Democracy Now!

Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr., ran for president twice, in 1984 and 1988, and founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is expected to appear on stage on the opening night of this year's Democratic National Convention. We play footage of an event held Sunday in Chicago to honor Jesse Jackson, which featured fellow civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, among many other speakers. We learned at his feet," Sharpton said of Jackson's impact on civil rights activism. Every time a Black [person] opens their mouth and talks about democracy, Jesse Jackson is talking. Every time we march, Jesse Jackson is walking. And when you see Kamala Harris get on that stage this week, Jesse Jackson is on that stage."

The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, taking place against the backdrop of an unpopular war opposed by a growing number of voters, carries echoes of the 1968 DNC in the same city, when police violently attacked protesters calling for an end to the war in Vietnam. Much of the police riot unfolded on live national television, showing police, members of the National Guard and U.S. Army soldiers brutally assaulting and arresting protesters, many of them students. After four days and nights, more than 650 people were arrested and more than 1,100 injured. We look back on the infamous 1968 DNC with Bill Ayers, longtime Chicago activist, author and founding member of the Weather Underground, and Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez. Both of them were in Chicago to take part in the protests. It was really an eye-opening period for all of us who attended, who were out in the streets," says Gonzalez. Chicago showed us what the crisis in the country was, the crisis of racism and white supremacy, the crisis of empire and war," adds Ayers.

As the 2024 Democratic National Convention opens Monday in Chicago, we look at the protests planned throughout the week to pressure Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party on key policies, including the ongoing U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza. Meanwhile, at least 36 delegates are also inside the convention as official delegates representing the uncommitted" movement and are advocating an antiwar agenda to push for an end to U.S. arms sales to Israel. Although protesters this week come from a range of communities advocating on various issues, from economic injustice to reproductive rights, Palestine is at the center," says Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention and national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. All of those communities are standing up very publicly and very proudly, saying, 'Free Palestine. End U.S. aid to Israel.'"

DNC Kicks Off as Progressives and Uncommitted Delegates Demand Harris Take Action on Gaza Genocide, Gazans Hold Out Little Hope as Blinken Pushes for Ceasefire in Tel Aviv, Israeli Soldiers Attack Deir al-Balah, Wiping Out Families, Children, Another U.N. Worker, First Case of Polio Identified in Gaza in 10-Month-Old Baby, Israeli Relatives of Hamas Hostages Rally in Tel Aviv Ahead of Blinken Visit, Israel Attacks Southern Lebanon, Killing 10 Civilians from Syria, Cholera Outbreak Adds to Misery of Displacement and Starvation in Sudan War as Peace Talks Falter, Kamala Harris Lays Out Economic Policy Agenda, Vows to Lower Medical, Housing and Child Care Costs, Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Taps Historian Butch Ware as Running Mate, Philippines Reports Mpox Case in Patient Who Had Not Traveled Abroad, Protesters Demand Not Another Bomb" on Gaza in Marches Across the Globe, Colombia Bans Coal Exports to Israel over Genocide, Belarus Threatens Kyiv over Border Troops as Ukraine Pushes Further into Russia's Kursk, Dominican Pres. Abinader Starts 2nd Term After Enacting Hard-Line Immigration Policy Against Haitians, X to Shutter Operations in Brazil Amid Legal Challenges over Hate Speech, Misinformation, Bangladesh's Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus Vows to Help Rohingya Refugees Who Fled Burma, SCOTUS Allows GOP-Led States to Continue Blocking Expansion of Title IX

Ukraine's government has denied a Wall Street Journal report this week that Kyiv approved the plan to blow up the Russian-owned Nord Stream pipelines in 2022. According to the newspaper, a crew of Ukrainian civilians and active-duty soldiers used a rented yacht to reach the pipelines, which deliver Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, and used explosives to sever three of the four pipelines. This comes as Poland says it was unable to carry out a German arrest warrant for a new suspect in its investigation into the Nord Stream attack, a 44-year-old Ukrainian diving professional who is alleged to have attached explosive charges to the pipelines. Polish authorities say the suspect fled to Ukraine in July. For more on the investigation, we speak with German journalist Holger Stark, deputy editor-in-chief and head of the investigative team at Die Zeit, who has been reporting on the Nord Stream attack for years.

The World Health Organization has declared mpox to be a global public health emergency. The viral disease, formerly known as monkeypox, spreads through close physical contact and can cause fevers, rashes and extremely painful lesions. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also declared a public health emergency over mpox earlier this week after logging over 15,000 cases. Scientists say this strain of mpox has a fatality rate of around 5% in adults and double that in children. For more, we speak with Nigerian journalist Zubaida Baba Ibrahim, who says there is still a shortage of mpox vaccines in Africa two years after the last major outbreak. We need to decolonize global health, where we're not just waiting for vaccines from somewhere else to come to Africa," she says. African leaders need to wake up and realize that this is dire and it needs proactive measures."

