Democracy Now!

Israel Kills at Least 50 Palestinians over the Past Day in Gaza, Over 100 Diplomats Walk Out on Netanyahu During U.N. Speech, U.S. Revokes Visa for Colombian President Petro After He Joined Palestine Protest at U.N., NBC News: U.S. Military Officials Drawing Up Plans to Attack Venezuela, Oregon Sues Trump Admin over Plans to Deploy Troops to Portland, Armed Federal Agents Patrol Downtown Chicago as Trump Admin Escalates Immigration Crackdown, ICE Detains Des Moines School Superintendent Ian Roberts, NYC Mayor Eric Adams Announces He's Dropping Out of Mayoral Race, Iraq War Veteran Attacks Mormon Church in Michigan, Killing at Least 4 People, Iraq War Veteran Opens Fire at Bar in North Carolina, Killing 3 People, Trump to Attend Hegseth's Unprecedented Meeting with Top Generals and Admirals, Trump to Meet with Congressional Leaders to Avert Government Shutdown, SCOTUS Allows Trump Admin to Withhold $4 Billion in Foreign Aid, Russia Launches Onslaught of Drones and Cruise Missiles at Ukraine, Indigenous Rights Organization Accuses Ecuadorian Armed Forces of Killing Community Member, Missouri Governor Signs into Law Trump-Backed Congressional Map, NFL Announces Bad Bunny to Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show, Assata Shakur Dies at 78 in Havana

As the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign on Venezuela, we speak with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. In recent weeks, the U.S. has bombed multiple alleged Venezuelan drug boats" at sea, killing at least 17 people without providing any clear evidence that they were involved in drug trafficking or linked to the government in Caracas. The U.S. has also increased its military footprint in the Caribbean and placed a $50 million bounty on President Nicolas Maduro for information leading to his arrest for narcotrafficking.The U.S. military presence in the Caribbean is a threat to Venezuela and to the countries of the region," says Fernandez de Cossio. There's no real reason for that to be there, and the justification that they're fighting drugs or organized crime is believed by no one. ... They're assassinating people for no reason."

President Donald Trump is escalating his attack on progressive groups following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and a deadly shooting that targeted an immigration jail in Dallas. White House officials have repeatedly blamed Democrats and left-wing groups for contributing to political violence, but investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein says the motivations of people who commit such acts are often more complicated.Klippenstein has reported on the backgrounds of Kirk's accused killer and the gunman who targeted the Dallas ICE facility, and says friends described both young men as somewhat isolated and largely uninterested in partisan politics. That was perhaps the most normal thing about these two shooters, that they were disengaged with politics," he says.

Israel's military has issued new evacuation orders for neighborhoods of Gaza City as Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip's largest urban area. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have already fled Gaza City for overcrowded areas further south, as Israeli forces systematically flatten much of the city. Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment continues to kill dozens of Palestinians every day amid widespread famine.People feel now it's a permanent state of displacement," says leading Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud, who has just left Gaza City. People have been herded from one area to another."Mahmoud also discusses the toll of reporting on the genocide despite Israel's repeated targeted assassinations of journalists in Gaza, including many with Al Jazeera. We believe the world deserves to learn the truth," he says of his choice to keep working despite the risks.

Ex-FBI Director James Comey Indicted as Trump Escalates Campaign of Retribution on Opponents, Israeli Attacks Kill Dozens in Gaza City as Some Palestinians Resist Forced Evacuation, Israel Bombs Yemen's Capital, Killing 8 and Wounding 142, No Justice If Palestine Is Not Freed": Mahmoud Abbas Addresses U.N. General Assembly, Benjamin Netanyahu's Jet Is Diverted to Evade Potential Arrest in Europe on ICC Warrant, Microsoft Cuts Off Some Services Used by Israeli Military Unit to Spy on Palestinians, Russia's Foreign Minister Says NATO and EU Have Declared a Real War" on Russia, Trump Administration Readies $20 Billion Bailout of Argentina and Trump Ally Javier Milei, Video Shows ICE Agent Assaulting Ecuadorian Mother Inside 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, Amazon Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Trump Signs Executive Order Allowing TikTok to Keep Operating in the U.S.

Spain and Italy are sending naval vessels to protect the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla after activists said drones repeatedly attacked their boats near Greece on Wednesday. Activists said the most recent strikes marked the seventh attack on the solidarity movement's vessels. The Global Sumud Flotilla is the largest humanitarian convoy in history to traverse the Mediterranean Sea, says David Adler, co-general coordinator of the Progressive International, who joins Democracy Now! from the flotilla. We are not here to drop the aid and go home and pat ourselves on the back. We are here to establish a humanitarian corridor for states themselves to assume their responsibilities and to deliver the aid at the scale that Gaza requires."

