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DemocracyNow! headlines
Biden to End Trump-Era "Remain in Mexico" Border Policy; Immigrants Face Ongoing Trauma, Separation
Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:49:47 -0400 The Biden administration says it is officially ending the controversial Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases wind through court, often in grueling conditions for months or years. We speak to attorney and activist Efrén Olivares with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project about the impact of this policy, as well as ongoing efforts to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy in 2018. Olivares represented some of the children and their parents, and wrote about them in his new book, “My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines.” "Bogus Charge": FBI Raids African People's Socialist Party; Group Dismisses Russian Influence Claims Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:28:59 -0400 Leaders of the African People’s Socialist Party say the FBI carried out a violent raid on its properties with flash grenades and drones early Friday morning in Missouri and Florida. The pan-Africanist group has been a longtime advocate for reparations for slavery and a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy. The raid appears to be connected to a separate indictment of a Russian man accused of using U.S.-based groups to spread Russian propaganda and tampering with U.S. elections. We speak with Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, who describes how he was zip-tied while his home was raided. He says the FBI’s implication that their group was taking orders from the Russians is “the most ridiculous, asinine” narrative. “It’s an attack on the right of Black people,” says Yeshitela. “It’s an attack on our struggle for the absolute total liberation of every square inch of Africa.” Albuquerque's Muslim Community Mourns 4 Killed as Suspect Arrested, Calls for Counseling & Support Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:14:32 -0400 Police say they have arrested a primary suspect in the recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Authorities say Muhammad Syed, 51, committed at least two of the killings and may have been motivated by anger that his daughter had married outside of her branch of Islam. The four victims are Mohammad Ahmadi, Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Naeem Hussain. We go to Albuquerque to speak with Samia Assed, human rights activist and organizer, who was the host of a memorial Tuesday night at the Islamic Center of New Mexico, Albuquerque’s longest-standing and largest mosque that at least three of the victims had attended. She discusses the increased police presence in the Muslim community and the suspect’s own identity that contradicted initial assumptions that the killings were anti-Muslim hate crimes. “With this perpetrator being Muslim, I just want to say violence is not exclusive to the Muslim community,” says Assed. “It shouldn’t be a judgment call on who we are.” Headlines for August 10, 2022 Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Wisconsin: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes Wins Dem Senate Primary, Minnesota: Election Denier Wins GOP Primary for Secretary of State, Becca Balint Wins Democratic House Primary in Vermont, Republicans Demand Answers from FBI & DOJ over Raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, FBI Seizes Phone of Rep. Scott Perry, Who Played Key Role in Backing Trump’s Attempted Coup, Massive Blasts at Russian Air Base in Crimea Kills One, S. African FM to Blinken: The Palestinians, Like the Ukrainians, “Deserve Their Territory & Freedom”, Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinian Teenagers in Occupied West Bank, 50 Palestinians Ordered Off Israeli Bus to Make Room for Three Jewish Riders, Arrest Made in Albuquerque After Four Muslim Men Were Killed, Mother and Daughter Face Felony Charges over At-Home Abortion in Nebraska, Asian American Residents in California Sue Siskiyou County Officials for Racial Bias, L.A. City Council Votes to Ban Encampment for Unhoused People Near Schools, Ex-Twitter Employer Convicted for Giving Saudis Private Info on Dissidents, Biden Signs $280 Billion CHIPS Act, Grand Jury Declines to Indict Woman for Role in Lynching of Emmett Till Alex Jones Proved That Lying Pays. Can Sandy Hook Lawsuits Help Turn the Tide on Disinformation? Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:48:51 -0400 Two years of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s text messages have now been turned over to the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The messages were first revealed in court last week in Austin, Texas, just before a jury ordered InfoWars host Alex Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of Jesse Lewis, a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. For years Alex Jones spread conspiracy theories that the Newtown shooting was a government hoax and the victims’ families were paid actors, resulting in online harassment and death threats for Sandy Hook families. “He will never change, but it does send a message ... that this is just so important to push back against the lies and disinformation,” says New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson, who covered the case and is the author of “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth.” Free Brittney Griner: Bishop Barber Calls for Clergy to Go to Russia to Secure Release of WNBA Star Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:41:00 -0400 We speak with Bishop William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, about his call for the creation of a diverse, interfaith humanitarian delegation to travel to Russia to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was sentenced last week to nine years in a penal colony for possessing just two ounces of cannabis oil. “Our priority should be this young lady coming home,” says Barber. This Is Not a Climate Solution: Indigenous Land Defender Warns Senate Bill Will Aid Fossil Fuel Firms Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:20:58 -0400 We look at ——the Democrats’ sweeping $739 billion bill just passed by the Senate in part to address the climate crisis. Democrats in the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday with votes from West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, and the House will vote on the package Friday. The reason the bill exists at all is due to Senator Bernie Sanders and grassroots organizing to demand action on climate change, says Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. Indigenous lawyer Tara Houska says the bill’s climate provisions cede too much to Big Oil companies in pursuit of renewable energy. “Black and Brown people continue to disparately experience the effects of extractive industry,” she adds. Bishop William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, says the bill contains too much compromise. “Part of the bill was putting a pipeline that Black and white and Brown and poor people in frontline communities are fighting right now,” he says. Under Senate Bill, Medicare Can Negotiate Some Drug Prices, But Power to Lower Prices Remains Limited Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:16:08 -0400 When the Inflation Reduction Act passed the Senate Sunday, Republicans successfully blocked a price cap on insulin. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, says that despite its flaws, the bill is a win against the pharmaceutical industry’s exploitative profits. “They’re super worried that this is a break in the dam and that it will lead to more negotiation, once we, the American people, see plainly the cost savings that are available,” says Weissman. As FBI Raids Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Public Citizen Calls Again for Trump to Be Prosecuted for Jan. 6 Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:11:13 -0400 Ex-President Donald Trump and supporters expressed outrage on Monday over an FBI raid on his Palm Beach resort Mar-a-Lago. The search, according to multiple media outlets, focused on illegally removed White House records. Robert Weissman, president of the advocacy organization Public Citizen, says while the raid on a former president’s private residence is unprecedented, it is too early to tell how it will impact the ongoing investigation of the January 6 insurrection. “I don’t think that we should jump on board of being too excited and trusting of the FBI,” says Weissman. Headlines for August 9, 2022 Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Federal Agents Execute Search Warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort, Ukraine Calls for Demilitarized Zone Around Russian-Occupied Nuclear Power Plant, U.S. to Send Ukraine Another $1 Billion in Weapons, Israeli Troops Kill Three, Wound 40 in West Bank Raid, Emergency Protest in New York Demands End to Israeli Assaults on Palestinians, EU Unveils Draft Proposal to Revive 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, Biden Administration to End Trump-Era “Remain in Mexico” Policy After Court Order, Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers Sentenced on Federal Hate Crimes Charges, Family of Teen Killed by Maryland Police Reaches Partial $5 Million Settlement, One Dead, 14 Missing as Fire Spreads at Massive Cuban Oil Depot, Philippines Scholar and Activist Walden Bello Arrested on “Cyber Libel” Charges Viktor Orbán Has Eroded Democracy in Hungary. Now He's Being Embraced by CPAC & American Right Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:40:09 -0400 CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, ended Saturday in Texas with a speech by former President Trump, after kicking off with far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who just won a fourth term in office. Political scientist Kim Lane Scheppele says American conservatives look to populist leaders turned autocrats in foreign countries like Hungary, Israel and Brazil for strategies to undermine the constitutional democratic process and consolidate power. Orbán, for example, is sharing the “playbook” for “taking over the courts, developing a compliant parliament, shutting down all the independent