Democracy Now!

COP26 Final Agreement Waters Down Coal Pledges, Leaves World on Track for Climate Disaster, NYT: U.S. Covered Up 2019 Syria Airstrikes That Killed 70 Women and Children, Austria Enacts Lockdown for the Unvaccinated as Europe Becomes Pandemic's Epicenter Again, COVID Cases Rising in Over Half of U.S. States; OK Nat'l Guard Defies Pentagon's Vaccine Mandate, Sudanese Military Kills Eight People During Latest Anti-Coup Protests, Detains Al Jazeera Bureau Head, Eight Refugees Found Dead, Dozens Others Rescued on Boat Near Canary Islands, U.S. Journalist Danny Fenster Freed from Burmese Prison, Journalist and Minority Shia Muslims Killed in Afghanistan Blasts, Schools Close in New Delhi Due to Toxic Air Quality, Violence Leaves 68 Dead at Ecuador Prison Where 118 Were Killed in September Riots, Mark Meadows Faces Contempt of Congress Charge; Steve Bannon to Surrender to Authorities, Biden Nominates Robert Califf to Reprise Role as FDA Commissioner, Nat'l Guard Called In to Kenosha Ahead of Rittenhouse Verdict as Closing Arguments Get Underway, 9-Year-Old Boy Dies of Injuries Sustained at Astroworld, Pushing Death Toll to 10

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, when Indonesian troops armed with U.S. M16s fired on a peaceful memorial procession in the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, killing more than 270 East Timorese. Indonesia had invaded East Timor in 1975 and maintained a brutal occupation until 1999, when East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence in a United Nations referendum. The massacre on November 12, 1991, sparked widespread outrage against the Indonesian government led by dictator General Suharto, a staunch U.S. ally, and marked a turning point in international public opinion. We play an excerpt of "Massacre: The Story of East Timor," a 1992 documentary produced by Amy Goodman and Allan Nairn, who witnessed and survived the killings after being severely beaten by Indonesian troops.

As the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow concludes, activists staged a walkout Friday in response to late decisions made by negotiators to severely weaken commitments in the final agreement. While the earlier draft of the unbinding Glasgow Agreement called for "phasing-out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels," the new draft calls for the phaseout of "unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels." We get an update on the walkout from one of its leaders: COP26 Coalition lead spokesperson Asad Rehman. "We should not call it a Glasgow pact, we should call it the Glasgow suicide pact for the poorest in the world," says Rehman. "They're ramming through so many loopholes that it makes a mockery of these climate negotiations." Rehman was part of a group of members from U.N. constituencies that took over one of the main negotiation rooms inside COP26 this morning to issue a "people's declaration" in light of the weakened language.

Health leaders are warning governments of "unimaginable" health consequences from the climate crisis if world leaders don't take decisive action to decarbonize. This week at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Climate and Health Alliance presented a letter to the COP26 president signed by 46 million health workers who are calling for global climate action on health. Meanwhile, a delegation of mothers from Brazil, Britain, India, Nigeria, Poland and South Africa attended COP26 to deliver their own letter to the summit's president that was signed by about 500 parent groups from 44 countries and calls for limits on air pollution. We go inside COP26 to speak with Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and co-chair of the World Health Organization's Civil Society Working Group to Advance Action on Climate Change and Health, and medical student Amit Singh, a member of Students for Global Health. "Climate change is a threat multiplier," says Miller. "Increasingly, we're recognizing that we can't care for the patients and the communities that we serve if we don't step outside the clinic and address this driver of health impacts, which is climate change."

New Draft Agreement Weakens Earlier Calls to Phase Out Coal, Fossil Fuel Funding as COP26 Nears End, Beyond Oil and Gas: Denmark and Costa Rica Lead New Push to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, Biden and Xi Jinping to Hold Virtual Summit Amid Ongoing Tensions, NIH and Moderna in Legal Battle over COVID Vaccine Patent Rights, Another Explosion Targets Mosque in Afghanistan, 5,000 Afghan Refugees Fleeing to Iran Every Day as Humanitarian Crisis Worsens, U.N.: 84 Million People Worldwide Displaced by War, Insecurity and the Climate Crisis, Eastern Europe Refugee Crisis Intensifies as Poland Blocks Border, Belarus Issues Threats, Burmese Military Court Sentences U.S. Journalist to 11 Years Behind Bars, Sudanese Military Coup Leader Sworn In Amid Ongoing Protests, Mexican Indigenous Land Protector Irma Galindo Barrios Missing for Over 2 Weeks, Palestinian Prisoner Ends Hunger Strike, 5 Others Continue Protest Against Detention Without Charge, U.S., Israel, Bahrain, UAE Hold Joint Military Training in Red Sea, Trial of White Teenage Gunman Kyle Rittenhouse Moves to Closing Statements, "We Don't Want Any More Black Pastors": Lawyer for Arbery's Killer Says Pastors Are Intimidating Jury, Olympic Gold Medalist Sunisa Lee Suffers Racist Attack in L.A., "It's Common Sense": Trump Defends Calls to Hang Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 3,000 Graduate Workers on Strike at Columbia University, U.K. Prison Authorities to Allow Julian Assange to Get Married in Prison

