More into Hunger, Israeli Strike on Gaza Leaves Family of Five Burned Alive in Their Home, Trump Administration Scraps Ocean Sensors That Track Climate Change and Predict Storms, Trump Administration Seeks More Control Over Scientific Research Grants, White House Announces $700 Million in Federal Funds for Coal Industry, Lawmaker Grills Marco Rubio over Trump's Apparent Naps at Public Events, Kalshi Reports Disgraced Former Congressman George Santos for Insider Trading, Democrats Oppose Rule Change Allowing Crypto and Private Equity Investments in Pension Funds, Residents of Monterey Park, California, Vote to Ban Data Centers, GOP Congressman Wins Uncontested New Jersey Primary Even Though He Hasn't Been Seen in Months, Pam Bondi Testified Todd Blanche Was in Charge" of Entire Release" of Epstein Files, Peruvians March Against Keiko Fujimori Ahead of Presidential Vote, Warning of Return to Dictatorship, Colorado Appeals Court Reverses Homicide Convictions of Paramedics in Elijah McClain's Death, Marjane Satrapi, Author of Comic Memoir Persepolis" About Life in Iran, Dies at 56

The Trump administration five months ago launched an energy blockade against Cuba, coming on top of the over six-decade-long embargo, the longest in U.S. history. The expanded U.S. sanctions have exacerbated the island's economic crisis, forcing Cubans to live with rolling blackouts, inflation and shortages of basic goods.The situation there is dire," says Cuban American historian Ada Ferrer. It has been for quite some time, and it's gotten worse and worse over the last five months."Acknowledging the devastating effects the U.S. embargo has on the island, Ferrer says the Cuban government's priority is not the well-being of the Cuban people." She points out that despite the current deterioration of the industry, Cuba continues to invest in tourism, ignoring sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, education, health - all of which are in horrible decline."Ferrer also discusses her new book, Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter.

Former U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino led the Trump administration's militarized immigration crackdowns in Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Bovino was eventually removed from his position in January after immigration agents under his command killed 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.We speak with Amanda Moore, a reporter who focuses on far-right extremism and state violence. She spent months following Bovino and the immigration crackdown in the United States for Mother Jones and other outlets. [Border Patrol] would snipe us with rubber bullets from rooftops by the detention centers," says Moore.We also get a comment from reporter Charles R. Davis about other right-wing figures in the Trump administration.

Hundreds of far-right activists gathered in Portugal on Saturday for the annual Remigration Summit" advocating for the mass deportation of immigrants. Former U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and white nationalist leader Jared Taylor were VIP guests alongside elected officials from Germany and Spain's far-right parties. In an interview ahead of the event, Bovino cited Nazi Germany's lead general, Erwin Rommel, as an inspirational figure.Remigration is basically the policy response to the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory," says Charles R. Davis, a journalist based in Vienna, Austria. Davis explains great replacement" as a theory that there is a global elite plot, typically by Jews," to replace white people in Europe and North America with immigrants. It's an argument for mass deportations," not just of recently arrived immigrants, but of those who were allowed in over the last hundred years who were not really, as they see it, European or American," says Davis. This is basically rooted in Nazi ideology."

Hundreds of immigrants detained at the ICE jail known as Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, have been on a hunger and labor strike for nearly two weeks. They are protesting the conditions at the jail, including spoiled food that has had maggots in it, overcrowding and inadequate medical care. Detainees are also forced to work for around $1 per day. In retaliation against the strike, guards at Delaney Hall have reportedly beaten participants, and family visitation was temporarily suspended. The strikers are demanding their release from the ICE jail and that the most vulnerable populations are freed first.Detainees' family members, along with immigration advocates and anti-ICE protesters, have been rallying outside Delaney Hall since the strike began. Democracy Now!'s Maria Taracena was outside Delaney on Tuesday. She spoke to a man who had just been released from detention, a community organizer, a lawyer and family members who were waiting to visit their loved ones inside the ICE jail.Police have erected barricades half a mile around Delaney Hall, making it more and more difficult to go and visit those who are on labor and hunger strike," says Natalie, a New Jersey volunteer with the mutual aid group Eyes on ICE. I was trying to see my father. He recently got put in," says the daughter of a man being held in Delaney Hall. She is struggling to find legal support for her father. He does not deserve to go to another country when he belongs in this one."