The Committee to Protect Journalists says recent Israeli strikes on newspaper offices in Yemen killed 31 journalists and media support workers, making it the deadliest attack on journalists anywhere in the world in 16 years. CPJ said the attack was the second-deadliest attack on the press ever recorded by the organization. These are civilians," says Niku Jafarnia, Middle East and North Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch. We have documented, like many other organizations, war crime after war crime after war crime, as well as acts of genocide and extermination, in the context of Gaza."

More than a dozen West African men who were deported to Ghana by the United States have since been returned to their home countries by the Ghanaian government, despite legitimate fears of torture or persecution at home. Ghana is one of a growing list of countries that have signed third country agreements" with the United States to accept U.S. deportees. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, notes that in many cases judges have ordered the Trump administration not to deport immigrants to countries where they may face persecution. It's a complete ruse to get around the order from the immigration judge," he says. This fits a pattern of the Trump administration trying to evade court orders."

Hundreds of people who were once detained at the troubled immigration jail in the Florida Everglades, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz," have disappeared. Democracy Now! speaks with Shirsho Dasgupta, a Miami Herald reporter who found that, as of late August, about two-thirds of the 1,800 immigrants who were held there in July have gone missing from ICE's online database, with their families and attorneys unable to locate them. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled the jail could continue to operate despite reports of abuse.What we're seeing at Alligator Alcatraz is basically a new model of immigration detention, where a state-run facility is operating as an extrajudicial black site, completely outside of the previous models of immigration detention in this country. And it's making what was already a terrible system somehow even worse," says Thomas Kennedy, policy analyst at the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Israeli Military Strikes Have Killed at Least 30 Palestinians Since Dawn, Spain and Italy Send Naval Vessels to Protect Gaza-Bound Global Sumud Flotilla, Major News Outlets Call on Israel to Allow International Journalists into Gaza, Macron Claims Trump Assured Him West Bank Annexation Would Be a Red Line, Drone Attack in Israel Injures at Least 22 as Israelis Protest Netanyahu Before Departure to U.S., Trump Blames Radical Left Democrats" After Video Game Enthusiast Fires on Dallas ICE Facility, 39-Year-Old Prisoner Dies in California ICE Jail Days After Days of Medical Neglect, Journalist Mario Guevara Faces Deportation After Arrest While Documenting Anti-Trump Protest, Nearly 2 Million Evacuate as Typhoon Ragasa Batters Southern China, China's Leader Makes Landmark Pledge to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Ukraine's Zelensky Tells General Assembly Russia Will Expand Aggression Unless It's Stopped, Trump's Newly Appointed U.S. Attorney to Bring Charges Against Former FBI Director James Comey, Oklahoma High Schools Ordered to Install Chapters of Charlie Kirk's Youth Organization, U.S. Park Police Remove Statue of Trump Holding Hands with Jeffrey Epstein from National Mall, GOP Nominee in NYC Mayoral Race Says He Was Offered Money to Drop Out, French Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy Sentenced to 5 Years for Campaign Finance Conspiracy, New Mexico Lawmaker's Daughter Calls Him Total Loser" over Propaganda Trip" to Israel

President Trump says he is designating the decentralized anti-fascist movement known as antifa" as a terrorist organization, as conservatives blame left-wing groups and ideas for creating the conditions that led to conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. The Trump administration is using this as a catch-all to go against the broader left and anyone who speaks out against fascism right now, while at the same time giving continued unchecked authority to the FBI to ignore the rise of right-wing violence," says writer Will Potter. The intention is to capitalize on this to crack down on their opponents and to consolidate authoritarian power."Potter is the author of Little Red Barns, an investigation into the state repression of those who attempt to expose the harms of the factory farming industry, with mechanisms to criminalize journalism and label civil disobedience as terrorism through its crackdown on citizen journalists, environmentalists and animal welfare activists, says Potter.

President Trump is promoting unproven claims that both vaccines and the common painkiller acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol or by the brand name Tylenol, cause autism. Trump's recent anti-vaccine and anti-autism stances have been influenced by his Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who unsuccessfully ran for president himself before throwing his support behind Trump's reelection campaign. The way they talk about autism, in this such sort of baby terms, in this very simplistic idea that we're going to find the cause of autism or the cure for autism, it rings hollow ... because we know it's a complex interplay between oncogenes and the environment," says Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and the parent of a child with autism, who notes that increased autism rates are also a consequence of improved diagnostic practices. He discusses the current state of autism research and the Trump administration's larger attacks on mainstream science.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly at its headquarters in New York City, criticizing the international governing body, immigration and the science of climate change, while boasting about his presidency and the military power of the United States. In what became the longest U.N. speech ever made by a U.S. president, Trump bragged about ending seven unendable wars" and said countries that do not crack down on immigration are going to hell." Trump was speaking to a far-right international around the world," says Washington Post journalist Ishaan Tharoor, who has covered all of Trump's U.N. speeches since his first term in office.This year's UNGA was also marked by the growing recognition of Palestinian statehood by member nations. Western countries including France and the U.K. broke with decades of precedent in doing so, making the U.S. the only member of the U.N. Security Council not to recognize a Palestinian state. Tharoor comments on the significance and limitations of these announcements, and on Trump's relationship with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who opened the UNGA just before Trump spoke.