As Donald Trump tries to distance his campaign from Project 2025, those behind the right-wing policy blueprint to remake the U.S. government continue to brag in private about their close ties to the Republican presidential nominee and how they intend to push a radical right-wing agenda in a second Trump administration. In July, Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought met with two people he believed to be relatives of a wealthy conservative donor interested in funding the effort. In fact, he was meeting with two reporters with the U.K.-based Centre for Climate Reporting as part of an undercover sting captured on video. Over the course of two hours, Vought described Trump's disavowal of Project 2025 as mere theater and laid out plans for mass deportations, restricting abortion, gutting independent government bureaucracies, using the military against racial justice protesters and more. The secret plans are designed to ensure that this kind of radical agenda that the conservative movement has in the U.S. can be implemented from day one," says Lawrence Carter, founder and director of the Centre for Climate Reporting and one of the reporters who spoke with Vought. They want to make sure that the mistakes from the first Trump administration, as they see them, where not much got done, are avoided this time around."

Israel Continues Deadly Attacks in Gaza as Ceasefire Talks Resume for Day 2, Israeli Settlers Kill Palestinian as They Go on Armed Rampage in Occupied West Bank, Prices on 10 Common Medications Will Go Down in 2026 After First Round of Medicare Negotiations, Make the Road Action Endorses Kamala Harris for President, AZ's Top Court Allows GOP to Describe Fetuses as Unborn Human Beings" on Ballot Measure Pamphlet, Doctors in India to Strike Amid Protests over Rape and Murder of Kolkata Medical Trainee, Paetongtarn Shinawatra Named Thai Prime Minister, Indonesian President Holds First Cabinet Meeting in Future Capital Nusantara, Ukraine Says Its Troops Have Taken Full Control of Russian Town of Sudzha, Greenland Extends Detention of Anti-Whaling Activist Paul Watson as Japan Seeks Extradition, New York City Street Vendors Rally to Demand Easier Access to Permits

Up to 200 Rohingya Muslims were killed in drone strikes last week in Burma as they attempted to flee to Bangladesh. This comes amid intensifying conflict between the military junta and the Arakan Army, a rebel armed group. Human Rights Watch says the military and the Arakan Army have both committed extrajudicial killings, unlawful recruitment for combat, and widespread arson against Rohingya civilians. They are the enemy of each other, but when it comes to the Rohingya issue, they have the same intention," says Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition. Only about 600,000 Rohingya remain in Burma, down from about 1.4 million before a campaign of ethnic cleansing began in 2016, though Nay San Lwin says the Rohingya genocide goes back even further to 1978.

Eight years after the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia between government forces and guerrillas that was meant to end a half-century of conflict, around 5 million Colombians remain internally displaced and a growing number of people live in areas controlled by armed groups. The ongoing violence in the country has pushed many to flee, often by going through the treacherous Darien Gap between Colombia and neighboring Panama. For more on the security situation in Colombia and the state of the peace process, we speak with Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Dr. Manuel Rozental, a Colombian physician and activist who is part of the group Pueblos en Camino, or People on the Path.

Health officials in Gaza said Thursday that the official death toll from Israel's 10-month war has topped 40,000, though that is believed to be a vast undercount of the true figure. The grim milestone was reached just days after the Biden administration greenlit $20 billion in additional weapons sales to Israel, including 50 F-15 fighter jets, tank ammunition, mortar rounds, tactical vehicles and advanced air-to-air missiles. The U.S. approved the sales despite growing calls for an arms embargo on Israel. This is just a continuation of a policy that has been going on now for 10 months of the U.S. providing to Israel all the arms that it requests," says Josh Paul, a veteran State Department official who worked on arms deals and resigned in protest over Gaza policy in October. It is a dark day for American foreign policy." We also speak with Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who says it's incomprehensible" that the U.S. keeps supplying Israel with weapons. There should be no more arms going into that place before there is a ceasefire."

Father Grieves Newborn Twins, Wife Who Were Killed by Israel as Gaza's Death Toll Tops 40,000, You Are Complicit": Journalists, Media Groups Demand End to U.S. Arming of Israel, Columbia Univ. President Minouche Shafik Resigns After Ordering Brutal Crackdown on Protesters, Univ. of Chicago Delivers Diplomas, Drops Cases Against Gaza Solidarity Student Protesters, Tim Walz to Debate JD Vance on Oct. 1; WaPo: RFK Jr. Courted Both Harris and Trump for WH Jobs, Zelensky Denies WSJ Report Ukrainian Gov't Approved Plan to Blow Up Nord Stream Pipelines, Tanzania Frees Opposition Leaders Amid Crackdown on Protests, WHO Declares Mpox a Global Public Health Emergency, Unions Organize Heat Week" as Extreme Temperatures Pose Mounting Dangers to Workers, Citibank Security Guard Punches Peaceful Climate Activist in Face, Tropical Storm Ernesto Drenches Puerto Rico, Leaves Half the Island Without Power, Taliban Mark 3 Years Since Return to Power in Kabul, Amid Ongoing Humanitarian, Human Rights Crisis