House Votes 215-208 to Approve Resolution Seeking to End Trump's War on Iran, Rep. Rashida Tlaib Advances Resolution to End U.S. Involvement in Israel's War on Lebanon, Lebanon Agrees to Extend U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire with Israel, Trump Says U.S. Bombed Iran on Tuesday, Contradicting Rubio's Claim That Iran War is Over", Israeli Airstrikes Kill Nine Palestinians in Gaza, British Government Bans Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur from Entering U.K., Trump Nominates Todd Blanche as the Next U.S. Attorney General, Trump Signs Executive Order Making It Easier to Fire 8,000 Highly Paid Government Workers, Rural Communities in Bolivia Seize Oil Field, Calling on President Paz to Resign, Thousands Demonstrate Against Chilean Far-Right President Kast, Labor Protests Rock Mexico City Days Before World Cup, Protests Erupt in Albania over Massive Resort Development Linked to Jared Kushner

We continue our coverage of the fallout from the dropped federal case against the Broadview 6," six people who attended a protest outside Chicago's Broadview ICE jail in September. They were later indicted for conspiracy to impede a federal agent, despite many not having met prior to appearing together in court. I didn't find out that I had been indicted until a month after this happened," says Kat Abughazaleh, who was not arrested at the protest, but weeks later, as she was running for Congress. Michael Rabbitt, a Democratic ward committeeperson in Chicago, says that when he received a text informing him about a warrant for his arrest, I actually thought it was a scam. I honestly didn't think it was real."

Calls are growing for the interim U.S. attorney in Chicago, Andrew Boutros, to resign over his handling of the Broadview 6" case - six individuals charged with federal crimes for protesting outside Chicago's Broadview ICE jail in September. The remaining charges against four of the Broadview 6 were recently dismissed after the case collapsed in court due to widespread prosecutorial misconduct. This DOJ has completely corrupted the grand jury process," says attorney Chris Parente, who represented one of the Broadview 6. When they decide that they want to get a political indictment through, they will do whatever it takes, even acting in an unethical way."Parente, himself a former federal prosecutor, says federal prosecutors heavily misrepresented the case and forced an indictment despite the grand jury initially voting against it. What's even worse," he adds, is the U.S. attorney's subsequent cover-up of the prosecutors' conduct, refusing to release the grand jury transcripts for months and later redacting and withholding full pages from the judge who ordered their release. As a former federal prosecutor, your job is not to win any case. It's to do the right thing. And I've never seen a case like this, where from the jump they did the wrong thing at every single turn."

In yet another deeply alarming appointment," President Donald Trump has picked major Trump campaign donor Bill Pulte to replace former Congressmember Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, the nation's top spy chief who reports directly to the president. Pulte is not somebody who has any of the requisite experience for this incredibly important office," says Matt Platkin, a former attorney general for New Jersey. Pulte is also expected to continue in his other high-level positions as chair of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and chair of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he is accused of abusing his power to pursue political prosecutions against Trump's enemies.We also speak to Harvard Law School professor Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge, about legal challenges to Trump's mass deportation campaign, particularly involving widespread abuses committed by DHS and ICE. What we're seeing now is an effort for the courts to catch up to those abuses, and they are. Legislation is going to be needed to make this even more clear," says Gertner.