think tanks, shutting down all the independent agencies of government,” says Scheppele. "It Brings Hope": Colombia Inaugurates Leftist Former Guerrilla as Pres. & Afro-Colombian Woman as VP Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:27:27 -0400 President Gustavo Petro’s inauguration Sunday ushers in a new political era for Colombia, with Francia Márquez Mina becoming the first Afro-Colombian woman to be sworn in as vice president. We feature part of Petro’s historic inauguration speech and play part of a recent interview with Simón Mejía, a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning Colombian band Bomba Estéreo, who says the new leftist presidency “brings hope ... to the underrepresented people of the periphery of Colombia.” He also speaks about his time working on a new film project called “El Duende” that centers Afro-Colombians, who have long faced violence and repression. "Horrifying": Gaza Assault Kills 44 Palestinians, 15 Children. Will Ceasefire End Bloodshed? Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:13:27 -0400 The death toll from three days of an Israeli military bombardment on Gaza has reached at least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children. At least 350 Palestinians were wounded. Bombing has since stopped after Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group agreed on Sunday to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt, and border crossings reopened on Monday to allow bare necessities in. We go to Gaza to speak with the journalist and activist Issam Adwan, who says Israel’s military operation is meant to bolster the current Israeli government ahead of November elections. “They are using the Palestinian blood to promote a campaign for certain individuals,” says Adwan. Headlines for August 8, 2022 Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 44 Palestinians, Including 15 Children, Senate Passes $739 Billion Climate and Healthcare Bill, Former Guerrilla Gustavo Petro Sworn In as Colombia’s First Leftist President, China Extends Military Drills Near Taiwan After Pelosi’s Trip, Russia and Ukraine Trade Blame over Attacks on Nuclear Power Site, Indiana Governor Signs Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions, Albuquerque, NM Police Say Killings of Four Muslim Men Likely Linked, Alex Jones Ordered to Pay Sandy Hook Family $45 Million in Compensation, U.N. Chief Guterres Joins Ceremony Marking 77 Years Since U.S. Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, Torrential Rains Trigger Flash Floods in California’s Death Valley Albert Woodfox Dies of COVID; Loved Ones Remember the Life & Legacy of Famed Political Prisoner Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:46:30 -0400 We speak with Michael Mable about the life and legacy of his brother, Black Panther activist and political prisoner Albert Woodfox. Woodfox spent nearly 44 years in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary after he was wrongly convicted of murdering a prison guard. Woodfox’s conviction was overturned for the third time in 2013, and he was eventually released in 2016. “His legacy was based upon change,” says Mable. “He was a free man, and he’s free now.” We also speak with his fellow “Angola 3” member Robert King and Woodfox’s longtime attorney Carine Williams. “He understood his reasoning for existing,” says King on Woodfox’s legacy. “He won’t be forgotten.” Albert Woodfox in His Own Words on 43 Years in Solitary, the Black Panthers & Fighting Injustice Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:23:54 -0400 Albert Woodfox, who was held in solitary confinement longer than any prisoner in U.S. history, has died at the age of 75 due to complications tied to COVID-19. The former Black Panther and political prisoner won his freedom six years ago after surviving nearly 44 years in solitary over a wrongful murder conviction of a prison guard. Fellow imprisoned Panthers Herman Wallace and Robert King were also falsely accused of prison murders, and they collectively became known as the Angola 3. Democracy Now! interviewed Albert Woodfox in his first live TV interview just three days after his 2016 release, and multiple times afterward. “I’m just trying to learn how to be free,” Woodfox said. “I’ve been locked up so long in a prison within a prison.” Woodfox went on to write his memoir, “Solitary,” and continued to fight for prison reform after his release. DOJ Charges Cops for Breonna Taylor's Killing. Why Didn't Kentucky's AG Daniel Cameron Do the Same? Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:13:10 -0400 The Department of Justice has announced federal criminal charges against four former and current Louisville police officers over their roles in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. The charges come after the state of Kentucky failed to prosecute any police officers for Taylor’s death, despite nationwide Black Lives Matter demands to investigate. “How can it be that the federal government and state government are so far apart on this case?” says Sadiqa Reynolds, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, who calls the federal charges “a great step in the right direction.” Reynolds is demanding an investigation into Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s prosecution of the case — which she says was either “incompetent” or “in collusion” with the police. Headlines for August 5, 2022 Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 DOJ Charges 4 Former and Current Louisville Cops over Breonna Taylor’s Killing, Amnesty Accuses Ukraine’s Military of Endangering Civilians, Russian Court Sentences WNBA Star Brittney Griner to 9 Years in Penal Colony, China Sanctions House Speaker Pelosi over Visit to Taiwan, Sen. Sinema Will Support Reconciliation Bill After Dems End Tax Increase on Rich Investors, Trump-Backed 2020 Election Denier Kari Lake Wins Arizona Gubernatorial Primary, U.S. Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency, New York Warns Polio May Be Spreading After Poliovirus Found in Rockland County Sewage, Florida Governor Suspends State Attorney Who Promised Not to Prosecute Abortion Ban Violations, Former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Arrested on Bribery Charges, Alex Jones Ordered to Pay $4.1M in Compensation to Family of Sandy Hook Shooting Victim, Ex-Black Panther Albert Woodfox, Held Nearly 44 Years in Solitary Confinement, Dies of COVID-19 Hungary PM Viktor Orbán Addresses CPAC as American Right Embraces His Authoritarian Rule Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:45:33 -0400 We speak with international affairs scholar Kim Lane Scheppele on the rise and fall of Hungary’s constitutional democracy and how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gained popularity among the American right ahead of his speech today at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Orbán presents, especially for the American right, a kind of irresistible combination of culture war issues,” says Scheppele. “These culture war issues in Hungary disguise the fact that underneath the surface Orbán has been changing the laws of the country so that gradually he has shut down all of the independent institutions that might tell him no.” She says U.S. Republicans are now engaging in a very “Orbán-like” campaign to rig elections so they win regardless of the popular vote. Warnings Grow over Nuclear Annihilation as Tensions Escalate Between U.S., Russia & China Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:27:21 -0400 The U.N. warned this week that humanity is “one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation” as tensions escalate globally. We speak with Ira Helfand, former president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, who says the U.N. Security Council permanent members, comprising Russia, China, the U.S., the U.K. and France, are pursuing nuclear policies that are “going to lead to the end of the world that we know.” We also speak with disarmament activist Zia Mian, co-director of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security, who says non-nuclear weapon states must pressure other countries to sign onto the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Greenpeace Warns of Twin Nuclear Crises in Ukraine from Chernobyl to Russian Military Control of Zaporizhzhia Plant Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:13:41 -0400 Safety conditions at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are “completely out of control,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This comes as the Russian military has deployed heavy artillery batteries and laid anti-personnel landmines at the site in recent weeks. “Nuclear plants are extremely vulnerable to external attack in the context of a war zone,” says Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace, who says something as simple as the loss of power could unleash “massive releases of radioactivity” at rates worse than the Cheronobyl disaster of 1986. Headlines for August 4, 2022 Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Death Toll Grows to 4 in California’s Biggest Wildfire of 2022, U.N. Secretary-General Condemns “Grotesque Greed” of Fossil Fuel Companies, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Questions Tax Provisions of Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill, Sen. Bernie Sanders Slams Climate Bill’s Tax Breaks and Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Companies, U.S. Senate Votes 95-1 to Allow Finland and Sweden to Join NATO, U.S. and China Hold Competing Military Drills After House Speaker Pelosi Visits Taiwan, Biden Signs Executive Order Supporting Patients Who Travel for Abortion Care, Indiana GOP Rep. Walorski and Two Staffers Killed in Car Crash, Mexican Journalist Killed, Bringing Total to 13 So Far This Year, Alex Jones Admits 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre Was Real, Right-Wing Authoritarian Leader of Hungary Viktor Orbán Meets with Trump, Will Speak at CPAC, Justice Dept. Investigated Over 1,000 Threats to Election Workers in Past Year, Labor Board Orders Striking Coal Miners to Pay $13.3 Million in Damages, Hyundai Subsidiary Accused of Using Child Labor in Alabama, House Bill Would Gut Protections for Gig Economy Workers, Catholic Worker Tom Cornell Dies at 88 Landslide! Kansas Voters Protect Abortion Rights in State Constitution, Reject GOP-Led Ballot Measure Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:52:25 -0400 Nearly 60% of Kansas voters struck down a ballot measure Tuesday night that would have removed the state’s right to abortion and cleared the way for Republican state lawmakers to ban the procedure. It was the first vote on abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “Voters in Kansas have just proven that the will of the people can be a powerful tool to overrule the will of a Republican-dominated Legislature,” says reproductive health reporter Amy Littlefield, who calls the vote a “landslide.” Senate Votes to Help Vets Poisoned by Military "Burn Pits." Why No Help for Sick Iraqis & Afghans? Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:32:48 -0400 The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to expand healthcare and disability benefits to some 3.5 million former U.S. service members poisoned by toxic substances from waste burning pits on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. The PACT Act, which now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law, is set to be the biggest expansion of health benefits to veterans in over 30 years but provides no aid to civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who continue to bear the brunt of the health and economic impacts of the toxic burn pits. “The campaign for veteran healthcare could have been a joint struggle that included Iraqi [and Afghan] people,” says Purdue University professor Kali Rubaii, who is just back from Fallujah, Iraq, where she was speaking with residents about the impact of the burn pits. She explains how the profit-driven U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan fueled the massive scale of burn pits in the region. We also speak with the Quincy Institute’s Kelley Vlahos, who discusses the congressional lead-up to the bill, which she says put “veterans in the crosshairs.” U.S.-China Tensions Rise as Pelosi Vows "Ironclad" Support for Taiwan During Controversial Trip Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:12:08 -0400 U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan after a series of high-profile meetings with Taiwan’s pro-democracy president and other lawmakers. Pelosi’s visit made her the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 year and stoked tensions with China, prompting the nation to announce it would carry out new air and naval drills and long-range live-fire exercises in six areas around Taiwan beginning Thursday. The Quincy Institute’s Michael Swaine says President Biden should have done more to prevent the visit and uphold the One China policy, calling the move a “basic violation of the understanding that the United States and China reached at the time of normalization.” Taiwanese American journalist Brian Hioe rebukes Swaine’s claims, saying progressives should focus more on the desires of the Taiwanese than trying to cater to the whims of the two imperial powers of the U.S. and China, adding that the Taiwanese are not threatened by China’s retaliatory military escalation. “We cannot act as progressives or leftists seeing things in a bipolar world, seeing no other agency from any other force,” says Hioe. Headlines for August 3, 2022 Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Pelosi Vows “Ironclad” Support for Taiwan; China to Hold New Military Drills Near Island, Kansas Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Constitutional Amendment Banning Abortion, Justice Department Sues Idaho over Abortion Ban, Trump-Backed Election Deniers Win GOP Primaries in Arizona for Senate & Secretary of State, Michigan GOP Lawmaker Who Voted to Impeach Trump Loses Primary, Haley Stevens Defeats Andy Levin After AIPAC Spent $3M+ to Defeat Ex-Synagogue President in Michigan, Russia Accuses U.S. of Direct Involvement in Ukraine War, U.N. Brokers Deal to Extend Yemen Ceasefire by Two Months, U.S. Approves $5 Billion in Missile Sales to Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates, Trump Backers in Arizona Feared Fake Elector Plot “Could Appear Treasonous”, Report: Pentagon Wiped Data from Phones of Top Officials After Jan. 6 Insurrection, Senate Approves Bill to Help Veterans Exposed to Toxic Burn Pits "The Viral Underclass": Steven Thrasher on Monkeypox, Biden Failures & How Class Impacts Viral Spread Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:49:25 -0400 As New York City declares monkeypox a public health emergency, and California and Illinois have also declared states of emergency over the rapid spread of monkeypox, we speak with LGBTQ+ scholar Steven Thrasher, author of the new book, “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide,” which explores how social determinants impact the health outcomes of different communities. “This disease is one that in theory can infect anyone, but it has worked its way particularly into communities with men who have sex with men,” says Thrasher. “This does not mean that it’s a 'gay disease,' and shouldn’t be stigmatized that way, but we shouldn’t be ashamed to think about who it is