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza, according to the official death toll, though the true casualty figure is likely far higher with thousands of the dead unaccounted for. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have raided towns and villages across the occupied West Bank, and settlers under military protection have repeatedly stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in recent days. This all comes as the State Department on Tuesday announced the approval of $20 billion in new arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets. We speak with the Reverend Munther Isaac, pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, who joins us in our New York studio for an in-depth conversation. He is in the United States on a speaking tour to encourage faith leaders to oppose U.S. support for Israel's onslaught. We're still calling for a ceasefire, and it feels like we're still calling for the world to humanize the people of Gaza, to humanize Palestinians," says Isaac. If you're silent, knowing how your money is being spent, that means you approve."

We speak with Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli about her new book, The Everything War, which examines how Amazon came to dominate the U.S. economy through its scorched-earth" tactics. I found just a ton of business practices driven by this toxic culture at Amazon, where the company lied, spied, cheated its way to the top," she says. Mattioli also discusses the threat of antitrust lawsuits to Amazon and other Big Tech firms, political pressure on Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and more.

The United Auto Workers has filed federal labor charges against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, accusing them of illegally attempting to threaten and intimidate workers who go on strike. The UAW's complaint comes in response to comments made by Trump during a discussion with Musk Monday on the social media platform X, which Musk owns. The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk is funding a new super PAC to help Trump in swing states and return him to the White House. There have been reports Musk was planning to spend $45 million a month to help elect Trump, but Musk has disputed that figure. Reporter Dana Mattioli says it's the culmination of Musk's remarkable political transformation," with his break from the Democratic Party largely driven by his anti-union politics and the Biden administration's ties to the United Auto Workers.

Israel Widens Evacuation Orders for Khan Younis Amid Deadly Strikes on Gaza and West Bank, U.N. Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting After Israeli Attack on Gaza School Kills 100+, Biden Administration Approves $20 Billion in Additional Weapons Sales to Israel, Sudan Peace Negotiations Open Without Participation of Sudan's Army, Second Russian Region Declares State of Emergency as Ukrainian Forces Push Deeper into Russia, Germany Seeks Arrest of Ukrainian Diving Expert for Bombing Nord Stream Pipeline, Bangladesh Opens Murder Probe into Ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin Sacked by Constitutional Court, Africa Centers for Disease Control Declares a Public Health Emergency over Mpox, Majority of U.S. States Report Very High" Levels of Coronavirus in Wastewater Samples, UAW Labor Charges Allege Donald Trump and Elon Musk Threatened and Intimidated Workers, Tim Walz Rallies Union Members Against Anti-Labor Policies of Trump and JD Vance, Rep. Ilhan Omar Defeats Primary Challenge After Pro-Israel Groups Raise Funds for Her Opponent, Arizona and Missouri to Determine Fate of Abortion Rights in November Ballot Measures, Ohio Cop Charged with Murdering 21-Year-Old Pregnant Black Mother Ta'Kiya Young, Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif Sues Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling for Cyberbullying

Turmoil continues in Venezuela after July's contested election, in which both President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition claimed victory. The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote, but the opposition has released thousands of vote tally sheets online that, if authenticated, suggest a landslide win for Edmundo Gonzalez. Maduro has tasked the country's Supreme Court with verifying the electoral results, though critics question the court's impartiality. Meanwhile, dueling protests have taken place in Caracas and other parts of Venezuela as international rights groups have denounced a crackdown against demonstrators by government forces, including some 2,000 reported arrests. But Maduro and allies say it is the opposition that has led widespread attacks, causing the deaths of at least 25 people during protests after the July 28 election. For more on the crisis in Venezuela, we speak with Leonardo Flores, a Venezuelan political analyst, activist and founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network, and Alejandro Velasco, associate professor at NYU, where he is a historian of modern Latin America.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt are urging Israel and Hamas to hold a new round of negotiations to finalize a ceasefire deal in Gaza. However, Hamas is urging mediators to enforce the ceasefire terms proposed by President Biden in May that Hamas already agreed to and that Israel rejected. Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project and a former Israeli peace negotiator under Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin, says U.S.-led efforts for a ceasefire are likely to fail as long as the Biden administration remains unwilling to pressure Israel. It's quite clear Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire deal," says Levy, who adds that the Washington playbook of unlimited support for Israel and threats to keep other regional actors in line could pull the U.S. into a wider Middle East war. America is playing the role as a member of the axis of Zionist extremism."

