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"Second Chance": Deported to Haiti, Immigrant Activist Jean Montrevil Returns to U.S. on Special Parole
Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:43:26 -0400
In an exclusive interview, we speak with Jean Montrevil, an immigrant rights leader who was deported to Haiti in 2018. He returned home to New York and reunited with his family Monday on a special 90-day parole. He hopes to stay longer. Montrevil was a founding member of the New Sanctuary Coalition, which worked with Families for Freedom to engage churches in immigrant defense. ICE targeted him for his activism, using a decades-old conviction as pretext to deport him. In his first interview since landing, Montrevil tells Democracy Now! he will continue to speak out and implore the current administration to "take a second look at their policies and to stop deportations to Haiti." His longtime lawyer Alina Das says, "We don't believe that anyone should be targeted for deportation, to be jailed, to be taken away from their family, to be expelled from this country because they've chosen to speak out."

A Reluctant Warrior? An Examination of Gen. Colin Powell's Bloody Legacy from Iraq to Latin America
Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:14:30 -0400
We look at the life and legacy of Colin Powell, who is best known for giving false testimony to the U.N. Security Council in 2003 about nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, paving the way for the U.S. invasion and occupation that would kill over 1 million Iraqis. Powell, who was the first Black secretary of state, the first Black and youngest chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black national security adviser, died on Monday due to blood cancer and Parkinson's disease that left him vulnerable to infection from COVID-19. Tributes poured in from top U.S. leaders in both Republican and Democratic circles on Monday, but in other parts of the world Powell is remembered very differently. We speak with journalist and author Roberto Lovato, and Clarence Lusane, activist, journalist and political science professor at Howard University. Lusane describes Powell as "a complicated political figure who leaves a complicated legacy" whose public image was "in conflict with many of the policies of the party he supported and the administration in which he was involved." Assessing Powell's role in U.S. invasions around the world, from Vietnam to Central America, Lovato says "he's made a career out of being a good soldier and supporting U.S. mass murder around the world, but evading the credit for it."

Headlines for October 19, 2021
Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Trump Sues to Block Release of Documents to Congressional Committee on Jan. 6 Riots, FDA Panel Recommends Third Shot of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Certain Groups, Colin Powell Died of COVID-19 Complications After Blood Cancer Left Him Immunocompromised, Sen. Joe Manchin Wants Strict Limits and Work Requirements for Child Tax Credit, Justice Department Asks Supreme Court to Halt Texas's Near-Total Ban on Abortions, SCOTUS Decisions Bolster Doctrine of Qualified Immunity for Police Officers, Kenosha, WI Police Accused of "Deputizing" White Nationalists Ahead of Shooting Deaths, Venezuelan President Maduro Says U.S. "Kidnapped" Diplomat Alex Saab, Biden Administration Plans to Spy on Caravans of Asylum Seekers in Latin America, Protesters Block Miami Port to Demand End to Haiti Deportation Flights, Indigenous Amazonians Sue Ecuador to Halt Oil Drilling and Mining PlansÂ , Tens of Thousands of Italian Anti-Fascist Protesters Rally in Rome, New York City Taxi Drivers Will Go on Hunger Strike to Demand Debt Relief

As CIA Ramps Up Anti-China Actions, Why Doesn't Congress Oppose Biden's "New Cold War"?
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:41:04 -0400
We speak with Ethan Paul, a former reporter with the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong who is now with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. China's military revealed last week that it had conducted beach landing and assault drills in the province across from Taiwan. This comes as the CIA has set up a new mission center focused solely on China. CIA Director William Burns has described China as "the most important geopolitical threat facing the United States." Paul says there has been almost no "meaningful dissent among Democrats" in Congress about "the need to make sure that we don't let this beast run out of control."

Pediatrician Welcomes Imminent Approval of COVID Vaccine for Kids 5-11 Amid Opposition to Mask Mandates
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:31:50 -0400
The Biden administration is launching a national vaccination campaign for about 28 million children between the ages of 5 and 11. The vaccine will be two doses and one-third as potent as the one being given to people over the age of 12. An independent panel is set to offer a recommendation to the FDA that evaluates the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in late October. We're joined by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician and co-chair of the Protect Michigan Commission, to speak more about the rollout of the vaccine for kids. "It's really important, if we want to go back to normal, for our kids to get this vaccine," says Dr. Hanna-Attisha. "We need all hands on deck to improve our vaccination rates."