The United States and China made a surprise announcement on Wednesday at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow on a joint pledge to reduce methane emissions and slow deforestation. The United States is the largest historical emitter of carbon emissions, while China has been the largest emitter in recent years. As negotiations continue, we speak with British journalist George Monbiot and British climate scientist Kevin Anderson about how world leaders and even some climate scientists are downplaying the climate emergency. "Everything we've been hearing here and at the previous 25 summits is basically distraction," says Monbiot, adding that global leaders could "fix" the worst impacts of the climate crisis "in no time at all if they wanted to." Both guests highlight the role of extreme wealth in fueling the climate crisis, with Anderson noting it's unfair to penalize nations like China, whose rising emissions correlate to the production of goods transported to wealthier countries. "Equity has to be a key part of our responses," says Anderson.

Kyle Rittenhouse took to the stand on Wednesday before his defense team asked for a mistrial with prejudice in the case. If a mistrial is granted, Rittenhouse cannot be tried again, though the judge did not immediately rule on the request and said jury deliberations could begin on Monday. Now 18 years old, Rittenhouse was 17 when he fatally shot two men and injured one with a semiautomatic rifle during racial justice protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is pleading not guilty to six charges, including homicide. While questioned, Rittenhouse broke down in tears, admitting to using deadly force but denying intent to kill his victims, and Judge Bruce Schroeder seemed to side with the defense at a handful of different points during Rittenhouse's testimony. Meanwhile, the judge's cellphone went off while the court was in session and played a ringtone for the song "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood, the opening song played at Donald Trump's rallies. For more on the Rittenhouse trial, as well as the murder trial for the three men who killed Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, we speak with Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, and antiracist activist Bree Newsome Bass. Mystal says Judge Schroeder "has pre-judged the trial in favor of Rittenhouse," and "that was obvious before the trial." Newsome Bass says, irrespective of the trials' outcomes, "the legal system itself is an affront to the notion of justice." She adds, "What does justice even mean in a system that was established to strip Black people of their humanity and for the greater part of its history has never really held white people accountable for murdering Black people?"

U.S. and China Pledge to Reduce Emissions as COP26 Climate Summit Hits Homestretch, Kyle Rittenhouse Breaks Down in Tears on Witness Stand, Claims Self-Defense , U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rise Again; Texas Judge Halts Ban on School Mask Mandates, Ethiopia Detains World Food Programme Drivers in War-Torn Northern Region, Sudan Restores Internet Service for First Time Since Coup; Civilian Leaders Reject Talks with Junta, Poland Increases Troops at Border Amid Reports of Migrant Deaths, Brutality by Belarusian Soldiers, Chilean Lawmakers Advance Impeachment Effort Against President Piñera, F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's Last Apartheid President, Dies at 85, Judge Approves $626M Settlement for Flint Residents Who Were Poisoned by Lead in the Water, Boeing Accepts Responsibility for Ethiopia Airlines 737 MAX Crash, Will Compensate Families, DOJ Sues Uber for Discriminating Against Passengers with Disabilities, Advocacy Group Demands Gov. Hochul Increase Clemencies as NY Announces Plan to Close 6 Prisons

As talks at the Glasgow U.N. climate summit accelerate, we look at how the roots of the climate crisis date back to Western colonialism with award-winning Indian author Amitav Ghosh, who examines the violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment in his new book, "The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis." Ghosh speaks about the political significance of fossil fuels in global politics, saying that "if fossil fuels were to be completely substituted at scale, what you would have is the complete inversion of the world's geopolitical order." Ghosh's previous books include "The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable" and the novel "Gun Island."

The world's richest countries have responded by militarizing their borders and treating the humanitarian crisis as a security issue. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended this year's U.N. climate summit, marking the first time a top alliance leader came to the climate talks since they began. On Tuesday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at COP26 raised the issue of security during a press conference. "The richest countries are building a climate wall against the consequences of climate change rather than dealing with the causes and rather than providing the money that would enable people to stay," says Nick Buxton, with the Transnational Institute and co-author of their new report, "Global Climate Wall: How the world's wealthiest nations prioritise borders over climate action." We also speak with Santra Denis, executive director of the Miami Workers Center, about the focus of the It Takes Roots grassroots delegation at COP26. She says that in order to protect frontline communities and workers, the U.S. should focus on investing in low-carbon and adaptation industries instead of border control.