Iran has rejected a call by France, Germany and the United Kingdom demanding it refrain from any retaliatory attacks over the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Tensions also remain high on Israel's northern border as Lebanon-based Hezbollah vows to respond to the Israeli assassination of its senior military commander Fuad Shukr. On Friday, Israel continued its assassination campaign by killing a Hamas commander in the Lebanese city of Sidon. It's a very, very tense time here in Beirut, and in Lebanon more generally," says Karim Makdisi, a professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut. He says the cycle of escalation across the region has a clear cause, which is Israel's war on Gaza backed by the United States, and that ending the violence there will bring calm elsewhere. Get a ceasefire, everything stops."

Latest Israeli Attacks on Gaza Kill 32 Palestinians; Hamas Says Hostages Killed, Wounded, Israeli Settlers Storm Palestinian Villages and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Joined by Far-Right Minister, Hundreds of Minority Rohingya Muslims Killed in Burma's Rakhine State, Putin Vows to Retaliate as Ukraine's Military Presses Deeper into Russia, Red Cross Marks 75th Anniversary of Geneva Conventions with Call for Action, Jan. 6 Rioter Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Assaulting Capitol Police, Trump Campaign Charters Private Jet Formerly Owned by Jeffrey Epstein, Greek Wildfires Rage Near Athens After Record High Summer Temperatures, Kampala Landfill Landslide Buries at Least 22 People After Torrential Rains, 110 Refugees Rescued Off Italian Coast Amid Stalled Plans to Transfer Migrants to Albania, Randy Kehler, Peace Activist Who Inspired Release of Pentagon Papers, Dies at 80

Fadi Deeb represents Palestine as a shot putter in the 2024 Paralympics and is the only member of Palestine's Olympic delegation from Gaza. He describes being shot by an Israeli sniper in 2001, which caused his disability; losing many family members in the current Israeli assault on Gaza; and why he feels a great responsibility in representing Palestinians on the world stage. I want to raise my country flag here in Paris and to show the people we are still here, we're still alive - we have hopes, we have dreams, we have goals," he says. The Paralympic Games begin in Paris on August 28.

With the 2024 Summer Olympics just concluded in Paris, we look at the highlights and lowlights of the past few weeks, both on and off the field. Journalist Shireen Ahmed discusses the victories for women in sport, including Dutch runner Sifan Hassan's gold medal in the women's marathon, which she accepted at the closing ceremony wearing a hijab while France's ban on its women athletes competing in hijabs was in effect. It was a very beautiful and quiet message to women all around the world, and particularly those in France," says Ahmed, senior contributor to CBC Sports and a lecturer in the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Nation's Dave Zirin notes that while the Olympic Games had many powerful moments, they happened against a backdrop of mass social cleansing in Paris, with thousands of migrants and unhoused people unceremoniously loaded on buses" and dumped outside the city. We have to start organizing now to make sure that the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are not a carnival of injustice," he warns.

As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tries to downplay his connection to the far-right policy agenda known as Project 2025, ProPublica and Documented have just published dozens of training videos by the group that show how the conservative movement is gearing up for the next Republican administration. It's an effort led by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and other groups to remake the federal government, including by replacing civil servants with thousands of partisan political appointees who would help carry out the extreme policies envisioned by Project 2025. Many of the people who crafted the policy blueprint are former top Trump officials. The training videos include discussions about undoing climate policy, combatting diversity efforts, denying freedom of information requests and more.The first time that Trump ... got elected, his operation was very unprepared. They did not have a bench of people ready. There was chaos, there was confusion, and that set back that administration for perhaps months, maybe even a year or two," says ProPublica reporter Andy Kroll. If he is elected again, that will not be the case."

The official death toll in Gaza now stands at just under 40,000, though the true number of casualties is likely far higher with many thousands of the dead unaccounted for. In one of the deadliest attacks of the entire war, Israel on Saturday bombed the al-Tabin school in Gaza City where thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter. Officials in Gaza say over 100 Palestinians were killed in the attack, many of them while they were praying at a mosque inside the school. Many of the dead were dismembered or destroyed beyond recognition, with medics reportedly collecting body parts in plastic bags. CNN has confirmed a U.S.-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb was used in the strike, which resulted in over 100 pieces of people," says Palestinian journalist Shrouq Aila in Gaza. I'm saying 'pieces' because nobody was able to recognize the full body of their beloved ones."