affecting and how it is affecting people and to deal with it with a great sense of urgency.” No Means Yes to Abortion: Kansas Votes on Confusing GOP-Backed Constitutional Amdt. to Ban Abortion Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:37:07 -0400 We go to Kansas, where voters today are deciding whether to pass a constitutional amendment that would override a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling establishing a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. If the amendment passes, it will clear the way for Republican state lawmakers to ban the procedure, which they have vowed to do. Kansas is the first state in the country to vote on the right to abortion and one of the last states in the region to still allow abortion, with clinics there having reported an influx of patients from neighboring states, including Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, after the Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade. Republicans are “strategically using tactics of voter suppression” to ensure the amendment passes by requiring strict registration guidelines and drafting “incredibly confusing” language in the amendment, says reproductive health reporter Amy Littlefield. Despite this, she says the abortion rights community feels “cautiously optimistic” that the enormous grassroots mobiliziation in response to the overruling of Roe “might just be enough” to strike down the amendment. The Assassination of Ayman al-Zawahiri: CIA Drone Kills al-Qaeda Leader at Safe House in Kabul Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:12:26 -0400 President Biden claimed Monday a CIA drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan. Trained as a surgeon in Egypt, where he was born into a prominent family, al-Zawahiri was a key figure in the jihadist movement since the 1980s. The U.S. has long accused al-Zawahiri of being a key 9/11 plotter along with Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in 2011. The Taliban has since criticized the attack, saying the drone strike was a “violation of international principles.” For more, we’re joined by Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary and national security expert Karen Greenberg, who say the Taliban’s apparent sheltering of al-Zawahiri in a prominent Kabul neighborhood was shocking. “This is a strike inside the heart of Kabul in an area that is very, very well known to the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies,” says Sarwary, whose sources report at least 12 Arab nationals were killed in the strike despite Biden announcing there were no civilian casualties. Headlines for August 2, 2022 Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 U.S. Drone Strike in Afghanistan Kills al-Qaeda Leader Ayman al-Zawahiri , Kentucky Flood Toll Rises to 37; California’s McKinney Fire Claims 2 Lives, White House Agrees to Complete Pipeline to Win Sen. Manchin’s Support for Climate Bill, Indigenous Protesters at U.S. Interior Department Reject Drilling on Public Lands, Militia Recruiter Sentenced to 7 Years for Role in Capitol Insurrection, China Warns Pelosi Visit to Taiwan Could Have “Disastrous Consequences” for U.S., Humanity Is “One Miscalculation Away from Nuclear Annihilation,” U.N. Leader Warns , Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr Protest in and Around Iraq’s Parliament, Republicans Who Opposed Trump Face Challengers as Five States Hold Primary Elections, Kansas Holds Referendum on Constitutional Right to Abortion, New York, California and Illinois Declare Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency "Mother Country Radicals": Weather Underground's Bernardine Dohrn & Bill Ayers's Son Makes New Podcast Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:10:17 -0400 We spend the hour with an activist who replaced Angela Davis on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List: Bernardine Dohrn, a leader in the radical 1960s organization called the Weather Underground. When Dohrn and her activist husband Bill Ayers literally went underground to avoid arrest, they then raised a family as they continued to fight for revolution. Now a new podcast that was created, written and hosted by their son, Zayd Ayers Dohrn, explores their family history. Dohrn and Ayers discuss how they were radicalized, how they raised their children underground and why they resurfaced, and respond to whether they think their actions — like bombing the Pentagon to protest the war in Vietnam — perpetuated violence. We feature excerpts of the family from the podcast, as well as of former Weather Underground leaders who were captured and went to prison, like the late Kathy Boudin, mother of former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who then became a brother to Zayd, and Kakuya Shakur, daughter of Assata Shakur, who is still in exile in Cuba. “This is an important part of the story to the collateral damage to the next generation,” says Ayers Dohrn. “None of those kids chose to be part of the revolution. They, we, were born into it and still had to suffer the consequences.” Headlines for August 1, 2022 Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Death