"Racism Plays a Major Part": Like in Flint, Lead Pipes Leave Benton Harbor, Michigan, with Toxic Water
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:17:30 -0400
Residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, are calling for immediate action on replacing the city's lead pipes, which have endangered their drinking water. Since 2018, tap water in the predominantly Black city has contained lead levels up to 60 times the federal limit. Yet government officials have only addressed the toxic contamination as an urgent crisis in recent days. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician who exposed a similar water crisis in the neighboring city of Flint, sees parallels between the two emergencies. "Every day that goes by when there is lead in the water is one day too long for the children of Benton Harbor," she says. Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council, emphasizes that racism plays a major role in the government's slow response. He says, "Since it's Benton Harbor, a Black city, they figure this can continue."

Headlines for October 18, 2021
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Gutting Democrats' Climate Plans, Manchin Opposes Renewable Energy Program in Reconciliation Bill, Manchin Wants Strict Conditions on Child Tax Credit, Which Has Lifted Millions of Kids from Poverty, FDA Panel Unanimously Recommends Booster Shots of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine, Bronx Man Dies of COVID-19 One Hour After Release from Rikers Jail, COVID Cases on the Rise in the U.K, Russia; Melbourne Ends World's Longest Lockdown, U.S. to Compensate Afghan Families over August Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians, Death Toll in ISIS-K Mosque Attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Rises to 47, British Lawmaker David Amess Fatally Stabbed, 17 Missionaries and Children Kidnapped in Haiti, IATSE Reaches Tentative Deal with Hollywood Producers, Averting TV and Film Crew Strike, Advocates Walk Out of Virtual Meeting with White House over "Remain in Mexico" Policy, China Denies Report It Tested Nuclear-Capable Hypersonic Missile, Chinese Authorities Sentence More Hong Kong Democracy Campaigners to Prison, Heavy Monsoon Rains Bring Floods and Landslides to India's Kerala State, Argentine Judge Indicts Franco-Era Spanish Minister Martín Villa on Homicide Charges, Two Indigenous Children in Brazil Killed in Mining Dredge Used by Illegal Gold Miners, Puerto Ricans March to Protest Ongoing Power Outages After Privatization of Electric Grid, Texas Republicans Pass Bill Banning Trans Youth from School Sports, Donald Trump to Give Video Deposition over Guards' Assault of Protesters in 2015, Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Three White Men Charged with Killing Ahmaud Arbery, Colin Powell, Whose False 2003 Testimony at U.N. Helped Launch U.S. Invasion of Iraq, Dies of COVID-19

"Long March for Justice" Underway Across New Jersey to Demand Police Reform, Reparations
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 08:53:16 -0400
We get an update from New Jersey, where the People's Organization for Progress is leading a 67-mile march to demand the state Legislature pass legislation to hold police accountable. The nine-day march wraps up Saturday, and activists are demanding passage of a state policy that would give police review boards subpoena power, ban and criminalize chokeholds, establish requirements for use of deadly force and end qualified immunity in New Jersey. At the national level, they are calling for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. "We know that electoral politics alone is not enough," says Larry Hamm, chair of the People's Organization for Progress, when asked about his activism following his run for the U.S. Senate this past year. "The primary antidote to police brutality is the organized and mobilized people."

A Death Trap? As 12th Prisoner Dies at NYC's Rikers Island, Calls Grow to Close World's Largest Jail
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 08:31:31 -0400
We take an in-depth look at the growing humanitarian crisis at the world's largest jail complex, Rikers Island in New York City. After touring the jail, New York City Public Advocate ——Jumaane Williams describes it as "a disaster." In response to mounting public pressure, most of the women and transgender people at Rikers are being transferred to two prisons, including a maximum-security facility, even as most are still awaiting trial. "It's like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound," says Anisah Sabur, who was formerly incarcerated at Rikers and one of the prisons and is now a leader with the HALT Solitary Campaign. Prosecutors and judges "hold the keys to Rikers," notes Jullian Harris-Calvin, director of the Greater Justice New York program at the Vera Institute of Justice, who says they must be pressured to continue bail reform and not fall prey to misconceptions about crime rates, and instead adopt measures to adequately address public safety. "We need to make bail affordable or just release them," Harris-Calvin says.