Trump Blasts the United Nations, Saying Your Countries Are Going to Hell", Israel Intensifies Bombardment of Gaza City, Killing More Than 50 People Today, Global Sumud Flotilla Under Attack from Drones and Explosions, U.N. Commission: Israel Establishing Permanent Control in Gaza and Jewish Majority in West Bank, Trump Says Ukraine Could Win Back Territory Captured by Russia, Syrian Interim President al-Sharaa Interviewed by Former CIA Director David Petraeus, EU and WHO Dispute Trump's Claims Linking Acetaminophen During Pregnancy With Autism, Trump Suggests He Will Sue ABC After Jimmy Kimmel Returns to the Airwaves, At Least 11 People Killed After a Drone Attack Strikes a Birthday Party in Haiti, Immigrants Deported to Ghana Were Sent to Home Countries Despite Safety Concerns, Trump Admin Sanctions Wife of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Who Led Probe of Bolsonaro, Ryan Routh Found Guilty of Attempting to Assassinate President Trump, House Democrats Launch Probes Against Border Czar Tom Homan, Department of Agriculture Places Hunger Researchers on Leave, Democrat Adelita Grijalva Wins Special Election in Arizona's 7th Congressional District

Illinois Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was thrown to the ground by ICE agents on Friday during a protest outside the Broadview Processing Center in Chicago, where immigrant detainees are held. At least 10 people were arrested as federal agents fired pepper balls and tear gas into the crowd, which was there to oppose the Trump administration's immigration crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz."If they are willing to do that to a congressional candidate on camera in front of press, imagine what they are willing to do to their detainees behind boarded-up windows," says Abughazaleh.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act into law this week, banning all law enforcement - including federal immigration agents - from covering their faces while conducting raids in the state.What this law is trying to do is to take us back from the era of routine masking based on completely foundationless officer claims of fear," says Eva Bitran, the director of immigrants' rights at the ACLU of Southern California.Trump administration officials have already vowed to ignore the California law, and this is why we need to have a federal solution that will apply nationwide," says New York Congressmember Nydia Velazquez, who has introduced the No Masks for ICE Act in Congress. This administration is out of control, and it's affecting everyone."

Egypt's best-known political prisoner, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, was granted a presidential pardon on Monday and has reunited with his family after spending most of the last 12 years in prison. The writer and political dissident was a leading voice in the 2011 Arab Spring protests that toppled the Mubarak dictatorship, and he has been repeatedly targeted by the current authoritarian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Most recently, he was sentenced to five years in prison for a Facebook post. That sentence ended last September, but authorities refused to release him, saying his two years of pretrial detention did not count. Monday's pardon comes after years of international pressure to Free Alaa," including in the United Kingdom, where he also holds citizenship. Both Alaa and his mother, Laila Soueif, participated in lengthy hunger strikes.Ahdaf Soueif, Abd El-Fattah's aunt, says his release has brought the family tremendous relief," as well as hope that this is the beginning of the release of a lot of other political prisoners" in Egypt.We also speak with journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who has covered the case for many years. Alaa is free, but he doesn't have justice," he says. There's still so many thousands of political prisoners in Egypt, including dozens who are behind bars simply for speaking out in solidarity with Palestine and against Israel's genocide in Gaza."

Israeli Attacks on Gaza Kill Dozens of Palestinians, Including Children, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco Follow France in Recognizing Palestinian State, Italian Unions Lead General Strike Demanding End to Israel's Assault on Gaza, Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire FTC Commissioner, ABC to Resume Broadcasts of Jimmy Kimmel Live!" But Sinclair Stations Will Continue Censorship, Trump Links Tylenol to Autism Without Evidence and Proposes Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Miami Herald: Two-Thirds of Immigrants Held at Alligator Alcatraz" in July Have Disappeared, NYT: Trump Admin Attempting to Limit Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, Prominent Egyptian Blogger and Activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah Released from Prison, Colombian Government Terminates Arms Purchases from the United States, White House Rebuffs Offer by Maduro for Direct Talks with Trump, ICC Charges Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte with 3 Counts of Crimes Against Humanity

The U.K., Australia, Canada and Portugal took a historic step Sunday in formally recognizing the state of Palestine, but Palestinian physician and politician Mustafa Barghouti says it's not enough." From Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Barghouti says sanctions against Israel are needed to bring an end to its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and other abuses across Palestinian territory. Everything you see in terms of recognition today by France, Britain, Australia, Canada and others is happening only because of the steadfastness and resilience and resistance of the Palestinian people, because of the heroism of ordinary Palestinian citizens who refused to leave their country and who risked everything to stay in Palestine," he adds.