Today a draft agreement at COP26 was released, calling on nations to accelerate the phasing out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies and make pledges to cut emissions by the end of 2022. The draft also urges wealthy nations to "urgently scale-up" financial support for developing countries to help them adapt to the climate crisis. This comes as a new report by the group Climate Action Tracker estimates world temperatures are on track to rise by 2.4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels based on current pledges to cut emissions — far higher than the 1.5 degree goal set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. To discuss the latest developments at COP26, we speak with Nigerian environmental activist and poet Nnimmo Bassey. "There's no force behind what's being proposed," says Bassey, who adds that the current trajectory of negotiations will have devastating effects on Africa. "That means setting the continent on fire. It is just sacrificing the continent." Bassey also discusses the role of China in Africa and the impact of the climate crisis on the continent. He has attended climate summits for years but says this may be his last one.

U.N. Releases Draft Accord in COP26's Final Stretch as Data Show Global Temp. Set to Climb 2.4C, "We Will Not Stand Idly By": Tuvalu Minister Delivers Speech Knee-Deep in Rising Sea Water, AOC Says U.S. Must Follow Up Climate Vows with Action, Focus on the Most Vulnerable, GOP Rep. Paul Gosar Posts Animated Video Showing Him Killing AOC, Attacking Biden, Pfizer Seeks OK on Booster for All Adults; Moderna Tries to Exclude Gov't Scientists from Vaccine Patent, Survivor of Rittenhouse Shooting Says He Thought He Was Going to Die During Attack, Police Officers Says Gregory McMichael Did Not See Ahmaud Arbery Commit Crime Before Killing Him, 16 U.N. Staffers Detained in Addis Ababa Amid Intensifying Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis, 25 Children Killed in Niger School Fire as Nation Grapples with Deadly Conflict on Southern Border, U.S. Journalist Faces Terrorism and Sedition Charges in Burma, Pregnant Journalist Killed in Yemen Car Blast, 13 Trump Officials Illegally Campaigned in Office; Jan. 6 House Cmte. Issues 10 New Subpoenas, Oklahoma Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Ordering J&J to Pay $465M for Role in Opioid Crisis

Stella Moris, partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, says British authorities have so far blocked attempts for her and Assange to marry while he is being held in Belmarsh prison. Supporters have also raised concerns Assange has become suicidal. "They are killing him. If he dies, it is because they are killing him," Moris says. "They are torturing him to death."

Britain's High Court is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, where he faces up to 175 years in prison under espionage charges for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. We get an update from Assange's partner, Stella Moris, who is in Glasgow as part of her campaign to free Julian and to highlight how WikiLeaks has also revealed evidence of how corporations and states have undermined the goals of prior climate summits. Moris says WikiLeaks is an "extraordinary tool … to understand the relationships between the states and the fossil fuel companies, [and] how these interests are intertwined."

Climate activists protested outside the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow Monday spotlighting the role of the U.S. military in fueling the climate crisis. The Costs of War project estimates the military produced around 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon emissions between 2001 and 2017, with nearly a third coming from U.S. wars overseas. But military carbon emissions have largely been exempted from international climate treaties dating back to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol after lobbying from the United States. We go to Glasgow to speak with Ramón Mejía, anti-militarism national organizer of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and Iraq War veteran; Erik Edstrom, Afghanistan War veteran turned climate activist; and Neta Crawford, director of the Costs of War project. "The United States military has been a mechanism of environmental destruction," says Crawford.

Climate Activists Blast COP26 Draft Statement for Failing to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, Police Raid Glasgow Squat Housing Climate Activists Protesting COP26, Coronavirus Cases Surge to Record Highs Across Some European Nations, As U.S. Opens Borders to Vaccinated Travelers, Asylum Seekers Remain Trapped in Mexico, Poland Mobilizes Thousands of Troops to Belarus Border to Bar Entry to Refugees, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Wins Fourth Term After Arresting Opponents, Crushing Dissent, Israeli Spyware Found on Phones of Six Palestinian Human Rights Activists, Justice Department Brings New Charges Against Ransomware Hackers , January 6 Committee Subpoenas Michael Flynn and 5 More Trump Loyalists, Supreme Court to Weigh Whether Muslim Surveillance Victims Can Sue FBI

The Glasgow U.N. climate summit is inundated with fossil fuel lobbyists, according to a recent report published by Global Witness that found "if the fossil fuel lobby were a country delegation at COP, it would be the largest with 503 delegates — two dozen more than the largest country delegation." We speak with Louis Wilson, senior adviser at Global Witness, and Andrea Ixchíu, a Maya K'iche' leader, journalist and human rights defender based in Guatemala, about the vast presence of the fossil fuel industry at COP26 and the subsequent greenwashing taking place. "We don't allow tobacco lobbyists into health conferences, so it begs the question why fossil fuel lobbyists are being allowed into the most important climate conference in a generation," says Wilson.