After widespread bipartisan outcry, the Justice Department says it is permanently abandoning plans for a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization" fund. Widely branded as a slush fund," it was expected to reward President Donald Trump's supporters, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The fund was announced in May as part of a settlement in Trump's personal lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax data. That case was recently reopened, after dozens of former federal judges filed a motion alleging that Trump's actions were collusive." As Nancy Gertner, one of the judges who joined the motion, explains, What happened in this case was, essentially, Trump was suing himself. There was no question that Trump was on both sides of the 'v.'" Gertner and her fellow judges are represented by attorney Matt Platkin, who says, It is illegal for the president to ask for any IRS audit to be opened or closed. That is a federal crime."

Iran Launches Missiles and Drones at Kuwait and Bahrain in Retaliation for U.S. Attacks, Israel Kills at Least Eight People in Southern Lebanon, Israeli Forces Kill at Least Four Palestinians in Gaza, Trump Picks MAGA Loyalist Bill Pulte to Serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, Pentagon Hires Jan. 6 Insurrectionist for Counterterrorism Role, DOJ Kills $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund, But Trump's IRS Settlement Remains, Former Border Patrol Chief Bovino Attends Anti-Immigrant Summit in Portugal, New Jersey Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Private Prison Company GEO Group, SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Adopt New GOP-Friendly Congressional Map, CBS News Fires 60 Minutes" Correspondent Scott Pelley, MAGA-Supporting Republican Steve Hilton Leads California Governor's Race, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Advances to Runoff, Challenged by Reality TV Star and City Councilmember, Deb Haaland Advances in Bid to Become New Mexico's First-Ever Indigenous Governor, Trump-Backed Gubernatorial Candidate Loses GOP Primary in Iowa, Dr. Adam Hamawy, Who Volunteered in Gaza, Wins Democratic Nomination for New Jersey House Seat

We speak with journalist, academic and author Steven Thrasher about his new book, The Overseer Class, in which he explores how members of historically marginalized groups rise to positions of power within institutions in lieu of structural change. He identifies Black police officers as a prominent example of this phenomenon. As public opinion in the United States has grown more critical of law enforcement, Black cops are kind of rehabilitating police departments, as are women cops and LGBTQ cops," Thrasher says. Those are the people who I call overseers, the ones who rule between the ruling class and the working class."

More than 200 people have now been killed in U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Since September, the Pentagon has struck more than 60 vessels, claiming, without evidence, that the boats were engaged in narco-trafficking" operations. Human rights groups have roundly condemned the attacks as extrajudicial killings.The U.S. is not in active conflict with any of these groups," says Amanda Klasing, the national director of government relations and advocacy at Amnesty International USA. These are law enforcement operations, ... so the individuals on these boats have a right to life and a right to due process."

Israeli drones have killed at least eight people in Lebanon despite an announcement Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump that both Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop fighting. Trump's intervention came as Israel threatened new strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, leading Iran to suspend indirect negotiations with the U.S. to protest Israel's expanding military offensive in Lebanon. Since March 2, Israel has killed more than 3,400 people in Lebanon while seizing large swaths of the country and displacing about one-fifth of the population.Lebanon is a weak state, it doesn't have a lot of leverage, and a lot of people are concerned," says Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut. They sort of feel beholden to the regional and global powers on their fate."

Israel Kills 8 in Lebanon After Trump Says He Told Netanyahu to Call Off Beirut Attack, Rep. Rashida Tlaib Calls on Congress to Pass Lebanon War Powers Resolution, Iran Suspends Talks with U.S. Amid Israel's Attacks on Lebanon, Israel Continues to Violate Gaza Ceasefire, Killing 3 More Palestinians, I Am Offended": NYC Mayor Mamdani Blasts Appearance by Israel's Smotrich at March, Russian Strikes Kills at Least 18 in Ukraine, Trump Appears to Abandon Proposed $1.8 Billion Slush Fund" for MAGA Supporters, Anthropic Confidentially Files for IPO, as Sen. Sanders Calls for 50% Tax on Stock of AI Companies, Newark Mayor Baraka Set to Announce Legal Strategy to Shut Down Delaney Hall, Ghana's Parliament Approves Bill Criminalizing LGBTQ+ Activities, Defense Secretary Hegseth Designates Pentagon Press Office as a Classified Space, Veteran 60 Minutes" Correspondent Pelley Blasts CBS News Leadership, Critical Incident: A Death at the Border" Wins Outstanding Investigative Documentary at News Emmys, Voters Head to the Polls in Several States for Primary Elections