"People vs. Fossil Fuels": Over 530 Arrested in Historic Indigenous-Led Climate Protests in D.C.
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 08:14:01 -0400
This week over 530 climate activists were arrested during Indigenous-led civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C., calling on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop approving fossil fuel projects. Indigenous leaders have issued a series of demands, including the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose offices they occupied on Thursday for the first time since the 1970s. The protests come just weeks before the start of the critical U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which President Biden and senior Cabinet members are expected to attend. "We're not going anywhere," says Siqiñiq Maupin, with Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, who traveled from Alaska to D.C. and was among those arrested during the BIA occupation. "We do not have time for negotiations, for compromises. We need to take this serious and take action now." We also speak with Joye Braun, with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Indigenous Environmental Network, who was deeply involved in the Standing Rock protests to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. "The United States government brought the frontlines to us, to the Indigenous people, to our doorsteps," says Braun. "And we wanted to bring the frontlines to his doorstep to let him see that we are very serious about climate change and declaring a climate emergency."

Headlines for October 15, 2021
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Bomb Attack on Mosque in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province Kills at Least 32, Lebanon Holds Day of Mourning After Beirut Violence Leaves Seven Dead, U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization, FDA Panel Recommends Moderna Vaccine Boosters for Some Groups, Biden Welcomes Kenyan President Kenyatta Amid Pandora Papers Scandal, Chilean Lawmakers Move to Impeach President Piñera over Pandora Papers Revelations, African Asylum Seekers File Civil Rights Complaint Against ICE Over "Cruel, Inhumane" Restraints, House Memo Shines Spotlight on Police Use of Tear Gas, a Chemical Banned in Wars, Appeals Court Keeps Texas Abortion Ban in Place, Texas School Official Instructs Educators to Teach Students "Opposing" Views on Holocaust, Actor Lili Bernard Sues Bill Cosby, Says He Drugged and Raped Her, Kenyan Police Arrest Husband of Murdered, Record-Breaking Runner Agnes Tirop, Jan. 6 Committee to Recommend Criminal Charges Against Steve Bannon, President Biden to Attend COP26 in November with Team of Cabinet Members and Top Officials, Climate Activist Confronts Shell CEO: "You Are Directly Responsible for Climate Deaths"

The Nation's John Nichols: Trump's Coup Nearly Succeeded. He Will Try Again in 2024
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:50:08 -0400
As the House committee probing the January 6 attack on the Capitol ramps up its investigation, new details continue to emerge about former President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in the White House despite losing the 2020 election. The Senate Judiciary Committee recently revealed Trump directly asked the Justice Department nine times for help overturning the election. One of Trump's lawyers also wrote a memo detailing how Trump could stage a coup by getting electors from seven states thrown out, thus denying Biden's victory. The House select committee may also file charges against top Trump adviser Steve Bannon if he refuses to testify and hand over documents. John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, says Trump's continued grip on the Republican Party and his likely run for president in 2024 make the investigations vital to safeguarding democracy. "We really are looking at the prospect that Trump will seek to implement exactly the strategy that he was trying to implement before January 6 again in 2024," says Nichols.

Afghan Interpreter Who Rescued Biden in 2008 Is Evacuated from Afghanistan with His Family
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:34:00 -0400
After weeks of pleading for help, an Afghan interpreter, who helped rescue then-Senator Joe Biden when he was stranded 13 years ago in Afghanistan, has finally escaped Afghanistan. Aman Khalili describes his journey out of the country, and we speak with the reporter who broke the story. "I was in the safehouse for 15 days," Khalili tells Democracy Now! Khalili is "representative of a group of people that are still appealing for help from America and anyone else that can help them," says Dion Nissenbaum, with The Wall Street Journal.

Snipers Fatally Attack Protesters in Beirut as Lebanon Reels from Devastating Economic Collapse
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:11:31 -0400
At least five people were shot today in Beirut after snipers opened fire on a protest as Lebanon faces a growing economic and political emergency amid widespread corruption. Over the weekend, Lebanon fell into darkness for 24 hours after the nation's electric grid collapsed. Within the past year, the Lebanese currency has fully collapsed as it continues to grapple with the aftermath of last year's deadly port explosion. This comes as the country's political class is expected to accelerate even harsher austerity and privatization efforts in exchange for international support, says Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization, adding, "The international community holds huge responsibility in constantly allowing the political class to reproduce itself, of throwing it a lifeline whenever it is in crisis."