Israel Used U.S. Munitions in Attack on Gaza School Killing More Than 100 Palestinians, U.S. Deploys Guided-Missile Submarine & Strike Group to Middle East, Now Is the Time to Get a Ceasefire Deal": Kamala Responds to Pro-Palestinian Protesters, Trump Falsely Claims Kamala Harris Is Using AI to Fabricate Photos of Large Crowds at Rallies, Ukraine Expands Surprise Incursion into Russia, Bangladesh's Chief Justice & Central Bank Governor Resign, U.S. Lifts Ban on Sending Offensive Arms to Saudi Arabia, Sudan Peace Talks to Go Ahead in Geneva Despite Questions over Sudan's Participation, Journalism Can Thrive, Even in the Line of Fire": Rappler Wins Battle Against Duterte Closure Order, Wall Street Journal: U.S. Offering Amnesty" to Maduro If He Concedes Venezuelan Election, Peru Passes Bill Barring Prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity Committed During 1980-2000 Conflict, Cancer Doctors, Lawyer Who Challenged Airlines Among the 62 Victims of Brazil Plane Crash, Appeals Court Extends GOP-Led Block on Biden's SAVE Student Loan Repayment Plan

Press freedom groups are raising alarm after New York police arrested and charged videographer Samuel Seligson for allegedly filming pro-Palestinian activists hurling red paint at the homes of top officials of the Brooklyn Museum, part of a campaign by activists demanding the institution divest from Israel. Seligson faces eight counts of criminal mischief with a hate crime enhancement, which is a felony. Police also raided his home twice. Seligson is a well-known local journalist whose work has appeared on major news outlets, and his attorney Leena Widdi says the charges are an attack on constitutionally protected press freedoms. It is an extremely concerning assault on the First Amendment. The reason why the freedom of press is so strongly protected is because there's some underlying belief that in order for the public to meaningfully participate in a democracy, they must be actually informed," Widdi tells Democracy Now!

We speak with the co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement, who briefly met with Vice President Kamala Harris this week as the Democratic presidential candidate is under pressure to define her platform on Palestine. Layla Elabed spoke with Harris before her rally in Michigan to press her on a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel. I was very emotional in that brief exchange. I did feel like her sympathy and empathy towards me was very genuine, but Palestinian children cannot eat words," says Elabed. We need action."

We go to Dhaka for an update as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is sworn in to lead Bangladesh's caretaker government just days after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned and fled the country amid a wave of student-led protests over inequality and corruption. Yunus is known as the banker to the poor" and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work developing microloans that helped lift millions out of poverty. Yunus thanked Bangladeshi youth for giving the country a rebirth" and vowed to work for the public good.This is uncharted territory," says Shahidul Alam, an acclaimed Bangladeshi photojournalist, author and social activist, who has spent decades documenting human rights abuses and political and social movements in the country. Alam was jailed in 2018 for his criticism of the government and spent 107 behind bars, during which time he says he was tortured by the authorities. This repression has taken such a toll on so many people for so long, the nation is just hugely relieved."We also speak with Nusrat Chowdhury, an associate professor of anthropology at Amherst College and author of Paradoxes of the Popular: Crowd Politics in Bangladesh. She says it's very significant that student leaders are being brought into the new government and says Yunus is a rare public figure in Bangladesh who exists beyond party politics" and has the chance to unify the country.

Nations Call for Renewed Ceasefire Talks as Israel's Genocidal War Kills and Displaces More Gazans, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz Address UAW in MI; Trump Goes on Lie-Filled Rant in Florida, Kamala Harris to Debate Donald Trump on Sept. 10, A Shameful Abrogation of Responsibility": Groups Slam FEC Refusal to Rein In Political Deepfakes, Microsoft and Palantir Partner to Sell Cloud and AI Services to Pentagon, Gov. Greg Abbott Orders Texas Hospitals to Gather Patients' Immigration Status, Climate Activist Arrested as He Was Performing Bach Piece in NYC Public Plaza, Muhammad Yunus Sworn In to Lead Bangladesh's Interim Gov't, Tunisia's Pres. Kais Saied Fires PM as Main Rivals Are Sentenced to Prison Ahead of Oct. Election, Western Officials Boycott Nagasaki Commemoration Ceremony Over Exclusion of Israel, Thailand's Disbanded Opposition Party Reforms as People's Party Days After Dissolution, Catalonia to Be Led by Socialists, Ending Separatist Rule as Puigdemont Manages to Flee Spain, Pres. Maduro Blocks X for 10 Days Amid Entrenched Dispute over July Election, New Records Show Warning Calls from Sonya Massey's Mom Ahead of Police Killing, Michael Brown's Mother Still Fighting for Justice 10 Years After Her Son's Killing by Ferguson Officer

Senior United Nations officials are calling on the international community for help in getting humanitarian aid into Sudan after a famine was declared in at least one part of the Darfur region following 15 months of war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Officials say perhaps 26 million people are at risk from acute hunger, but Sudanese activist Marine Alneel warns that the true scope of the crisis could be much larger. This is a continuous pattern in Sudan that catastrophes are always underreported, they're underdocumented," says Alneel, who adds that the world can't wait for a settlement between the warring parties before acting. What matters now is for people to eat, for people to live safely, and that is not going to happen through ... the same ones who are killing us and causing us to starve."