A federal jury last week convicted three people on felony conspiracy charges over their involvement in an anti-ICE protest in Spokane, Washington, last June. The Spokane Three" are awaiting sentencing and face up to six years in prison for conspiracy to impede or injure ICE officers. They had attempted to block the transfer of a group of detained immigrants by sitting in front of a bus. Six of the nine protesters originally charged took plea deals, but the Spokane Three decided to fight the charges.If I had taken a plea deal, it would have essentially been me lying and saying that I did something that I didn't do. I didn't assault anybody," says Bajun Mavalwalla, a U.S. military veteran and one of the Spokane Three.What we have here is a really large reach of the conspiracy statute," adds journalist and author Aaron Glantz, highlighting that no officers were hurt in the June protest. What happened was a relatively minor demonstration."

President Donald Trump has tapped David Venturella, a former ICE official and executive at the private prison company GEO Group, to replace Todd Lyons as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. GEO Group saw its profits jump from $32 million in 2024 to more than $254 million in 2025 as the Trump administration expanded government contracts with ICE jails nationwide.Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network, says private prison companies have an intricate" relationship with ICE. It's really a revolving door," she says, pointing out that Venturella worked for ICE under Presidents Bush and Obama, then went to GEO Group before this latest appointment by President Trump. It's really hard to see where the interests of ICE end and those of private prison companies begin," says Ghandehari.

We look at a growing boycott against Citizens Bank amid a campaign to pressure the corporation to divest from financing CoreCivic and GEO Group, two of the nation's largest private operators of ICE jails. An interfaith coalition of dozens of religious groups in Boston said Citizens Bank has failed to adequately address its concern about financing private prisons, so the group has withdrawn $1 million from its estimated $14 million account with the bank and threatened to keep removing funds until its demands are met.Filmmaker Julie Cohen and journalist Paul Barrett, who are married, recently wrote an opinion piece about closing their account at Citizens Bank over its complicity with Delaney Hall and other ICE jails.Over more than a dozen years, Citizens Bank has arranged for and helped provide some $2 billion in financing for GEO Group and CoreCivic," says Barrett, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek. Without that money, these corporations literally could not function."The idea is to basically use our collective economic power to speak out about those who are aiding and abetting" the immigrant detention system in the United States, adds Cohen. A lot of what's going on in these ICE detention facilities is not lawful because ... immigrant neighbors, most of whom have not committed any crime beyond immigration violations, are being held there without due process."

An estimated 300 immigrants detained at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, New Jersey, are continuing a hunger and labor strike to demand their freedom. Amid ongoing protests, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has deployed state police, who erected a barricade around the facility and have reportedly brutalized activists. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has also imposed a nightly curfew around Delaney Hall until further notice.Local investigative journalist Bob Hennelly joins Democracy Now! to talk about the ongoing hunger and labor strike, launched on May 22, and its historical implications in Newark and the rest of the country. In letters at the outset of their strike detailing the conditions in the ICE jail, detainees have written something that I think historians will say is equivalent to the Declaration of Independence," says Hennelly, because they so vividly describe the way they've been deprived of all the basic human rights that we've come to associate with this nation."