Headlines for October 14, 2021
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Biden Says Port of Los Angeles Will Operate 24/7 to Ease Logjam That's Fueling Inflation, WHO Advisory Team to Investigate Origins of COVID-19 Pandemic, Pressure Grows to Waive Patent Rights for COVID Vaccines and for U.S. to Release Moderna Recipe, Florida Health Department Fines County That Defied Ban on Vaccine Mandates, Biden Admin to Massively Expand Wind Farms Along U.S. Coastlines, IAE Says Governments Must Do Far More to Avert Climate Catastrophe, Police Arrest Another 90 Activists as Climate Protests Continue in Front of White House, Texas Approves Heavily Gerrymandered Redistricting Map in Favor of GOP, White Voters, DOJ Asks SCOTUS to Reinstate Death Penalty for Boston Marathon Bomber, Heavy Gunfights in Beirut Follow Shooting at Protest Which Killed at Least 5 People, Czechs Vote Out Populist Prime Minister Andrej BabiÅ¡, Man Armed with Bow and Arrow Kills 5 People in Norway Attack, "Striketober": 10,000 John Deere Workers Go on Strike; Kaiser Permanente & IATSE Workers Could Be Next

"Missing in Brooks County": Thousands of Migrants Denied Due Process at Border Have Died in Desert
Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:42:50 -0400
We continue to look at the humanitarian crisis along the border, where more people are dying trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border than ever before, as President Biden has increased funding for border enforcement and militarization even as he vowed not to expand Trump's border wall. We go to Brooks County in South Texas, which has recorded at least 98 migrant deaths so far this year, nearly triple the number from 2020. "People are being expelled without any due process regarding their asylum claim," says Eddie Canales, director of the South Texas Human Rights Center. "There really hasn't been a change in policy," said Canales, when asked about Biden's approach to asylum seekers. We also speak with filmmaker Lisa Molomot, co-director of the new documentary "Missing in Brooks County," which follows the story of two families searching for lost loved ones who went missing there after crossing the border, driven further into the desert by inland checkpoints and the policy in place since 1994 called "prevention through deterrence."

Family Searching for Migrant Father Who Went Missing in Texas Desert as Border Deaths Hit Record
Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:16:50 -0400
Armando Alejo Hernández went missing in the desert after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in May of 2021, but not before sending several last audio messages to his eldest son describing the difficult terrain and asking for help. "He wasn't feeling so good, and he was out of water and food," says Hernández's 17-year-old son Derek. "The group got ahead, and then he lost the group." Hernández was an undocumented worker in the United States for more than a decade before being deported in 2016. His wife and two sons, who are U.S citizens by birth, have pleaded with Border Patrol and the Mexican Consulate for help, without any luck so far. "This year we are going to break the record of migrants dying at the border," warns Fernando García of the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights, one of many organizations demanding that the Biden administration "fulfill their promise to change the inhumane policies at the border."

Headlines for October 13, 2021
Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
U.S. Reopens Borders with Canada and Mexico for Vaccinated Travelers; FDA Considers Moderna Booster, Southwest, American Airlines Rebuff TX Vaccine Mandate Ban; WI Moms Sue Schools for Endangering Kids, House Votes to Temporarily Raise Debt Ceiling, Progressive Dems Say Reconciliation Package Must Not Sacrifice Urgently Needed Social Programs, 155 Activists Arrested as Climate Actions Continue in D.C.; Indigenous Leaders March in Latin America, Nonprofit Pursues Jair Bolsonaro at ICC for "Crimes Against Humanity" for Destroying the Amazon, EU Pledges $1.15 Billion in Aid for Afghanistan as European and U.S. Delegates Meet with Taliban, Decaying Oil Tanker Off Yemen Coast Could Cut Off Access to Water and Food for 9 Million People, New Tunisan Gov't, First Woman Prime Minister Sworn In Amid Political Crisis, Ethiopia Launched Attacks Against Tigray Amid Mounting Humanitarian Disaster, Military and Police Crack Down on Student Protests in Eswatini, Michigan Officials Say Lead-Contaminated Water in City of Benton Harbor Not Safe to Consume, Consumer Protections Advocate Rohit Chopra Sworn In to Lead CFPB, DHS Orders ICE to Halt Massive Workplace Raids, Jury Finds Two Parents Guilty in "Varsity Blues" College Admissions Scandal, Amazon and Google Workers Condemn Project Nimbus Contract with Israeli Military, Novelist Sally Rooney Denies Translation Rights to Israeli Company in Show of Support for BDS

As CIA Warns China "Most Important" Threat to U.S., Is Biden Pursuing a "New Cold War"?
Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:49:47 -0400
We look at growing tensions between China and Taiwan as China's military said Monday it had conducted beach landing and assault drills in the province across from Taiwan. Taiwan's president responded on Sunday saying Taiwan would not bow to pressure from China. This comes as The Wall Street Journal has revealed a small team of U.S. special operations forces and marines have been secretly operating in Taiwan for at least a year to help train Taiwanese military forces for a possible conflict with China. We speak with Ethan Paul of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who warns U.S. interference could cause "a conflict that could engulf the entire region." His latest article is "Biden doesn't understand the 'new Cold War.'"

