Democracy Now!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Truce Talks Continue in Egypt, Humanitarian Catastrophe Continues in Gaza as Netanyahu Rejects Ceasefire Proposal, 6-Year-Old Gazan Girl and 2 Rescue Workers Remain Missing 10 Days After Last Signs of Life, Palestinian American Woman Samaher Esmail Missing After Being Taken by IDF, U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Senior Figure of Kata'ib Hezbollah, Hundreds Protest Biden in NYC, Arms and Military Sites in Chicago and California, Senate Delays Border Measure After GOP U-Turn; Schumer Calls for Vote on Israel, Ukraine Funding, Biden Officials Meet with Arab American Leaders in Michigan as Group Urges Voters to Reject Biden, Pakistan Cuts Mobile Service as Contentious Election Gets Underway, Deadly Fighting Displaces Thousands in Eastern DRC as M23 Approaches Goma, EPA Tightens Rules on Allowable Soot Pollution, 2023's 12-Month Average Global Temperature Topped 1.5C Climate Milestone for First Time

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."

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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.