Trump Claims U.S. Shouldn't Have Been in Iran" in Fox News Interview, Israeli Troops Push Deeper into Lebanon, Capturing Medieval Beaufort Castle, Israeli Attacks Kill Two Palestinians in Gaza, 2027 National Defense Authorization Act Proposes to Integrate U.S. and Israeli Militaries, Former AG Bondi Claims She Lacked Authority in the Release of Epstein Files, Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Trump's $1.8 Billion Slush Fund for Insurrectionists, Immigrants at Delaney Hall Continue Hunger and Labor Strike Demanding Their Release, Texas Police Arrest ICE Agent Who Shot Venezuelan Immigrant in Minneapolis, U.S. Military Strikes Vessel in Eastern Pacific, Killing Three People, Pro-Trump Right-Wing Candidate Takes Lead in First Round of Colombian Presidential Election, Federal Judge Orders Trump's Name Removed from Kennedy Center, Prominent Nicaraguan Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera Dies in Detention, Memorial Service at NYC's Riverside Church Honors Black Liberation Activist Assata Shakur

Protests in Bolivia are demanding the resignation of Rodrigo Paz, the country's first right-wing president in decades. Since Paz took office in November 2025, the country has been placed under austerity measures that have led to a surge in poverty rates for much of Bolivia's rural and working-class population. We speak to Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba, Bolivia, about the monthlong protests. Bolivia is a country where, for 19 years, Indigenous people and social movements enjoyed equal rights and political inclusion," she explains. There's a huge break between what Paz promised and what he's done in practice, which is select a white, upper-middle-class Cabinet with only two women, reject any genuine dialogue, reject interaction with the Bolivian social movements, or even have any empathy for people and what they're going through day to day."Ledebur also discusses the Paz administration's growing ties with the Trump administration as the U.S. seeks to expand its so-called war on drugs throughout Latin America.

A jury in Chicago has ordered Boeing to pay nearly $50 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old who was one of a total of 346 people killed in a pair of Boeing 737 MAX jet crashes less than a decade ago. Stumo died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019, just months after another 737 MAX jet, a recently introduced model at the time, crashed in Indonesia. They knew that there was a malfunction with the plane. The plane crashed in Indonesia, and then somebody inside the company decided to keep flying the plane and did not fix whatever it is that was wrong," says Stumo's mother, Nadia Milleron.Milleron adds that while her family welcomes the latest settlement, she plans to continue pursuing legal action and serious scrutiny of Boeing's safety practices. This trial that we just had was not about accountability," she explains. This idea that they can just pay money and then continue on with the same behavior, that's what we object to, and that's why we want to expose what they're actually doing in the company that could have caused these crashes."

We get an update on protests at Newark, New Jersey's Delaney Hall, an ICE facility owned and operated by the private prison company GEO Group, where hundreds of immigrant detainees have been on a hunger and labor strike for the past week demanding their immediate release. New Jersey Congressmember Analilia Mejia recently toured the facility and spoke to people who described being arrested and detained after attending routine ICE check-ins, being held for months in appalling conditions even after signing voluntary deportation orders, and being hospitalized after they were beaten and pepper-sprayed by armed ICE agents. What we need to understand is that this is a for-profit model, and they are failing human beings," she says. The reality is that this is a rogue administration that has handed undue power to agencies, to ICE agents and to entities like GEO Group [that] are now acting with impunity."Meanwhile, says Li Adorno, a community organizer with the immigrant rights group Movimiento Cosecha, protests outside the facility in solidarity with the strike have grown increasingly contentious. Local investigative journalist Bob Hennelly explains that the Trump administration's targeting of Newark for immigration enforcement has escalated since federal agents arrested and charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and New Jersey Congressmember LaMonica McIver with trespassing after inviting them into Delaney Hall last May. Hennelly says there's a much broader implosion of the administration of law in New Jersey ... [and] a collapse of federal law enforcement in Newark."

Iran Won't Confirm Trump Administration's Claim That a Peace Deal Is Very Close", Netanyahu Orders Israel's Army to Seize 70% of Gaza Strip, Israel Bombs Beirut and Expands Assault on Southern Lebanon, U.N. Adds Israel to Blacklist" for Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, Protesters Target New York Real Estate Expo over Sale of Illegal Israeli Settlements, NATO Stands Ready to Defend" Its Territory After Russian Drone Strikes Romanian Apartments, Six Arrested as Protests Continue Outside For-Profit ICE Jail in New Jersey, U.N. Warns Global Heating Is on Track to Exceed 1.5C Threshold by 2030, Blue Origin Rocket Explodes in Major Setback to Jeff Bezos's Spaceflight Ambitions, U.S. Inflation Hit 3.8% in April, Its Highest Rate Since 2023, Pentagon Awards Dell a Contract Worth Nearly $10 Billion After Trump Purchases Shares, Massachusetts Formally Recognizes Union of Ride-Share Drivers, Guatemala Denies Reports It Agreed to Allow U.S. Strikes Against Narcotraffickers, Philadelphia Community Access Media Founder Gretjen Clausing Dies at 61