Toll in Kentucky Flooding Rises to 28, Wildfire in California’s Klamath National Forest Explodes in Size , Oil Giants Rake In Record Profits Amid Global Surge in Prices, Sen. Sinema Remains Uncommitted on Manchin-Schumer Deal on Climate, Healthcare and Taxes, House Approves Federal Assault Weapons Ban; Senate GOP Expected to Filibuster, First Grain Ship Leaves Ukraine Since Russia Invaded in February, House Speaker Pelosi Will Visit Taiwan Despite Warnings from China, Pope Asks Forgiveness for “Genocide” of Canada’s Indigenous Children, Trump-Appointed DHS Watchdog Dropped Efforts to Recover Deleted Jan. 6 Texts, FBI Raids Black Liberation Group Accused of Spreading Russian Propaganda, Guatemalan Police Arrest Muckraking Journalist José Rubén Zamora, NBA Legend and Civil Rights Leader Bill Russell Dies at 88, Pioneering Black Actress Nichelle Nichols, Who Played Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek,” Dies at 89 Prison Health Expert Warns Monkeypox Could "Dramatically Increase" Behind Bars, Calls for CDC Action Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:49:52 -0400 The first case of monkeypox behind bars was reported in Chicago this week, and health experts are warning that jails could accelerate the spread as they are dangerously unprepared to combat against a virus that spreads through close physical contact. We speak with Dr. Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer for New York City’s Correctional Health Services, whose new op-ed for The Hill is headlined ”CDC must act to prevent monkeypox explosion in prisons.” "Hellholes": Heat Waves Worsen Conditions in Prisons with No Air Conditioning, Understaffing Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:42:10 -0400 As tens of millions of people in the United States live under heat alerts this summer, we look at conditions faced by those in prisons and jails with poor cooling systems and lack of access to running water. “Although heat has been an ongoing issue in Texas, this year it’s exacerbated by a staffing crisis that’s been years in the making,” says Keri Blakinger, the first formerly incarcerated reporter for The Marshall Project. “This is a drastically underappreciated problem,” adds Dr. Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer for New York City’s Correctional Health Services. "Our Lives Depend on Passing Climate Policy": Meet Congressional Staffer Arrested in Senate Protest Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:34:00 -0400 Before a deal emerged this week on a bill to address the climate emergency, six congressional staffers were arrested Monday on Capitol Hill as they held a nonviolent civil disobedience protest inside the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging him to reopen negotiations on the bill. We speak with Saul Levin, one of the staffers who was arrested, and discuss the role the action had in pushing the bill forward. “Our lives depend on passing climate policy this year,” says Levin. “We hope that this had an impact.” We’re also joined by Leah Stokes, a professor of environmental politics who advised Senate Democrats on the legislation. Behind the Scenes of the Senate Climate Bill & What Finally Pushed Joe Manchin to Make a Deal Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:26:45 -0400 President Biden is hailing a Senate bill negotiated by Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer as “the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis.” While it faces hurdles before passage, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act would invest $369 billion into renewable energy and other measures to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Leah Stokes, a professor of environmental politics who advised Senate Democrats on the legislation, says that while the bill is not perfect, it represents a major step forward. “We just do not have another decade left to wait if we really want to be on track to cut carbon pollution in half this decade,” says Stokes. Why Is AIPAC Spending Millions in Primary to Defeat Rep. Andy Levin, a Former Synagogue President? Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:12:48 -0400 As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) invests millions in Democratic primaries to defeat progressives who support Palestine, we speak to one of the candidates: Michigan Congressmember Andy Levin, whose primary is on Tuesday. He is a self-described Zionist who supports a two-state solution, but earlier this year a former president of AIPAC described him as “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the U.S.