Activists held a memorial in Glasgow for those unable to attend this year's U.N. climate summit: 1,005 land and environmental defenders who have been murdered since the 2015 Paris Agreement. One in three of those defenders killed was an Indigenous person. This comes as 2020 was the most dangerous year on record for environmental and land defenders. We speak with Andrea Ixchíu, a Maya K'iche' leader, journalist and human rights defender based in Guatemala. Ixchíu says that the Guatemalan government, influenced by transnational corporate interests, has launched an assault on Indigenous land defenders: "They [Indigenous leaders] are not allowed to be in their communities defending their land and their territory because of the militizariation." Speaking on COP26, Ixchíu says, "We do not just want to be observers," and "If you want to create more solutions to the climate crisis, it's really important to give land back to Indigenous communities." We're also joined by Global Witness senior adviser Louis Wilson, who helped organize the memorial and discusses the cases of murdered South African activist Fikile Ntshangase, who was a leading force in the fight against the Tendele coal mine before she was killed last October, and Óscar Eyraud Adams, a Mexican water activist killed last September as he fought for the water rights of the Indigenous peoples impacted by the excessive use of aquifers by large beer and wine companies.

Saturday's massive climate rally outside of the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow was led by Indigenous frontline activists. We hear from Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, a poet and climate change activist from the Marshall Islands, and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. "We did nothing to contribute to this crisis, and we should not have to pay the consequences," said Jetn̄il-Kijiner. "We will survive climate change. We refuse to leave. We refuse to go anywhere. And our sovereignty is not up for debate."

Eighteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg called COP26 a "failure" when she addressed the Fridays for Future rally in Glasgow, which drew around 25,000 demonstrators. Her address comes after Thunberg dismissed climate leaders a month prior to the U.N. climate summit for political inaction. "The COP has turned into a PR event where leaders are giving beautiful speeches and announcing fancy commitments and targets, while behind the curtains the governments of the Global North countries are still refusing to take any drastic climate action," said Thunberg on Friday. "This is not a conference. This is now a Global North greenwash festival."

More than 100,000 people took to the streets of Glasgow this weekend in a pair of climate rallies outside the U.N. climate summit. The first protest was organized by Fridays for Future, an international movement of students which grew out of Greta Thunberg's climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. We hear from climate activists Evelyn Acham, Mikaela Loach, Raki Ap, Helena Gualinga and Jon Bonifacio. In her address, Loach slammed the leaders of rich nations at COP26: "[They] steal our sacred words and use them to defend and uphold the oppressive systems of capitalism and white supremacy." Gualina also spoke about the increasing violence against environmental defenders: "Behind every murder that happens in the Amazon, every killing that happens to a land defender, there is a company behind that, there is a government behind that, there is a name behind that."

100,000+ People Take to Streets to Call Out Climate Inaction, COP26 Greenwashing, House Passes Bipartisan $1.2 Infrastructure Bill Without Vote on $1.75T Build Back Better Package, Court Blocks Company Vaccine Mandate; U.S. Lifts Travel Restrictions; Pfizer Seeks OK for COVID Pill, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi Survives Assassination Attempt, Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teenager During West Bank Protest, Ortega Set to Retain Nicaraguan Presidency in Elections Marred by Crackdown on Opposition, U.S. Advises Citizens to Leave Ethiopia as Specter of All-Out War Increases, Sudanese Soldiers Arrest Scores of Anti-Coup Protesters, Sierra Leone Declares Three Days of Mourning After 100+ Die in Fuel Tanker Disaster, Polish Reproductive Rights Protesters Decry Death of Woman Denied Life-Saving Abortion, Opening Arguments Begin in Murder Trial of 3 White Men Who Killed Ahmaud Arbery, Eight Killed, Hundreds Injured in Crowd Crush at Astroworld Music Festival in Houston

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley addressed the audience at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week. "We must act in the interests of all our people," she said. "If we don't, we will allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction." She implored global leaders to "try harder" to keep global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius, as anything above this would mean "a death sentence" for vulnerable island countries, including Barbados.