The Justice Department has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into the writer E. Jean Carroll, who successfully sued Donald Trump twice, for sexual abuse and defamation. According to CNN, The New York Times and other outlets, the investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in a deposition, even though a federal appeals court upheld the rulings in 2024.In 2019, Carroll published a memoir describing an encounter in the 1990s when she says Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store. When Trump denied the account, Carroll sued him and won $5 million in damages, with a unanimous New York jury finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. After Trump made disparaging remarks about Carroll, she sued him again and won a second defamation judgment for over $83 million. (She has yet to collect any money pending appeals by Trump.)The use of the Justice Department to go after E. Jean Carroll in this way is completely unprecedented," says law professor Deborah Tuerkheimer, who says the probe is part of an obvious vendetta" by Trump. It's frankly galling."See our interview with director Ivy Meeropol about her documentary Ask E. Jean.

Colombian mercenaries accused of committing war crimes in Sudan were trained on military bases in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. The group's investigation outlines how, since 2024, the Abu Dhabi-based security company Global Security Services Group hired hundreds of Colombian private military contractors, who were then deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces. Human Rights Watch found evidence that the private military contractors were in El Fasher in October 2025, when the RSF seized the key city and committed widespread massacres and rape. The report adds to evidence of the UAE's involvement in the war in Sudan, despite the government's repeated denials.UAE's apparent support to the RSF is part of a broader pattern whereby the UAE has been intervening in neighboring conflicts for over a decade ... to project its political and economic influence abroad," says Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea. The UAE still has not received any accountability and has not yet been called out by name by the international community. And in the context of Sudan, we're still relying on these ambiguous and weak statements calling out 'external actors' fueling the war, rather than naming names and calling out the UAE."

Nearly two months after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, are the two sides any closer to a lasting peace deal?We speak with Robert Malley, the Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group, who worked in multiple Democratic administrations and helped negotiate the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal with Iran. He says Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of that deal in 2018 was a completely reckless and absurd one," with the Trump administration renegotiating many of the same issues, as well as pushing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran did not previously control. We should never have been in the position we're in now."

Amid stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks, Israel has intensified its attacks across Lebanon and on Wednesday issued an evacuation order for all areas south of the Zahrani River - about 14% of the country. That includes Tyre, one of Lebanon's largest cities.It's hard to see an end in sight," says Ramzi Kaiss, researcher at Human Rights Watch, who notes that nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since the April 16 U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The Israeli government has repeatedly not only violated the laws of war, but continues to declare its intention to commit more atrocities ... And they're able to do so because there's no restraint on the Israeli military."

Trump Threatens to Blow Up Oman as U.S. Strikes Southern Iran, Israel Intensifies Attacks on Southern Lebanon, Expanding Evacuation Orders, Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 10 Palestinians in Gaza During Eid al-Adha Holiday, Pentagon Says It Blew Up Another Ship in Eastern Pacific, Killing Two People, WHO Warns DRC Faces a Catastrophic Collision" of Disease and Conflict, Immigrants Continue Hunger Strike at ICE Jail Known as Delaney Hall, AP: At Least 10 Immigrants in ICE Jails Died by Suicide Since Trump Returned to White House, Justice Department Launches Criminal Probe into Writer E. Jean Carroll, FBI Arrests Senior CIA Official, Finding Gold Bars Worth More Than $40M in His Home, CBS Declines to Renew Contract of 60 Minutes" Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi

We speak with political scientist Jeffrey Winters about his new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies. Winters argues that democracy's failure to address wealth inequality is by design. While voters have a say on some issues, oligarchs, who succeed in maintaining economic inequality by fighting against wealth redistribution, have more power.Liberal democracies around the world are now among the most unequal societies ever to have existed in human history," says Winters. He explains that in Imperial Rome, the wealth gap was about 16,000 to one. Take the average person in the Forbes 400 compared to the median person in the United States. That has exploded to 140,000 to one."