Following the U.K., Australia, Canada and Portugal's formal recognition of Palestine as a sovereign and independent state, Democracy Now! speaks with Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen in Tel Aviv. This is a belated but blessed step forward," says Zeigen. We need to level the field in order for us, Israelis and Palestinians, to be able to shape the only viable future for us, which is a shared future." Zeigen's mother, Vivian Silver, a 74-year-old Canadian Israeli peace activist, was killed on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be'eri.

As we broadcast today, Egyptian authorities announced a presidential pardon for Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a free speech and democracy activist imprisoned for six years on dubious charges of spreading false news." The blogger was a leading voice in the 2011 Arab Spring protests that toppled the Mubarak dictatorship, and was repeatedly targeted by the current authoritarian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Monday's pardon comes after years of international pressure to Free Alaa," including in the United Kingdom, where he also holds citizenship.We might feel lonely and isolated and cold and wet and hungry when we're on the streets demonstrating," says Jeremy Corbyn, a member of British Parliament and former leader of the U.K. Labour Party who has supported freedom for El-Fattah, who has joint Egyptian-British citizenship, and met with his family members. It makes a difference, and his freedom is a product of all that solidarity all around the world."

The United Kingdom, Australia, Portugal and Canada have formally recognized Palestinian statehood, joining about 150 countries, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly this week, as France and five other states are also expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state on Monday. This is an opportunity to renew our political solidarity," says Jeremy Corbyn, member of the British Parliament and former leader of the U.K. Labour Party. It also actually further isolates the United States in global opinion, because the United States is the only real big country that still supports Israel." Corbyn joins us from a Palestinian flag-raising event in London.

We look at how the assassination of Charlie Kirk has emerged as a tool for the Trump administration to crack down on dissent and free speech, as tens of thousands gathered Sunday in Arizona for a memorial for the conservative activist, including his wife Erika Kirk. While she called for forgiveness, President Trump and other top speakers, including Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, reiterated calls for revenge on political opponents. It is not just rhetoric," says Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The president really is using every lever at his disposal to silence, suppress and even imprison his political enemies." Trump has also suggested that it should be illegal for journalists to cover his presidency in a negative light.

Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal Formally Declare Recognition of a Palestinian State, Israel Escalates Bombardment of Gaza City, Killing at Least 61 People in a Day, Israeli Airstrike Against Lebanon Kills 5 People, Including 3 Children, CPJ: Israeli Strikes Killed 31 Yemeni Journalists in Deadliest Attack on Press in 16 Years, Tens of Thousands Gather in Arizona for Charlie Kirk Memorial as Trump Says I Hate My Opponent", Trump Says It Is Really Illegal" for Journalists to Give His Administration Negative Coverage, New Pentagon Rule Bars Credentialed Reporters From Reporting on Unauthorized Info, Trump Urges Bondi to Prosecute His Political Rivals as U.S. Attorney Resigns Resigns Under Pressure, Trump Signs Executive Order Imposing $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visas, MSNBC: Trump Border Czar Homan Recorded Accepting $50K in Cash from FBI Agents, Ten People Arrested in Anti-ICE Protests in Chicago, 42-Year-Old Man Dies in ICE Custody in Long Island, ICE Detainees in Louisiana on Hunger Strike to Protest Conditions at Angola Prison, California Passes Bill Banning Law Enforcement from Wearing Masks, Trump Administration Ends U.S. Annual Report on Hunger in America, Sudan: RSF Drone Strike Kills at Least 85 People in Darfur, More Than 200 Protesters Arrested in Anti-Government Demonstrations in the Philippines, Tens of Thousands of Brazilians Protest Against Bill Granting Bolsonaro Amnesty, Trump Reveals Details About Possible TikTok Deal with China

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman sat down with longtime political prisoner and Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier for his first extended television and radio broadcast interview since his release to home confinement in February. Before his commutation by former President Joe Biden, the 81-year-old Peltier spent nearly 50 years behind bars. Peltier has always maintained his innocence for the 1975 killing of two FBI officers. He is expected to serve the remainder of his life sentences under house arrest at the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Nation in Belcourt, North Dakota. In a wide-ranging conversation, we spoke to Peltier about his case, his time in prison, his childhood spent at American Indian boarding school and his later involvement in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and more. We still have to live under that, that fear of losing our identity, losing our culture, our religion," Peltier says about his continued commitment to Indigenous rights. The struggle still goes on for me. I'm not going to give up."