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley addressed the audience at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week. "We must act in the interests of all our people," she said. "If we don't, we will allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction." She implored global leaders to "try harder" to keep global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius, as anything above this would mean "a death sentence" for vulnerable island countries, including Barbados.

After nearly a week of speeches, negotiations and protests at the COP26 U.N. climate summit, we speak with Meena Raman, head of programs at Third World Network, who says developing countries need more time and resources to adapt to the climate crisis and end the use of fossil fuels. Without a just transition that addresses inequality, she says, many countries will continue to suffer from both poverty and environmental devastation. "When the rich world has not been able to phase out fossil fuels, … it's really dubious to preach to the developing world that they have to get out of fossil fuels," says Raman.

After nearly a week of speeches, negotiations and protests at the COP26 U.N. climate summit, we speak with Meena Raman, head of programs at Third World Network, who says developing countries need more time and resources to adapt to the climate crisis and end the use of fossil fuels. Without a just transition that addresses inequality, she says, many countries will continue to suffer from both poverty and environmental devastation. "When the rich world has not been able to phase out fossil fuels, … it's really dubious to preach to the developing world that they have to get out of fossil fuels," says Raman.

Youth activists are taking to the streets outside the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow to demand world leaders do more to avert a climate catastrophe. The protest is being organized by Fridays for Future, an international movement of students which grew out of Greta Thunberg's climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. We hear from Elizabeth Wathuti of Kenya. "Over 2 million of my fellow Kenyans are facing climate-related starvation," Wathuti said earlier this week. "The decisions you make here will determine whether the children will have food and water."

Youth activists are taking to the streets outside the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow to demand world leaders do more to avert a climate catastrophe. The protest is being organized by Fridays for Future, an international movement of students which grew out of Greta Thunberg's climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. We hear from Elizabeth Wathuti of Kenya. "Over 2 million of my fellow Kenyans are facing climate-related starvation," Wathuti said earlier this week. "The decisions you make here will determine whether the children will have food and water."

Only one Black juror, along with 11 white jurors, has been selected to hear the murder trial of three white men who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man who was jogging through the suburbs of Brunswick, Georgia. The defendants — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, as well as their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan — claim they were attempting a citizen's arrest when they chased and killed Arbery. Prosecutors asked Judge Timothy Walmsley to reinstate eight Black potential jurors, arguing defense lawyers struck them because of their race. The judge declined to change the jury's racial makeup before the start of the trial Friday. We speak to attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Arbery family. "There was intentional discrimination," he says. "I don't know how you can conclude anything else." We also speak with Crump about the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the white teenager who faces seven charges, including homicide, for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third amid racial justice protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Crump represents Jacob Blake, the Black man whose shooting by police sparked the protests.

Only one Black juror, along with 11 white jurors, has been selected to hear the murder trial of three white men who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man who was jogging through the suburbs of Brunswick, Georgia. The defendants — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, as well as their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan — claim they were attempting a citizen's arrest when they chased and killed Arbery. Prosecutors asked Judge Timothy Walmsley to reinstate eight Black potential jurors, arguing defense lawyers struck them because of their race. The judge declined to change the jury's racial makeup before the start of the trial Friday. We speak to attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Arbery family. "There was intentional discrimination," he says. "I don't know how you can conclude anything else." We also speak with Crump about the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the white teenager who faces seven charges, including homicide, for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third amid racial justice protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Crump represents Jacob Blake, the Black man whose shooting by police sparked the protests.

World's Biggest Polluters Remain on Sidelines as Over 40 Nations Pledge to Phase Out Coal, House Schedules Votes on Infrastructure Bill & Build Back Better Act, "We Want to Live!": Climate Activists Confront Sen. Joe Manchin over Climate Emergency, White House Announces Vaccine Mandate for Over 100 Million U.S. Workers by January 4, U.S. to Cancel Contract with COVID-19 Vaccine Maker That Ruined Millions of Doses, Moderna Reports $3.3B Third-Quarter Profit; Protesters Demand It Share Vaccine Recipe, U.S. Proposes New $650 Million Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia, Despite Yemen War Crimes, Two Indigenous Mapuche Leaders Shot Dead in Chile, U.S. Sanctions Nicaraguan Gov't as President Ortega Sidelines Opponents Ahead of Election, Press Freedom Tribunal in The Hague to Hold Governments Accountable for Journalist Killings, DOJ Sues Texas over Voter Suppression Law; NC's GOP Passes Gerrymandered Maps, Second Manhattan Grand Jury Will Consider Financial Crimes by Trump Org., Rittenhouse Trial Judge Removes Juror Who Joked About Shooting of Jacob Blake, Clemency Recommended for OK Man Facing Execution; Judge Denies New Trial for TX Death Row Prisoner, Weeks-Long Indigenous Blockade Protects Wet'suwet'en Land from Coastal GasLink Pipeline, Striking Alabama Coal Miners Return to NYC; 34K Kaiser Permanente Workers Poised to Strike