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become a network of torture camps," where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled Welcome to Hell," collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel's Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B'Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned," reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians," says Michaeli.

Thousands filled the streets across the United Kingdom this week in massive rallies against racism and Islamophobia, a show of unity to counter a recent surge in far-right violence. British police have arrested hundreds of right-wing rioters for carrying out a string of attacks in England and Northern Ireland targeting Muslims and migrants. While the wave of violence was partly spurred by misinformation about the identity of a suspect in a deadly stabbing spree, academic Faiza Shaheen says mainstream public figures and the media establishment are also to blame for drip-feeding poison into the ears of the public" about immigrants over many years.

WHO Sending 1.2 Million Polio Vaccines to Gaza as Israel Continues Its Genocidal War, Harris & Walz Rally in Midwest in Dueling Campaign Events with Ohio Sen. Vance, We Won't Vote for Genocide": Pro-Palestinian Protesters Disrupt Kamala Harris's Detroit Speech, Utah Orders Removal of 13 Books from Public Schools and Libraries in First Statewide Book Ban, Muhammad Yunus Returns to Bangladesh to Lead Interim Gov't, Spanish Police Launch Manhunt for Catalan Separatist Leader Puigdemont as He Returns to Barcelona, Anti-Fascist Demonstrators Take to U.K. Streets to Counter Far-Right Violence, Moscow Accuses Kyiv of Major Provocation" After Ukrainian Incursion in Kursk, Jailed Russian Pianist and War Critic Pavel Kushnir Dies; Oleg Orlov Speaks from Berlin After Release, Arizona Republican Pleads Guilty in Trump Fake Electors Case, NY County Votes to Ban Face Masks as COVID Surges in Dozens of Countries, Scientists Urge Immediate Global Action to Combat Coral Reef Destruction, Hualapai Nation Sues over Lithium Project; U.K. Police Arrest Activists over Planned Climate Action

We remember our dear colleague Simin Minou Farkhondeh, who died August 5 after a battle with cancer. She was 61 years old. Farkhondeh was a lifelong educator, filmmaker and activist who served as Democracy Now!'s education director for 13 years, helping to bring lessons on media literacy and independent journalism to thousands of students. When the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person lessons impossible, Farkhondeh used virtual online classes to expand the reach of the education program to students in countries around the world. Before joining Democracy Now!, she was part of a group from Deep Dish and Paper Tiger that produced a series in the early 1990s, before the Gulf War started, called The Gulf Crisis TV Project that challenged the rampant militarism that seemed to be leading to war. Her work has been featured at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and elsewhere. She is survived by her partner of 20 years, Eric Hiltner, and her daughter AnaLouisa.

Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as successor to former senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warmly received visit to the United States. Sinwar helped to found the precursor to Hamas's current militant wing and is believed to have orchestrated the organization's October 7 attack on Israel. As the region braces for a retaliatory attack on Israel from Iran, we speak to Jeremy Scahill, whose latest piece for Drop Site News details Hamas's account of the assassination, and look at how Haniyeh's death and Sinwar's ascension may affect Hamas's next moves and the course of the nearly yearlong conflict in Gaza.

We want a meeting with Vice President Harris so we can talk to her to get a commitment for an arms embargo and a ceasefire." That's the demand of uncommitted" delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, who have pledged to withhold support for the Democratic presidential nominee over the Biden administration's backing of Israel's ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip. We're joined by Asma Mohammed, a DNC-bound uncommitted delegate with Uncommitted Minnesota. She shares how pro-Palestine activism has shaped the 2024 presidential race, including Kamala Harris's decision to tap Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate over Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro, who recently likened pro-Palestine protesters to the KKK. Walz has also been pretty clear in his support for Israel" but, unlike Shapiro and other politicians, has additionally demonstrated a willingness to learn and to move," says Mohammed, a Minnesota resident. Overall, she says, the choice of Walz has renewed hope for many in the uncommitted movement as a reminder that Kamala Harris is different" than President Biden and may be more receptive to restraining Israel if elected.

We look at the record and response to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's selection as Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's new running mate. Walz is a former public school teacher and high school football coach who served 24 years in the National Guard and was elected governor in Minnesota in 2019 after six terms in Congress. After starting out as a more centrist politician, Walz began a surprising" shift toward more progressive policies, particularly in the post-Trump years, says Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic. His governing record includes codifying abortion rights in Minnesota, investments in education and child care, an A" rating from the NRA that eventually fell to an F," and passing additional police funding after the 2020 George Floyd protests. Walz's progressivism has major limitations," Marcetic explains, and it remains to be seen if he and Harris can turn their feel-good rhetoric into real solutions." We also examine the choice of Walz over another reported vice-presidential front-runner, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, as well as what his ultimate selection says about a changing Democratic Party.