Israeli Forces Advance Deeper into Gaza City, Killing at Least 21 Palestinians Since Dawn, U.S. Vetoes U.N. Security Council Draft Resolution Calling for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Far-Right Minister Smotrich Calls Gaza Strip a Real Estate Bonanza", Delivery Driver Kills Two Israeli Soldiers at Jordan-West Bank Crossing, Afghanistan Rejects Trump's Calls for the U.S. to Retake Bagram Air Base, Trump Threatens to Revoke Broadcast Licenses of Networks over Negative Coverage, Trump Asks SCOTUS for Emergency Order to Remove Lisa Cook from Federal Reserve Board of Governors, At Least 11 Democratic Officials Arrested at Federal Plaza in Anti-ICE Protest in NYC, Report: ICE Placed More Than 10,000 People in Solitary Confinement, Trump-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Administration from Immediately Deporting Guatemalan Children, CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel Votes to Restrict Access to MMRV Vaccine, After Deadly U.S. Strikes on Boats, Venezuela Mobilizes More Than 2,500 Soldiers to La Orchila Island, Hundreds of Thousands of Protesters Take Part in Demonstrations in France

A powerful new documentary produced by Fault Lines on Al Jazeera English tells the story of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the Palestinian pediatrician and director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza whom Israel has detained with virtually no contact to the outside world for almost nine months. He became known to millions of people around the world for his regular video dispatches from inside the hospital describing the toll of Israel's brutal military assault on Gaza and on the hospital itself. In late December 2024, Israel raided Kamal Adwan Hospital and forcibly evicted its staff and patients. Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested by Israeli soldiers and has been held without charge in harsh conditions ever since.We play clips from the documentary, The Disappearance of Dr. Abu Safiya, and speak with director Amel Guettatfi, as well as Dr. Azra Zyada in London, who was in frequent contact with Dr. Abu Safiya before his abduction.

We speak with the secretary general of Amnesty International about the human rights group's new report on the global political economy enabling Israel's genocide, occupation and apartheid" against Palestinians. Agnes Callamard says Israel's 24 months of genocide" since October 2023 would not be possible without international support and the continued supplying of Israel's war machine by major arms makers, technology firms and other companies. The report names the U.S. military contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the Israeli arms companies Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai and the U.S. tech company Palantir Technologies, among others. While Israel faces growing international condemnation over its actions in Gaza, Callamard says other states must push for an immediate ceasefire and impose consequences, including an arms embargo on Israel.You can denounce as much as you want. If you do not take actions, including economic actions, then your words are empty," says Callamard.

Israel Attacks Gaza City by Land, Air and Sea, Killing 79 Palestinians in a Day, European Commission Proposes Curbs on Trade with Israel over Gaza Assault, Families of U.S. Citizens Killed by Israeli Soldiers and Settlers Demand Accountability, A Genocide Against the Palestinian People": Sen. Bernie Sanders Condemns Israel's Actions in Gaza, Russia and Ukraine Trade Drone Attacks; U.S. Announces Investment in Ukraine's Minerals, ABC Indefinitely" Suspends Jimmy Kimmel Live!" over Comments About Charlie Kirk's Killer, Shooter in Rural Pennsylvania Kills 3 Police Officers, Wounds 2 Others, Former CDC Director Testifies on RFK Jr.'s Pressure to Change Vaccine Schedule for Children, Federal Reserve Votes to Lower Interest Rates for the First Time This Year, Former Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Speaks Out After Firing, Federal Judge Orders ICE to Improve Conditions at Manhattan Jail, Immigration Judge in Louisiana Orders the Deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, Trump Designates Antifa as a Terrorist Organization, House Judiciary Committee Rejects Request to Subpoena Banks in Epstein Case

Robert Redford, the legendary Oscar-winning director, actor and activist, died at the age of 89 on Tuesday. Redford was a longtime environmental activist who served for five decades as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was also the creator of the Sundance Film Festival, which he helped grow into one of the largest independent film festivals in the world. Democracy Now! interviewed Redford many times over the years about his career, the importance of independent cinema and his environmental activism.I guess you could call me an activist," Redford said in 2015. The deniers of climate change are probably people who are afraid of change. They don't want to see change."

President Trump signed an order authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday. The order also creates a so-called safe task force, which Trump claims will address violent crime in the city. Law enforcement officers from several federal agencies will also be dispatched to Memphis, including the FBI, DEA, ICE and Homeland Security.This is nothing more than a power play for more authoritarianism from this administration," says Justin J. Pearson, Democratic Tennessee state representative. We are dealing with the consequences of people who are in positions of power who do not care about our lives, who do not care about our communities, who don't care about eliminating poverty. They don't even care about crime," he adds.

The alleged shooter of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was formally charged Tuesday by Utah prosecutors. The top charge is aggravated murder, along with six other counts. The accused, 22-year old Tyler Robinson, also made his first court appearance to hear the charges read. Prosecutors say they will be seeking the death penalty in the case.The case has set off media speculation about the shooter's possible motives, including the meaning behind cryptic meme references engraved on bullets recovered by police. Makena Kelly, senior writer at Wired, says that the messages are not inherently political" and allude to some of the online communities Robinson was involved in.

Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Gaza City as the full-fledged military ground invasion continues despite mounting international condemnation. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee Gaza City, where nearly 1 million Palestinians have been living among rubble and ruins ahead of Israel's ground offensive. Just open your eyes and look at what's unfolding there," says Muhammad Shehada, a writer and analyst from Gaza. It's impossible to see what's happening and conclude that there's anything else but genocide unfolding."

As Israel continues its full-fledged military ground invasion of Gaza City, Democracy Now! speaks with Kathleen Gallagher, a U.S. military veteran and general surgeon currently volunteering in Gaza, who describes the scene on the ground from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Gallagher says she sees up to 400 patients a day, about 40% of whom are under the age of 20. This week she reports seeing six children killed with gunshot wounds to the head. After volunteering in Honduras and Ukraine, This is worse than anything I've ever seen," Gallagher says.

Israel Intensifies Bombing of Gaza City, Killing 37 Palestinians Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Testifies at Corruption Trial, Spain Cancels Major Arms Contract with Israel, Thousands of Protesters in Jerusalem March to Netanyahu's Residence Calling for End to Gaza War, Israeli Military Strikes Yemeni Port of Hodeidah, Four People Arrested for Projecting Trump and Epstein Photos on Windsor Castle Prior to Trump's U.K. Trip, Prosecutors in Utah to Seek the Death Penalty for the Accused Assassin of Charlie Kirk, Trump Threatens ABC Reporter Who Asked About DOJ Criminalizing Free Speech, Trump Files $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times and Penguin Random House, FBI Director Kash Patel Clashes with Senate Democrats at Oversight Hearing, Xp Lee Wins Minnesota House Special Election to Replace Melissa Hortman After Her Assassination, House of Representatives Passes Bills to Charge Minors as Adults in Washington, D.C., Eight Police Officers Fired in the Handling of Domestic Violence-Related Triple Homicide, New York Judge Tosses Out Terrorism Charges Against Luigi Mangione, Georgia Supreme Court Declines to Allow Fulton County DA Fani Willis to Keep Prosecuting Trump, Global Witness: 146 Land and Environmental Defenders Killed or Disappeared Last Year, Authorities Investigating Two Suspicious Hanging Deaths in Mississippi, Ben and Jerry's Co-founder Jerry Greenfield Quits, Claiming Unilever Silenced" His Activism, Oscar-Winning Director and Environmental Activist Robert Redford Dies at Age 89

On Monday, President Trump announced the U.S. bombed a boat in international waters, killing three people. The attack was the second to target what the Trump administration claims are drug smugglers from Venezuela. A previous strike on another boat killed 11 people. In a third incident, the U.S. Navy raided a fishing boat in Venezuelan waters, detaining nine fishermen for eight hours. This escalating U.S. military action follows a secret directive that Trump signed approving the use of military force in Latin America and an ongoing buildup of U.S. military presence in the Caribbean.We have a very clear example of political theater, an attempt at provocation, an ongoing effort at regime change, and the strategy of trying to use the military to interdict drug trafficking, which has failed incredibly in Mexico, Colombia, everywhere else the U.S. has applied it," says Venezuelan historian Miguel Tinker Salas, who adds the Trump administration is misleading the public in indicating that these were drug traffickers with no evidence whatsoever." He says its attempt to manufacture a crisis in Venezuela is reminiscent of the lead-up to the U.S. war on Iraq.

We speak to Bishop William J. Barber II about conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk's killing and the right-wing weaponization of his death. Barber says outrage over political violence should also extend beyond Kirk's assassination, to what he refers to as the political violence of policy, including the hundreds around the world who die of poverty, war and disease every day. You cannot claim that you believe in a God and a Christ of love and justice and mercy and grace and truth, and then you push policies that prey on the very persons, in the very communities, that the Scriptures, that the example of Jesus and the prophet, tells us we should not only pray for, but we should also be lifting up and helping up and protecting."

Congressmember Delia Ramirez, one of the co-sponsors of the Block the Bombs Act, which would withhold offensive weapons that violate international law and humanitarian norms deals from Israel, responds to a U.N. commission's recent conclusion that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. She provides an update on the bill and says, It's indefensible for anyone to, in this moment, try to make an excuse of what's happening and allowing it to happen under our watch."