World's Biggest Polluters Remain on Sidelines as Over 40 Nations Pledge to Phase Out Coal, House Schedules Votes on Infrastructure Bill & Build Back Better Act, "We Want to Live!": Climate Activists Confront Sen. Joe Manchin over Climate Emergency, White House Announces Vaccine Mandate for Over 100 Million U.S. Workers by January 4, U.S. to Cancel Contract with COVID-19 Vaccine Maker That Ruined Millions of Doses, Moderna Reports $3.3B Third-Quarter Profit; Protesters Demand It Share Vaccine Recipe, U.S. Proposes New $650 Million Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia, Despite Yemen War Crimes, Two Indigenous Mapuche Leaders Shot Dead in Chile, U.S. Sanctions Nicaraguan Gov't as President Ortega Sidelines Opponents Ahead of Election, Press Freedom Tribunal in The Hague to Hold Governments Accountable for Journalist Killings, DOJ Sues Texas over Voter Suppression Law; NC's GOP Passes Gerrymandered Maps, Second Manhattan Grand Jury Will Consider Financial Crimes by Trump Org., Rittenhouse Trial Judge Removes Juror Who Joked About Shooting of Jacob Blake, Clemency Recommended for OK Man Facing Execution; Judge Denies New Trial for TX Death Row Prisoner, Weeks-Long Indigenous Blockade Protects Wet'suwet'en Land from Coastal GasLink Pipeline, Striking Alabama Coal Miners Return to NYC; 34K Kaiser Permanente Workers Poised to Strike

We speak with Harjeet Singh, senior adviser with the Climate Action Network, who is at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. Activists like Singh are pressuring world leaders to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would supplement the Paris Agreement by directly targeting the fossil fuel industry and outlining clear actions that every country could take to drastically decrease carbon emissions. "This treaty talks about ending fossil fuel expansion, phasing out, and also just transition," says Singh. He also speaks about his home country of India, which has only recently become one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases and has fewer resources to adapt while "rich countries have been polluting for more than 100 years."

We speak to Farhana Yamin, one of the most prominent climate lawyers in Britain, who has been deeply involved in international climate negotiations for decades, including the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, and has also engaged in direct action to effect change. Yamin is currently working with the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group that represents 48 of the countries most threatened by the climate crisis, at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. We last spoke with Farhana in 2019 after she was arrested for supergluing her hands to the ground outside Shell's headquarters in London as part of an Extinction Rebellion action. She applauds the demonstrators outside the conference who are bringing political pressure on those inside. She says the net zero emissions goal that many global leaders are discussing "has to have emissions that are real, and those emissions cannot be bought at the expense of vulnerable people and countries."

We speak to Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the low-lying island nation of the Maldives, at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. Nasheed is one of the world's leading climate advocates, who once held a cabinet meeting underwater to bring attention to the threat of global warming, pledged to make the Maldives the first carbon-neutral country and installed solar panels on the roof of his presidential residence. Now serving as speaker of parliament, Nasheed survived an assassination attempt earlier this year that required 16 hours of surgery. As a result of the sea level rising four millimeters a year in the Maldives, Nasheed says the country faces devastating consequences such as contaminated water, loss of biodiversity, inclement weather and coastal erosion. "We want to see countries agree that this is an emergency, and we want to see countries do things that they do in an emergency," he says.

Global Carbon Emissions Near Record High as Nations Meet for Crucial Climate Summit, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Narrowly Wins Reelection, in Ominous Sign for Democrats Ahead of 2022 Midterms, Socialist Candidate India Walton Concedes Hard-Fought Mayoral Race in Buffalo, NY, Senate Republicans Filibuster Voting Rights Legislation Again, U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 750,000, White House Warns of Vaccine Misinformation, Urges Parents to Get Children Vaccinated, Russia Records Another Record Daily COVID-19 Death Toll, WHO Approves Emergency Use of India's 2-Shot Coronavirus Vaccine Covaxin, U.S. Blacklists Israel's NSO Group, Whose Spyware Infected Phones of Journalists, Dissidents, Protests in Mexico Call for Justice for Murders of Women and Transgender Community, Biden Rebuffs Reports His Administration Could Pay $450,000 Per Separated Child at Border, World's Most Polluting Nations Spend Twice as Much on Border Militarization Than Climate Crisis, Only One Black Juror Selected as Trial for Killers of Ahmaud Arbery Gets Underway, NYC Taxi Drivers Win Historic Victory as City Agrees to New Debt Relief Measures