Iraqi Journalist: Amid Low Election Turnout, "Iraq's Streets Littered with the Memories of Our Dead"
Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:33:10 -0400
Voter turnout at the fifth parliamentary election in Iraq hit an all-time low, with many Iraqis refusing to vote as widespread faith in the democratic process and politics falters. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has been a vocal opponent of foreign invasion, won the most seats. He has also been accused of kidnapping and killing his critics. "The election has more to do with making this regime and this system look good than responding to the demands of the people," says Nabil Salih, Iraqi journalist and photographer, who also discusses protests that sped up the election and conditions in Iraq's hospitals. His latest piece for Middle East Eye is "Iraq's streets are littered with the memories of our dead."

Dayton Police Dragged Paraplegic Man Clifford Owensby from His Car; NAACP Says Arrest Was "Unlawful"
Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:13:08 -0400
Clifford Owensby says Dayton police violently arrested him last month even though he is paraplegic and repeatedly told them he could not use his legs to get out of the car during a traffic stop. New police bodycam video shows the officers dragging Owensby out of his car and yanking him by his hair as he shouted for help. Owensby had his 3-year-old child in the car at the time of arrest. He has now filed a complaint with Dayton's branch of the NAACP. "The officers should be placed at least on administrative leave," says Derrick Foward, president of the Dayon Unit NAACP. Foward says that Owensby is expected to bring a case against Dayton police once all the evidence is collected, and he attributes the quick release of the bodycam video to recent police reforms advocated for in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Headlines for October 12, 2021
Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
WHO: Climate Change Is "The Single Biggest Health Threat Facing Humanity", Heavy Flooding in China Kills 15, Destroys 20,000 Homes, 135 Arrested in Indigenous Peoples' Day Climate Action Outside White House, Greenpeace Installs Statue of Boris Johnson Splattered in Oil Outside 10 Downing St., Wealthy Nations Denounced for Hoarding COVID-19 Vaccines, Parliamentary Report: COVID-19 Response Was One of Biggest Public Health Failures in U.K. History, Gov. Greg Abbott Bans All Entities in Texas from Enforcing Vaccine Mandates, Iraqi Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Sees Biggest Gains in Parliamentary Election, U.N. Urges World Leaders to Address Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan, Pandora Papers: Ecuador's President Faces Probe over Use of Tax Havens, Guatemalan Prosecutor in Landmark Ríos Montt Trial Is Transferred in Blow to Human Rights, Honduras: Mayoral Candidate & Daughter of Berta Cáceres Targeted Ahead of November Elections, Trump Pays Tribute to Insurrectionist Shot Dead on Jan. 6, Raiders Football Coach Resigns over Racist, Sexist and Homophobic Emails, GLAAD Criticizes Dave Chappelle Special on Netflix over Anti-Trans Jokes, Sister Megan Rice, Nun Who Broke into Nuclear Weapons Facility, Dies at 91

Katrina vanden Heuvel on Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dmitry Muratov's Fight for Press Freedom in Russia
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:53:17 -0400
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Russian independent journalist Dmitry Muratov and Filipina journalist Maria Ressa for "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression." Muratov runs the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has lost more journalists to murder than any other Russian news outlet. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor-in-chief of The Nation and reporter on Russia for the last 30 years, recounts the trajectory of Muratov's career, noting his newspaper's humble beginnings and his unexpected rise to becoming an advocate for freedom of the press. "Investigative journalism in Russia today is very dangerous," says vanden Heuvel. Despite the danger, van Heuvel says that Novaya readership is skyrocketing with younger journalists lining up to work at the newspaper.