ICE's Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago is entering its second week of ramped-up immigration enforcement. Community members are mourning the loss of Silverio Villegas Gonzales, a 38-year-old single father and Mexican immigrant who was shot and killed by ICE agents while trying to avoid arrest at a traffic stop. Villegas Gonzales was unarmed and had no criminal record. His family has organized a fundraiser to help cover the costs of his funeral and burial. "ICE stopped a man right after he dropped off his child at school, because he's Brown, because maybe he looked like he worked a minimum-wage job, and then shot him to death," says Congressmember Delia Ramirez, a Democrat from Illinois, who is calling for a full investigation into Villegas Gonzales's death and for ICE to be defunded. The footage, the witnesses we have talked to do not match what the ICE reports show," she says, calling ICE a terror organization" with no guardrails."Meanwhile, ICE agents have abducted" a man who is suing a group of off-duty Chicago police officers, working as security for Home Depot, for abuse. Kevin Herrera, the legal director of Raise the Floor Alliance and an attorney for Willian Gimenez Gonzalez, says Gimenez is being retaliated against for his lawsuit, which accuses the security guards of beating and bringing trespassing charges against immigrant day laborers in order to push them into the criminal legal system. Willian was double-profiled, and now he's suffering consequences within the ICE detention system," says Herrera.

U.N. Inquiry Finds Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza, Israel Launches Major Ground Offensive to Seize Gaza City, Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike on Residential Building Injured 12 Civilians, Secretary of State Rubio Meets with Qatar's Emir in the Wake of Israel's Deadly Strike in Doha, Trump Says U.S. Strikes a Second Venezuelan Boat, Killing 3 People, JD Vance Vows to Dismantle" Institutions on the Political Left in the Wake of Kirk's Killing, Utah Law Allowing Open Carry on Campuses Criticized After Kirk's Assassination, Trump Signs Order Deploying National Guard Troops to Memphis, Trump Lashes Out at New York Governor Hochul for Endorsing Mamdani in NYC Mayoral Race, NYT: UAE Chips Deal Linked to $2B Investment in Trump Family Cryptocurrency Firm, Billionaire Larry Ellison Could Add TikTok to Media Empire as U.S. and China Reach Deal, Senate Confirms White House Adviser Stephen Miran as Fed Governor, Maurene Comey, Who Prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein, Sues over Her Politically Motivated" Firing, On El Salvador's Independence Day, Protesters Demand Release of Jailed Human Rights Defenders

The University of California, Berkeley has provided Trump officials with the names of at least 160 students, faculty and staff in cases of alleged antisemitism on campus, in response to the administration's sweeping crackdown on Palestinian solidarity activism. The administration has already threatened to cut off federal funding from academic institutions and has targeted international students involved in the pro-Palestine movement.There is no good evidence that antisemitism is rampant on campus," says the philosopher Judith Butler, who teaches at UC Berkeley and whose name was among those shared with the Trump administration. To take a position against genocide is certainly not an antisemitic thing to do. Most Jews are against genocide, and we were taught to be against genocide, and we were taught, as well, that 'never again' is a slogan that should apply to all people."

Journalist Chris Hedges warns that President Trump and his allies are weaponizing" the shocking assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to crush dissent.We've reached a very frightening turning point," says Hedges. We've already seen an assault on civil liberties, on institutions, universities, the media, that are tasked with maintaining an open society. That will now be accelerated."Even though authorities are still trying to determine a motive in the killing, Trump has blamed radicals on the left" for political violence, and top White House adviser Stephen Miller vowed to dismantle many progressive organizations. Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of shooting Kirk during a college event in Utah last week, grew up in a Republican family, and bullet casings found at the scene were engraved with references to various online and video games memes. Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox has claimed Robinson had leftist ideology," but did not share any evidence to support the claim. There has also also been speculation that Robinson may have been influenced by a far-right movement known as Groypers, which is tied to the white nationalist Nick Fuentes and had previously targeted Kirk for harassment.

As Israel continues its campaign to erase Gaza City by systematically bombing residential buildings, schools, homes and tent encampments, we speak with Dr. Mohammed Saqr, the director of nursing at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. He says medical workers, who are starving like the rest of the population, have nothing left to give amid hundreds of deaths and injuries each day.We are psychologically unstable, because we see [the] execution of civilians on a daily basis," says Saqr. We have no beds. We have to put patients on the ground - no supplies, no instruments. And things will go worse when the Israeli evacuation orders [displace] the Gaza City [residents] to come here to Khan Younis concentration camp."Saqr also describes the daily challenges of life in Gaza, saying he only owns a single pair of shoes that he shares with his five sons. Please stop humiliating us. We are not animals," he says.