Two officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021, have filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the creation of a $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund. Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges are bringing the lawsuit because the fund could be used to compensate the Capitol rioters who attacked them and their colleagues. Both officers say they have faced continuous credible threats since that day.This slush fund is going to be used to pay the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers," says Brendan Ballou, CEO of the Public Integrity Project, who is representing officers Dunn and Hodges. It is going to give a presidential endorsement to these people, saying that not only ... will they be put beyond the reach of the law, but they will actually be financially rewarded for doing so." Ballou is also a former federal prosecutor who spent two years prosecuting January 6 Capitol rioters.

Around 300 immigrants detained at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, New Jersey, have been on a hunger and work strike since Friday to protest inhumane conditions and due process violations. Delaney Hall is operated by the private prison company GEO Group. Since the hunger strike was launched, immigration advocates have been staging a solidarity protest outside Delaney Hall to promote the detainees' demands for freedom. Protesters and ICE agents have clashed outside the jail, and three people have been arrested. Tensions escalated on Sunday when ICE removed a hunger strike organizer, Martin Soto, prompting protesters outside the ICE jail to block a van being used to transport him. Masked ICE agents responded by firing tear gas and pushing people to the ground. Soto was ultimately transferred to an ICE jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and is now facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting an ICE officer.We speak to Gabriela Soto, Martin Soto's wife, and Li Adorno, an organizer with the group Movimiento Cosecha. Both have helped lead the protest outside Delaney Hall.Gabriela Soto says that she started the protest in conjunction with the detainees' strike so that the media could see how ICE is destroying families and separating them." Soto says that when she was blocked from seeing her husband during visiting hours on Saturday, a guard asked her why she was spreading lies" and talking to the press. He said, 'Why are you telling people that we're feeding them worms? Why are you telling people that we don't give them medical care?' I said, 'Because it's true.'"

Trump Blasts U.S. Media Outlets, Saying They Would Portray Iran Surrender as a Masterful and Brilliant Victory" Over the U.S., Israel Kills New Head of Hamas's Military Wing, Mohammed Odeh, Israeli Strikes in Southern Lebanon Kill at Least 31 People, U.S. Military Carries Out Strike on a Vessel in the Eastern Pacific, Killing One Person, Hundreds of Immigrants Detained at ICE Jail Known as Delaney Hall Continue Their Hunger Strike, NPR: Trump Admin Expedites Use of Mass Immigration Hearings to Order More Deportations, SCOTUS Blocks Free Speech Lawsuit Involving Federal Immigration Judges, Mass Anti-Government Protests Continue in Bolivia, WSJ: Trump Admin Preparing to Deploy Public Health Officials to Kenya for U.S. Citizens Exposed to Ebola, Trump Admin Pushes NDAs for All Federal Workers, Federal Court Blocks Alabama from Using New Congressional Map, Trump-Backed Paxton Defeats Incumbent Senator Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate Primary

Tennessee death row prisoner Tony Carruthers was issued a one-year stay of execution last Thursday after prison officials were unable to find a backup injection vein in a botched execution attempt that left Carruthers suffering and in pain for over an hour. Nashville reporter Steven Hale attended the execution and describes his and fellow witnesses' confusion as they heard the sounds of what Carruthers's attorneys are calling torture." Per Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, witnesses can only see inside the execution chamber once the injection process has begun. Carruthers, who has long struggled with mental health issues and represented himself in his trial, was convicted of triple homicide in 1996. He has always maintained his innocence, but courts have thus far blocked his requests for modern-day crime scene analysis that could lead to his exoneration. Tennessee resumed capital punishment last year, following a three-year moratorium put in place to review the state's lethal injection protocols. Since its resumption, three people have been executed by the state, all by lethal injection. Carruthers would have been the fourth.