-Israel relationship.” “What you have here is a real threat to the Democratic Party being able to choose our own nominees that we send to the general election in November,” says Levin. Levin was among 17 House Democrats arrested Tuesday in a pro-abortion protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court. Headlines for July 29, 2022 Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0400 Biden Urges Congress to Swiftly Pass Deal on Climate, Healthcare & Economy, Torrential Rains Trigger Deadly Floods and Mudslides in Kentucky, Congress Approves Bill to Subsidize U.S. Semiconductor Industry, GOP Senators Block Bill to Aid Veterans Exposed to Toxic Burn Pits, Russia and Ukraine Trade Blame After Strike on Prison Kills 40 POWs , President Biden Holds Lengthy Phone Call with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, “What About My Life?”: 12-Year-Old West Virginian Demands Lawmakers Reject Abortion Ban, Supreme Court’s Samuel Alito Mocks Critics of His Ruling Striking Down Abortion Rights, At Least Five Haitian Migrants Drown Off Coast of Puerto Rico, Central American Migrants Narrowly Escape Suffocation in Abandoned Trailer in Mexico, Trader Joe’s Workers in Massachusetts Organize Grocery Chain’s First-Ever Union, Indigenous Protesters in Canada Demand Pope Francis Rescind “Doctrine of Discovery” Taliban Rule an "Epic Failure" for Afghanistan with Widespread Poverty, Crackdown on Women & Girls Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:50:44 -0400 As next month marks one year since the United States officially withdrew from Afghanistan, we look at the Taliban-ruled country’s devastating economic and humanitarian crisis that has unfolded since. Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary describes the dire situation as “an epic failure by the Taliban as the de facto rulers in terms of not stopping their crackdown against the Afghan people” while they cope with flash floods, food shortages and more. He adds that the U.S. exit deal with the Taliban “completely sidelined the previous government” and failed to kickstart a peace process, contributing to instability in the country. Nina Khrushcheva: "Don't Cancel Russian Culture." Collective Punishment "Plays into Putin's Hands." Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:41:35 -0400 As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, many in Western countries are expressing their opposition to the war by becoming hostile to Russian culture. Nina Khrushcheva argues that Russian music, films, books and art are not the right targets for antiwar activism in her latest article, “Don’t Cancel Russian Culture.” If Russians feel that the West is inhibiting Russian culture, “they will blame the West more than they blame the oppressive regime that is there in Russia,” says Khrushcheva, professor at The New School and great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Meanwhile, Russia is cracking down on cultural producers who dare to oppose the invasion. Ukraine Invasion: Russian Opposition to War Has Been Smashed, with Many Dissidents Fleeing Abroad Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:29:26 -0400 We look at how the Russian war in Ukraine is impacting the Russian people, with many Russian dissidents who oppose the invasion choosing to flee abroad after facing violent crackdowns at home. Ilya Budraitskis is a Russian historian and political writer who left his home in Moscow after the war in Ukraine began, and recently launched the media outlet Posle. Meanwhile, Putin’s Russia looks like an extremely “conformist” society, where “some 200 kilometers from your home you have a full-scale war with the army of your country that started this war, and you pretend not to follow the news, not to disturb your normal way of life with this terrifying information,” says Budraitskis. Ukrainian Feminist: We Need Western Solidarity in Fighting Russian Imperialism Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:11:34 -0400 We speak to Oksana Dutchak, a Ukrainian feminist and co-editor of the leftist journal Spilne, who fled to Germany because of the “inability to live under the constant pressure of fear” as Russian invaded. She says Western leftists and feminists who have misgivings about Western military support for Ukraine often overlook that Ukrainians are fighting for self-determination and against imperialism. “What does it mean to stop the war? How it should be stopped? There are questions which should be in the center if you want to give a political answer to the challenges Ukrainian society is facing,” she adds. Headlines for July 28, 2022 Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0400 In Reversal, Sen. Joe Manchin Will Back Legislation on Climate, Healthcare and Taxes, Progressive Lawmakers and Activists Demand Biden Declare Climate Emergency, Fed Raises Key Interest Rate by 0.75%, Citing Inflation, Former Trump WH Aide Cassidy Hutchinson Is Cooperating with DOJ Probe into Jan. 6, Russia Bombs Ukrainian Military Base Near Kyiv; U.S. Estimates 75,000 Russian Casualties, Secretary of State Blinken Says He’ll Discuss Prisoner Exchange with Russian Counterpart, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Threatens Nuclear Response If Provoked by U.S., President Biden Says He Has Recovered from COVID-19, Judges in North Dakota and Wyoming Block Abortion “Trigger” Bans, Marriage Equality Bill, Approved by House, Nears Senate Vote, Man Indicted in Highland Park Mass Shooting, Democrats Grill Arms Industry CEOs on Selling Military-Style Guns to Civilians, Former Minneapolis Officers Sentenced for Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights
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