We speak to Mitzi Tan, a climate activist based in the Philippines, who will join Greta Thunberg of Sweden and Vanessa Nakate of Uganda in speaking at a major march and rally in Glasgow on Saturday. Among their demands are reparations from the Global North to the Global South to help rebuild the lives of those most impacted by the climate crisis. Tan has recently protested outside the offices of Standard Chartered Bank in London, which funds the most fossil fuel companies based in the Philippines, which she says contributes directly to their yearly typhoons that cause insurmountable destruction. "At this point, none of us have a choice. We all have to join the struggle of the most marginalized," says Tan.

As we cover the fight against Big Coal with climate activists attending the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, we look at the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which has experienced some of the most extreme weather over the last two decades. Hurricane Maria destroyed the island's electrical grid four years ago and left residents in the dark for months. The fragile power system is still unreliable for people, prompting mass protests and renewed calls for lawmakers to move away from dirty power and turn the island into a center for renewable energy, a movement featured in the new film "El poder del pueblo," or "The Power of the People." We speak with lawyer and environmental justice advocate Ruth Santiago, who is featured in the film and is a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She lives near Puerto Rico's largest fossil fuel-burning power complex, that includes the U.S.-owned AES coal plant known as La Carbonera in the municipality of Guayama — home to many of the island's Afro-Puerto Rican residents. She discusses how they are organizing to expand rooftop solar energy projects amid worsening power outages under the new private consortium LUMA, which she says people now refer to as "Hurricane LUMA."

On day three of the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, we look at the fight against Big Coal, starting with leading South African climate activist Kumi Naidoo. South Africa is one of the world's largest coal producers, and the United States has joined the European Union and other wealthy nations to announce a new deal to provide $8.5 billion to the country to help it decommission its coal plants and invest in renewable energy. "Let's see if the money actually flows and if those countries actually follow up with that commitment," says Naidoo, global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity and the former head of Amnesty International and Greenpeace. He says the deal puts pressure on the South African government to "ensure a just transition and make the right investments in wind, solar and other clean energy technologies."

We speak with The Nation's John Nichols about key outcomes from Tuesday's election night. In a major blow for Democrats, Republican Glenn Youngkin, who President Biden warned is an extremist in the vein of former President Trump, won the Virginia governor's race against former Governor Terry McAuliffe. Youngkin campaigned for so-called parents' rights — a catch-all phrase adopted by right-wing opponents of vaccine and mask mandates, transgender rights and critical race theory. Tuesday's elections also saw closely watched races in New Jersey, New York City, Buffalo and Boston, where Michelle Wu made history by becoming the first woman and first person of color elected as mayor. Nichols says disappointing results for Democrats are tied to the party's infighting in Washington and the inability to pass major legislation despite holding the White House and Congress: "You can't fail to deliver on your promises and then expect to win elections. And that's a big message for Democrats."

Youngkin Beats McAuliffe in VA Gov. Race; India Walton Trails Write-in Primary Loser Byron Brown in Buffalo, Eric Adams Wins NYC Mayoral Race; Michelle Wu Is 1st Woman, BIPOC Elected as Boston Mayor, Ohio Special House Races Go to Republican Mike Carey and Democrat Shontel Brown, Minneapolis Rejects Police Overhaul Measure, COP26: U.S. Joins 90 Nations in Pledge to Cut Methane Emissions; South Africa Coal Deal Announced, CDC Approves Pfizer COVID Vaccine for 5- to 11-Year-Olds, Ethiopia Declares State of Emergency as Tigrayan Forces Advance; U.N. Report Details Mass Atrocities, Sheikh Jarrah Families Reject Israeli Deal That Would Dispossess Them of Their Homes, Facebook Shutting Down Facial Recognition Program, Dems Reach Deal for Gov't to Negotiate Drug Prices Through Medicare, Same-Sex Partners Will Be Able to Access Social Security Benefits of Deceased Loved Ones, John Deere Workers Continue Strike After Rejecting Proposed Contract with Management

We look at Monday's Supreme Court oral arguments on the constitutionality of Texas's near-total ban on abortions with legendary lawyer Kathryn "Kitty" Kolbert, who argued the 1992 landmark Supreme Court case credited with saving Roe v. Wade. "'Save Roe' has been our mantra for so many years, and it no longer works because of the ultraconservatie nature of this Supreme Court," Kolbert says. Instead, people must protect abortion rights by "electing people who will preserve women's rights, and begin to think of that as our most important task."