Weird as Hell": Tim Walz Blasts Trump in His First Speech as Harris's Running Mate, Hamas Names Yahya Sinwar to Be Group's New Political Leader, Report: Israeli Military in Gaza Relying on Help from Amazon, Google & Microsoft, U.N. Experts Decry Torture in Israeli Prisons; B'Tselem Accuses Israel of Running Torture Camps", Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to Head Bangladesh's Interim Government, Thai Court Orders Disbandment of Country's Largest Opposition Political Party, U.N. Urges Global Community to Help Sudan After Famine Declared, Rep. Cori Bush Loses Primary After AIPAC Spent Over $9 Million to Defeat Her, Migrants Launch Hunger Strike at Two Private ICE Detention Centers in California, Four Hotel Workers Charged in Murder of D'Vontaye Mitchell in Milwaukee, NYPD Charge Journalist with Hate Crimes for Filming Pro-Palestinian Direct Action, Police Chief in Marion, Kansas, to Face Charges over Raid on Newspaper & Publisher, Climate Activists Spray-Paint Lionel Messi's Mansion in Spain

Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a favorite of many progressives in the Democratic Party, to be her running mate in the 2024 presidential race. They are set to hold their first joint campaign rally this evening. We get analysis from John Nichols, The Nation's national affairs correspondent.

We look at the historic $2 billion payout by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to farmers who experienced systemic discrimination when applying to the USDA's farm loan programs. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has documented how USDA administrators routinely denied loans to Black farmers and other farmers of color for many decades, contributing to a massive decline in the amount of Black-owned farms in the United States. This is a very, very historic payout for Black farmers," says John Boyd, a fourth-generation Black farmer and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, who notes the application to receive the payout was 40 pages long. He says the group is also still fighting for a related $5 billion debt relief program. I want people to know this is a big win, and don't never, ever give up. The arc of justice bends slow; it bends slower for Black people, but I never gave up."

As voters in several states cast their ballots in primary elections Tuesday, we look at one of the most high-profile races between Missouri Congressmember Cori Bush and St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell, who is challenging her for the Democratic nomination. Bush, a member of the progressive Squad," is one of the most outspoken advocates for Palestine in Congress, and the powerful pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC has poured over $8 million into the race in an effort to defeat her. It's all meant to push out someone who stands up for Palestinian rights," says Michael Berg, a Bush supporter, whose recent essay in The Nation is titled I'm a St. Louis Jew. Here's Why I'm Backing Cori Bush."

We get an update from Dhaka, where Bangladesh's president dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, a day after the long-ruling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country amid a wave of student protests. The military says an interim government will be formed to lead the country to new elections, but its makeup remains unclear, with many students demanding the installation of Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus as interim prime minister. More than 400 people have been killed in a violent crackdown since protests began over anger at a quota system for government jobs. We are joined by Tanjeem Arnob, a student at Brac University in Dhaka who has taken part in recent protests, and Irene Khan, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression who served as secretary general of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009.

In the biggest antitrust case in decades, a federal judge ruled Monday that Google illegally maintains a monopoly over the online search industry, using its market dominance to shut out competitors and limit user choice. Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for D.C. wrote in his ruling. What remedies will be demanded by the government is the next stage of the lawsuit, which is also likely to be appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, says antitrust expert Matt Stoller. But the ruling is certain to have far-reaching effects in Silicon Valley as Big Tech firms face increasing scrutiny over their business practices. The question has been: Who runs this country?" says Stoller. Is it a small group of people that make choices about what we can see online, or is it the public, through competition?" Stoller is research director at the American Economic Liberties Project and author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy.

Middle East Braces for Possible Wider War as Tensions Boil After Israeli Attacks on Lebanon, Iran, Israel Intensifies Attacks on Occupied West Bank, Killing at Least 8 Palestinians, Israel's Far-Right Finance Minister Says Starving Gaza Is Moral" and Justified" as Child Hunger Soars, Bangladeshi Parliament Dissolved; Student Leaders Call for Muhammad Yunus to Lead Interim Gov't, Google Is a Monopolist": Federal Judge Rules Against Tech Giant in Landmark Antitrust Case, Kamala Harris Clinches Nomination in DNC Virtual Roll Call Vote, Announces Gov. Tim Walz as Running Mate, Ex-Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Flips, Will Cooperate in 2020 Fake Electors" Case, Global Markets Rebound After Taking a Plunge over U.S. Recession Fears, WHO: Extreme Heat Causes 175,000+ Deaths in Europe Every Year, Gunmen and Farmers Attack Indigenous People in Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul, U.S. Military Withdraws from Its Last Base in Niger, Nigeria Anti-Hunger Protests Continue Amid Violent Crackdown, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia and Others Warn Citizens in U.K. to Be Vigilant Amid Far-Right Riots, Gymnasts Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles Make History in First-Ever All-Black Podium, Peace Activists Shine Light on Gaza as Japan Marks 79th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