I could hear screaming the whole time." Our guests Alex Colston and Haitham Arafat spent days in Israeli custody after being abducted from a humanitarian mission sailing to Gaza. They share accounts of violence, abuse and torture at the hands of Israeli soldiers. The process that they have there in the jail was designed to break you as a human," says Arafat, a Palestinian American activist born in Gaza who has taken part in multiple missions attempting to break Israel's long-standing siege. Over 100 members of his family have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. While incarcerated, the activists were visited by Israel's minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was recently banned from France after publicly ridiculing flotilla members. They call us provocateurs, or they say we're terrorists ... and yet, whenever Ben-Gvir shows up to these things, he's the one provoking us," says Colston, a journalist who was previously detained by Israel while sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla last year.

We get an update on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran from journalist Negar Mortazavi, following the Pentagon's so-called self-defense strikes on two Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz Monday despite an official ceasefire and ongoing peace negotiations. The chaotic" ceasefire has been violated from day one," says Mortazavi, who notes that Israel's continuous attacks on southern Lebanon are delaying attempts to end the war - and that this is exactly the intention of the Israeli government. Clearly, Netanyahu doesn't want this war with Iran to end," she says. Every step of escalation is definitely going to harm the final outcome and narrow the path to a final agreement." Mortazavi also comments on the new political reality for Iran's Gulf neighbors in the aftermath of Iranian strikes on U.S. military bases hosted in the region. The Iranian message is: If war comes to us, it will not stay inside our borders."

U.S. Attacks Southern Iran as Ceasefire Negotiations Continue, Israel Attacks Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, Killing 12 People, Israeli Strikes Kill at Least Five Palestinians at a Refugee Camp in Gaza, Police Officers in Spain Attack Activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla at Bilbao Airport, New Jersey Police Arrest 10 Activists Attempting to Stop Ammunition Shipment to Israel, 300 Detainees at Delaney ICE Jail Launch Hunger Strike to Protest Inhumane Conditions, Federal Judge Dismisses All Criminal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, USCIS Says Most Green Card Seekers Must Apply from Home Countries, Bystander Is Wounded as Secret Service Service Kills Alleged Gunman Outside White House, Russia Warns Foreigners and Diplomats to Leave Kyiv After Deadly Weekend Assault, WHO Warns Ebola Is Spreading Faster Than Efforts to Contain It, Pope Leo Issues Encyclical Warning Artificial Intelligence Must Serve Humanity

A special broadcast: Highlights from Democracy Now!'s 30th anniversary celebration at the historic Riverside Church, featuring Angela Davis, Patti Smith, Mosab Abu Toha, Michael Stipe, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez, Nermeen Shaikh and a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen.

We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration's alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States.In 2025, these data center protests successfully stalled over $100 billion worth of these facilities," says Hao. It really does cut across political lines."Hao recently launched The AI Resist List with a group of fellow journalists, researchers and technologists. It's a collaborative project to track and reshape how artificial intelligence is deployed around the world.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program's cancellation removes one of President Trump's most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump. The settlement came as CBS parent company Paramount was seeking the Trump administration's approval for a merger with Skydance, which the Trump administration approved just one week after CBS announced Colbert's ouster. Trump's FCC Chair Brendan Carr has openly gloated about the administration's attacks on critics in the media and the defunding of outlets like PBS and NPR, which no longer receive federal money. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance is seeking another megamerger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which would further concentrate media control in the hands of the billionaire Ellison family that has a long history of supporting Trump.We see this over and over again, where the Trump administration is weaponizing its power over mergers to try to get what it wants in the media space," says David Sirota, editor-in-chief of The Lever and host of the Master Plan podcast.