"People vs. Fossil Fuels'': Winona LaDuke & Mass Protests Call on Biden to Stop Line 3 Pipeline
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:41:07 -0400
In response to the completion of the contested Line 3 pipeline, which is now reportedly operational, thousands of Indigenous leaders and climate justice advocates are kicking off the "People vs. Fossil Fuels'' mobilization, an Indigenous-led five-day action of civil disobedience at the White House to demand President Biden declare a climate emergency, divest from fossil fuels and launch a "just renewable energy revolution." "This pipeline doesn't respect treaty rights," says Winona LaDuke, longtime Indigenous activist and founder of Honor the Earth, a platform to raise awareness of and money for Indigenous struggles for environmental justice. "They're just trying to continue their egregious behavior. It's so tragic that, on the one hand, the Biden administration is like, 'We're going to have Indigenous Peoples' Day, but we're still going to smash you in northern Minnesota and smash the rest of the country.'" LaDuke faces criminal charges linked to her protest of pipelines in three different counties.

The Red Nation Slams Cooptation of Indigenous Peoples' Day Amid Global Colonial Resource Extraction
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:32:03 -0400
We continue our look at Indigenous Peoples' Day with Jennifer Marley, a citizen of San Ildefonso Pueblo and a member of the grassroots Indigenous liberation organization The Red Nation, which helped lead a campaign in 2015 to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Marley slams President Biden's formal recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day as a federal holiday and discusses how Native lands are disproportionately used for resource extraction and how The Red Nation connects their local struggles to international decolonization campaigns, as well.

Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz: Indigenous Peoples' Day Shared with Columbus Day Is a "Contradiction"
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:12:44 -0400
President Biden has formally recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day as a federal holiday, following a growing movement to debunk the myth of Christopher Columbus as a beneficent discoverer and replace it with recognition that the arrival of Columbus in the Bahamas unleashed a brutal genocide that massacred tens of millions of Native people across the hemisphere. But the holiday will continue to be shared with Columbus Day, which many argue glorifies the nation's dark history of colonial genocide that killed millions of Native people. "It's just not appropriate to celebrate Columbus and Indigenous peoples on the same day. It's a contradiction," says author and historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. "Genocidal enslavement is what Columbus represents."

Headlines for October 11, 2021
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Antiviral COVID-19 Pill, COVID-19 Death Toll in Brazil Tops 600,000, "Shameful and Dangerous": Oxfam Slams New Deal on Global Minimum Corporate Tax, Up to 72 Die in Suicide Blast at Shiite Mosque in Afghanistan, Record Low Turnout Reported for Iraq's Parliamentary Elections, Lights Go Out in Lebanon After Electrical Grid Collapses, Taiwan Vows Not to Bow to Pressure from China as Tension Escalates, Libya: Six Refugees Shot Dead at Overcrowded Prison Camp, 70,000 March in Brussels Demanding Action on Climate Emergency, Report: Sen. Sinema Wants to Cut $100B in Climate Funds, Abortion Ban Reinstated in Texas After Federal Appeals Court Ruling, Police in Dayton, Ohio, Denounced for Dragging Paraplegic Black Man Out of Car, Justice Department: No Federal Charges in Police Shooting of Jacob Blake, Biden Administration Urged to Halt Efforts to Expand Immigration Detention, 126 People, Mostly Haitians, Found Locked in Shipping Container in Guatemala, Jan. 6 Committee Considers Charges Against Steve Bannon for Defying Subpoena, AQ Khan, Who Admitted to Role in Global Nuclear Proliferation Scandal, Dies at 85

"Until I Am Free": Keisha Blain on the Enduring Legacy of Voting Rights Pioneer Fannie Lou Hamer
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:45:20 -0400
As Republican lawmakers attempt to make it harder to vote in states across the country, we look at the life and legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights pioneer who helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Historian Keisha Blain writes about Hamer in her new book, "Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America." In addition to fighting for voting rights, Hamer challenged state-sanctioned violence and medical racism that Black women faced. Blain based the book's title on a frequent saying of Fannie Lou Hamer's: "Whether you are Black or white, you are not free until I am free."

Family of Henrietta Lacks Files Lawsuit over Use of Stolen Cells, Lambasts Racist Medical System
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:26:18 -0400
The family of Henrietta Lacks has filed a lawsuit against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific for making billions in profit from the "HeLa" cell line. Henrietta Lacks was an African American patient at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Doctors kept her tissue samples without her consent for experimental studies while treating her for cervical cancer in 1951. Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers for the case, filed 70 years after her death, calls Henrietta Lacks a "cornerstone of modern medicine," as her cells have since played a part in cancer research, the polio vaccine and even COVID-19 vaccines. Ron Lacks, author and grandson of Henrietta Lacks, laments the fact that the family was never notified when his grandmother died, and that part of what motivates the lawsuit is to ensure "no other family should ever go through this."