We get an update on the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, three of the men alleged to have planned the 9/11 attacks on the United States. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin surprised observers Friday by revoking a plea deal that would have commuted the three men's sentences to life. Our first guest, Shayana Kadidal, the managing attorney of the Guantanamo project at the Center for Constitutional Rights, questions the legality of Austin's override of the prosecutor-supported deal. The revocation means the three men could once again face the death penalty for their roles. We also speak to Terry Rockefeller, a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Rockefeller, who supports the plea deal, lost her sister Laura in the attacks on the World Trade Center. She expresses frustration over continued delays to the prosecution. I'm so sad for our country that we haven't been able to grapple with the mistakes that were made in handling this case," she says. Had family members actually gotten all the opportunities that the plea agreement promised us, many, many of them would have been satisfied."

According to new reporting by The Washington Post, the Egyptian government attempted to funnel $10 million in cash to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, leading to a previously undisclosed Department of Justice investigation into the transaction. The investigation went nowhere, with Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr ordering it closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence." Meanwhile, Trump approved millions of dollars of military aid to the government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in power since 2013. Carol Leonnig, the reporter who broke the story at The Washington Post, explains that the money, if it did reach the at-the-time cash-starved" Trump campaign, will have amounted to bribery. However, notes Leonnig, the window for prosecuting anyone involved in the transaction has largely passed following the aborted investigation.

In Venezuela, tensions are rising over the contested results of last Sunday's presidential election. In the latest developments, opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez published a count of thousands of vote tally sheets alleging that he received more votes than sitting President Nicolas Maduro, who is claiming to have secured a third term fairly. Protesters from both sides have taken to the streets; more than a dozen have been killed by Venezuelan armed forces. Maduro has called for a new revolution" if the U.S. and other foreign actors continue to back his opposition and dispute the integrity of the election. We hear opinions from both camps on the show today. There's no doubt that Maduro lost these elections," says Venezuelan sociologist Edgardo Lander, who contends that sufficient evidence of Maduro's win that's expected and established by the law is completely absent," while legal scholar Nina Farnia, who served as electoral observer in this year's election, says she witnessed a free and fair election process" and supports the Electoral Council's decision.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country after weeks of student-led protests against government nepotism, corruption and repression. The demonstrations have been met with lethal police force, resulting in over 300 deaths. Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's first president, had led the country since 2009. Though the protests were initially focused on nepotism in the quota system for government jobs, the violent crackdown expanded protesters' demands, including calling for Hasina's ouster. It was amazing" to see this demand fulfilled in just two days," says our guest Taqbir Huda, a researcher at Amnesty International. Bangladesh's military has agreed to hand power to an interim government, though Huda warns that the country's previous history of military rule could pose a danger to maintaining democracy.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Resigns, Flees Country After Bloody Weekend, Weeks of Protests, U.S. Sends More Military to Middle East Amid Threats of Retaliation After Israel's Assassinations, Israeli Attacks on Shelters for Displaced Gazans Kill Dozens, Most of Them Children, Far-Right Protests Roil U.K. in Aftermath of Deadly Stabbing Attack That Killed 3 Girls, Kamala Harris Gets Enough Votes to Clinch DNC Nom as Trump Pulls Out of Debate, WaPo: Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi May Have Bribed Trump for $10 Million in 2017, Sudan's Paramilitary RSF Continues Deadly Attack on El Fasher as U.N. Warns Famine Could Spread, Al-Shabab Claims Mogadishu Beach Attack That Killed 37, Dispute over Venezuela's Election Results Deepens as Opposition Claims It Won by 2X the Vote Count, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin Revokes Plea Deal for 9/11 Guantanamo Prisoners, U.S. Gov't to Start Paying Out $2 Billion to BIPOC Farmers Who Suffered Institutional Discrimination, Southern States Brace for Hurricane Debby as It Makes Landfall in Florida

We speak with The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel about the prisoner swap between Russia, the United States and several other countries on Thursday that saw the release of 24 people, with 16 prisoners in Russia traded for eight Russian nationals held in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere. It was the biggest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West since the Cold War era. Among those released are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. marine Paul Whelan and Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin who was in German custody after the 2019 killing of a Chechen dissident in Berlin, was also released and sent back to Moscow. Vanden Heuvel says it was an extraordinary swap" that could pave the way for more diplomacy to wind down the war in Ukraine. Negotiations and diplomacy are not about capitulation. They're about improving the conditions of a world which is too militarized and at war."