A new ad released by the United Nations Development Program shows a computer-generated dinosaur speaking in the U.N. General Assembly hall, warning diplomats that "going extinct is a bad thing" and calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. The dinosaur is voiced by Jack Black.

We speak with Brianna Fruean, an activist from Samoa, who implored global leaders at the U.N. climate summit to consider how small islands like Samoa, Tutuila and Tonga might drown without urgent action against rising sea levels. She told the audience, "If you're looking for inspiration on climate leadership, take a look at young Pacific people." Many Pacific islands are in danger of vanishing in the next decade if sea levels and global temperatures continue to rise. "If we are able to save the islands, we are able to save the world," Fruean tells Democracy Now!

Countries attending the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow have made new pledges to cut their emissions, but activists say it's not enough to avert the worst of the climate crisis. India has vowed to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2070. Over 100 leaders have agreed to end deforestation by 2030. The United States is announcing a new plan to reduce methane emissions, among other measures. Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, is in Glasgow for the talks and warns the heavy focus on "net zero" rather than absolute carbon reductions suggests leaders are not planning to make serious changes. "It's a continuing war against Mother Earth, against Father Sky," says Goldtooth. "It is an issue of life and death to many of our Indigenous peoples, from the North to the South." Climate campaigner Bill McKibben says the movement to divest from fossil fuels has had a major impact but that business interests are still holding back a transition to renewable energy. "Money is the oxygen on which the fires of global warming keep burning," says McKibben.

As President Biden addressed the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow on Monday, warning that "climate change is already ravaging the world," back home his climate agenda was dealt a major setback when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia criticized the slimmed-down $1.85 trillion Build Back Plan. "The air went out of this conference" when Biden showed up with no major climate legislation passed, says Bill McKibben of 350.org in Glasgow. "It makes it extremely difficult to proceed when the world's carbon champion — the country that's poured more carbon into the atmosphere by far than any other — won't provide leadership."

World Leaders Gather in Glasgow for Start of Crucial COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, Sen. Joe Manchin Won't Commit to Build Back Better Act, Imperiling Biden's Domestic Agenda, Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Texas's Near-Total Abortion Ban, Virginia Governor's Race Takes Center Stage on Election Day, Kids as Young as 5 Set to Be Vaccinated Within Days as Pediatric Doses Begin Shipping, Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Chicago Police Officers, U.N. Security Council Extends Peacekeeping Mandate in Moroccan-Occupied Western Sahara, Burmese Military Forces Accused of Torture and Attacks on Civilians, U.N. Warns Afghanistan Faces World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis Amid Mounting Hunger, Striking John Deere Workers Win Wage and Pension Increases in Tentative Contract, Homicide Trial of Teen Gunman Kyle Rittenhouse Gets Underway in Wisconsin, Senate Confirms Beth Robinson as First-Ever LGBTQ+ Federal Appeals Court Judge, Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized After Fall at Howard University

In a major development, a Guantánamo Bay detainee described his torture at CIA black sites for the first time in court last week, prompting military jurors to call his treatment a "stain on the moral fiber of America." On Thursday, Majid Khan became the first Guantánamo prisoner to describe publicly the torture he experienced after being detained in Pakistan and then being held at CIA black sites, including forced feedings, waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse. Khan was sentenced Friday to 26 years but under a previous deal is scheduled for release in February 2022. His unprecedented testimony only represents the "top part of the iceberg," says Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center of Constitutional Rights, which has helped represent Majid Khan. "We need more meaningful accountability for what the United States government did to Majid and many dozens of other detainees in the so-called global war on terror."

As the U.K. government tries to claim the mantle of climate leadership at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, we speak with Mary Church, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland. She describes how activists are calling on U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to block the development of the giant Cambo oil field off the coast of Scotland, which would run counter to the U.N. goals of phasing out fossil fuels. "We know that fossil fuels need to be phased out long, long before 2050, but this proposal is to keep on drilling oil until 2050," says Church, adding that the extraction of 800 million barrels of oil would be "the equivalent of 10 years of Scotland's annual emissions."

This year's U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow may be the whitest and most privileged one ever, with thousands from the Global South unable to attend because of lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines and travel restrictions. The global inequity in vaccine access mirrors the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis that has fallen mostly on poor countries least responsible for emissions, says climate activist Dipti Bhatnagar in Mozambique. "The people who need to be there, who need to hold people accountable, are not going to be there," says Bhatnagar, climate justice and energy coordinator at Friends of the Earth International, who was unable to attend the climate conference in Scotland because of a lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines. "What is going to come out of this COP is going to be largely illegitimate because of the way that they've organized it and because of the intentions behind it."