Filipina Journalist Maria Ressa Wins Nobel Peace Prize After Facing Years of Threats & Arrests
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:11:47 -0400
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday morning to Filipina journalist Maria Ressa and Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov for their work to "safeguard freedom of expression." Ressa has repeatedly been arrested by the government of Rodrigo Duterte for the groundbreaking work of her news site Rappler, which has exposed Duterte's deadly war on drugs that has killed tens of thousands. "The Nobel Peace Prize committee realized a world without facts means a world without truth," said Ressa today after winning the prize. We reair a 2019 interview when Ressa came into the Democracy Now! studio.

Headlines for October 8, 2021
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Pfizer-BioNTech Requests Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccine for Children Aged 5-11, COVID Deaths in Russia Top 900/Day; Venezuela Accuses IMF of Withholding Pandemic Funds, Senate Cmte. Says Trump Repeatedly Asked DOJ for Help Overturning Election Loss, Senate Votes to Lift Debt Ceiling Until Early December, Minneapolis Police Joke About "Hunting Activists" During 2020 Racial Justice Uprising, Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, WSJ: U.S. Military Secretly Training Taiwanese Forces for Possible Conflict with China, Gunmen Kill 2 School Teachers in Kashmir Amid Mounting Attacks on Civilians, Family of Argentinian Reporter Found Dead During 2019 Bolivian Coup Demands Probe , U.N. Agency to Close Probe into Yemen War After Pressure from Saudis and Allies, Biden Admin to Turn Pennsylvania Prison into For-Profit ICE Jail, Immigrant Advocates Petition Int'l Rights Body to Call for End of Title 42, Texas to Appeal U.S. Judge Ruling Which Blocked State's Abortion Ban, Reuters: AT&T Helped Build Far-Right, Pro-Trump One America News Network, Biden Admin Restores Protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments

Ethiopia: New Reports Expose Ethnic Cleansing & Illegal Arms Shipments on Commercial Flights
Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:41:02 -0400
Amid the mounting humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government has been using the commercial airline Ethiopia Airlines to shuttle weapons and military vehicles from neighboring country Eritrea since the beginning of their civil war, according to a new CNN investigation. This comes as the United Nations estimates more than 5 million people in the country's Tigray region are now in need of humanitarian assistance in order to survive, but U.N. officials say Ethiopia's government is blocking the movement of medicine, food and fuel into Tigray. In response, Ethiopian officials expelled seven senior U.N. officials from Ethiopia last week, giving them just 72 hours to leave the country. We look at the latest developments with Nima Elbagir, award-winning senior international correspondent for CNN, and also air her full report documenting ethnic cleansing.

Abu Zubaydah Was Tortured for Years at CIA Black Sites. Biden Is Trying to Keep the Abuse Secret.
Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:23:02 -0400
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by Abu Zubaydah, the Guantánamo prisoner who was the first subject of the CIA's torture program. Zubaydah's legal team has spent years trying to obtain testimony from two psychologists who helped the CIA design and implement his torture, and the Biden administration is continuing the Trump's administration strategy to keep key information about Zubaydah's torture in Poland classified despite the fact that the two psychologists are willing to testify. Several justices contradicted the Biden administration, suggesting Zubaydah, the only witness besides the psychologists to the torture in Poland, testify himself, and expressing frustration that Zubaydah is still being held incommunicado at Guantánamo. We speak with Abu Zubaydah's attorney, Joe Margulies, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Raymond Bonner, who has long followed the case. "The legal justification for continuing to hold [Guantánamo detainees] has disappeared," says Margulies.

Federal Judge Blocks Texas Abortion Ban, Blasts "Offensive Deprivation of Such an Important Right"
Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:11:42 -0400
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas's near-total ban on abortions, granting the Justice Department's emergency request to halt the law while courts consider its legality. In his ruling, Judge Robert Pitman slammed the Texas ban's unconstitutionality, writing, "This Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right." "Judge Robert Pitman ruled and said what advocates in Texas and clinics operators in Texas have been saying all along ... a near-total ban on abortion in the state of Texas is flagrantly unconstitutional," says Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent for The Nation. Abortion clinics in the state are already moving quickly to resume abortions.