Israel Continues Bombardment of Gaza City, Killing 25 Palestinians Today, Arab Leaders Hold Emergency Meeting in Qatar to Discuss Israel's Strike in Doha, Israeli Army Raids Home of Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Basel Adra, Tyler Robinson, Accused of Assassinating Charlie Kirk, to Appear in Court Tuesday, More Than 100,000 Anti-Immigration Protesters March in London, Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Oil Refinery, as Romania Says a Russian Drone Entered Its Airspace, The International Federation of Journalists Condemns Israel for Killing at Least Nine Yemeni Journalists, U.S. Expresses Regret over ICE Raid Targeting South Korean Workers in Georgia, Sushila Karki Sworn In as Nepal's Interim Prime Minister, Vows to Serve for Only Six Months, Venezuelan Gov't Accuses U.S. Navy of Raiding Fishing Boat in Venezuelan Waters, Trump Vows to Call a National Emergency and Federalize Washington, D.C., ICE Fatally Shoots Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez During Traffic Stop in Chicago, ICE Agents Abduct Willian Gimenez, Who Accused Off-Duty Chicago Police Officers of Abusing Migrants, Homeless Advocates Denounce Fox News Host Calling for Unhoused People to Be Executed, New York Gov. Hochul Endorses Mamdani for Mayor of New York City, Spanish Vuelta Bike Race Interrupted by Pro-Palestinian Protests, Actors Display Signs of Support for Palestinians at Emmy Awards Ceremony

Following massive, youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations in Nepal, the country's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks set to become interim prime minister. This week, protesters set fire to the Parliament and other government buildings, and at least 21 people were killed in a police crackdown. The protests continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.We don't really know what is happening at the moment ... since most of our state institutions have been either destroyed or are nonfunctional," says Pranaya Rana, a writer and journalist based in Kathmandu. We really are counting on the new generation, the Gen Z, who led the protests, to take us forward."

Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to annihilate" democracy in Brazil following his election defeat in 2022. The sentencing marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state is brought to trial and convicted for attempting to overthrow the government. Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators, who were also sentenced to prison, hatched a plan that involved using armed forces to assassinate the President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.The decision was made amid political pressure from the Trump administration to drop the case against Bolsonaro. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged that the U.S. would respond accordingly," calling the ruling a witch hunt. Latin American countries need to be united and have a very strong position to defend democracy and to defend our sovereignty and independence," says Maria Luisa Mendonca, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil.

Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, about Israel's recent move to expand settlements in the West Bank in an effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state. They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen," says Hasan.Hasan also comments on the deadly U.S. attack on a boat off the coast of Venezuela. There's no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S.," he says.

President Trump announced on Friday that a suspect was in custody for the killing of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Although the motive has not yet been established, Trump has escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, We just have to beat the hell out of them." Democracy Now! speaks with Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, who says that the right is using Kirk's killing to smear the left.There's a real rewriting of history going on. It's what far-right regimes do after tragedies like this: They try and weaponize them to go after their enemies," says Hasan. None of us should celebrate political violence, because it's a threat to all of us," he adds.

Israel's Deadly Attacks on Gaza City Have Left 50,000 Palestinians Without Shelter, Israeli Forces Arrest 1,500 Palestinians, Including Children, in Mass Raid on Tulkarem, Netanyahu Approves New West Bank Settlements, Warning There Won't Be a Palestinian State", U.N. Security Council Condemns Israeli Strike on Qatar, Sens. Van Hollen and Merkley Say U.S. Is Complicit in Israel's Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians, Trump Announces Suspect in Charlie Kirk's Murder in Custody, State Department Threatens Action Against Immigrants Who Praise Killing of Charlie Kirk, Trump to Honor Charlie Kirk with Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, Politicians Cancel Public Events, Citing Security Concerns in Wake of Charlie Kirk Killing, Several HBCU Campuses Put on Lockdown After Receiving Threats in the Wake of Kirk's Murder, Brazil's Supreme Court Sentences Ex-President Bolsonaro to Prison for Coup Attempt, Michigan Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Fake Electors", Senate Republicans Vote to Fast-Track Confirmation of Trump's Judicial Nominees, Federal Appeals Courts Allows Trump Admin to Cut Off Medicaid Funds to Planned Parenthood, California Approves Bill Allowing Providers to Omit Names of Patients from Abortion Pill Bottles, Trump Suggests Russia Sent Drones into Poland by Mistake", Belarus Frees 52 Political Prisoners to Lithuania as U.S. Eases Sanctions

We speak to two activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla as it prepares to set sail for Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. In recent days, two drone attacks on the flotilla ships, which are docked in Tunisia, have been reported. We know who has interest in stopping these flotillas," says Mariana Mortagua, a Portuguese parliamentarian who has joined the Global Sumud Flotilla and suspects the strikes were the work of the Israeli military. Mortagua says she has joined the flotilla because it's my duty to be here and to help in any way I can ... to show people that Gaza is a real place. It's not an abstract location. Gaza exists. It's there. Real people are living there and are living under attack."We also hear from Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian activist based in Barcelona and a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee. There is no one mission or campaign that will have a direct outcome impact. But I believe solidarity work is an accumulative process that we have to build in," says Abukeshek. We have to mobilize people around the world. We have to get pressure on governments, because that's the only way that Israel will listen and will stop their crimes."