Headlines for October 7, 2021
Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Texas's Near-Total Ban on Abortions, Senate GOP Leader McConnell to Allow Debt Limit Extension into December, WHO Approves Use of First-Ever Vaccine Against Malaria, U.S. COVID Deaths in 2021 Surpass 2020's Total, U.N. to Pay Salaries of Aid Workers in Afghanistan, U.N. Appoints Envoy to Western Sahara After Two-Year Vacancy, Education Department to Expand Student Loan Forgiveness for Public Workers, Crude Oil Spills from Galveston Bay, TX Refinery, Biden Administration Restores Key Environmental Review Provisions to NEPA, Appeals Court Blocks California Law Banning Private Prisons, Shooter Injures Four at Texas High School; Student Taken into Custody, Colorado Workers Sue Amazon for Refusing to Pay for Time Spent at Mandated COVID Screenings, Bernie Sanders Challenges Joe Manchin to Name Benefits He Wants Stripped from Build Back Better Act, Immigrant Justice Advocates Demand Schumer Include Immigration Reform in Reconciliation Package, Nobel Prize in Literature Goes to Tanzanian Author Abdulrazak Gurnah

"Becoming Abolitionists": Derecka Purnell on Why Police Reform Is Not Enough to Protect Black Lives
Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:43:18 -0400
Derecka Purnell draws from her experience as a human rights lawyer in her new book, published this month, "Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom," to argue that police reform is an inadequate compromise to calls for abolition. Since the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville in 2020, many states have passed laws aimed at reforming police, but congressional talks at the federal level have broken down. Purnell reflects upon her personal journey as a Black woman who believed in police reform before pivoting to abolition, saying, "I became a part of social movements who pushed me to think more critically ... about building a world without violence and how to reduce our reliance on police."

Ticking Time Bombs: California Oil Spill Spurs New Calls to Ban Offshore Oil Drilling
Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:35:47 -0400
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency after a devastating oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach sent up to 144,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. Investigators say a split in an underwater pipeline, likely damaged by a ship anchor, is the source of the oil spill. The pipeline owner, Texas-based Amplify Energy, didn't report the leak until 12 hours after the Coast Guard was first notified, and beaches in the area are expected to be closed for months as crews race to minimize the environmental damage. "California's offshore oil platforms are a ticking time bomb," says Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It's time to shut them down."

Facebook Whistleblower to Congress: Regulate Big Tech. Silicon Valley Can't Be Trusted to Police Itself
Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:11:29 -0400
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress Tuesday, denouncing the company for prioritizing "astronomical profits" over the safety of billions of users, and urging lawmakers to enact strict oversight over Facebook. Haugen's testimony gave a rare glimpse into the secretive tech company, which she accused of harming children, sowing division by boosting hateful content, and undermining democracy. "Facebook wants you to believe that the problems we're talking about are unsolvable. They want you to believe in false choices," Haugen said at the hearing. Roger McNamee, a former mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, says a U.S. business culture "where CEOs are told to prioritize shareholder value at all cost" is partly to blame for Facebook's design. "We have abdicated too much power to corporations. We have essentially said we're not going to regulate them." We also speak with tech reform activist Jessica González, who says Haugen's testimony has exposed how little Facebook regulates its platform outside the English-speaking world. "Facebook has not adequately invested to keep people safe across languages," says González. "There is a very racist element to the lack of investment."

Headlines for October 6, 2021
Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400
Whistleblower Tells Lawmakers to Regulate Facebook Before It Causes More Harm, Schumer Sets Up Debt Limit Vote Amid Ongoing GOP Obstructionism, Voters Confront AZ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over Reconciliation Bill as She Heads Back to D.C., Missouri Executes Man with Intellectual Disability Despite High-Profile Pleas, China-Taiwan Tensions Mount as Biden Reaffirms U.S.-Sino Commitment to Diplomatic Agreement, Amnesty Says Taliban Killed 13 Ethnic Hazaras After Taking Power; Kabul Faces Winter Power Outages, U.N. Rejects Expulsion of Top Officials from Ethiopia as Millions in Urgent Need of Humanitarian Assistance, Romanian Lawmakers Oust Prime Minister After 9 Months in Power, French Trade Unions Protest Against Low Pay, Pension & Unemployment Reforms, Kellogg's Workers Go on Strike over Threats to Healthcare, Wages, President of NYC Police Union Resigns After FBI Raids Headquarters, Descendants of Henrietta Lacks Sue Pharmaceutical Co. for Using Her Cells Without Consent, USPS Now Offers Check Cashing in Four Locations, Could Lead to Expansion of Postal Banking Services

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