Contributing Writers

Authorities in Indonesia have launched a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests, sparked by outrage over generous housing allowances and other perks for politicians amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis. The protests were further inflamed after video showed a police vehicle running over a motorcycle taxi gig worker, who later died from his injuries. Security forces have detained more than 3,000 people since late August.

Acclaimed historian Greg Grandin joins Democracy Now! to discuss the Trump administration’s attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in international waters, which killed 11 people earlier this week. President Trump and other senior officials have claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the United States and was operated by the gang Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. “It was pure murder,” says Grandin.

Both Democratic and Republican senators grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday in a contentious hearing on his policies and anti-vaccine misinformation. RFK fired the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, causing turmoil at the agency, and this week 1,000 current and former HHS employees sent a letter to Congress demanding his resignation. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Trump administration is facing growing criticism for suspending visas for Palestinian passport holders, including for Palestinian officials set to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly this month. When the U.S. denied a visa to Yasser Arafat to address the U.N. in 1988, the General Assembly was moved to Geneva — the U.N. faces similar calls now. The move by the U.S. is “an indication of the unprecedented degree to which the U.S.

The Trump administration is facing growing criticism for suspending visas for Palestinian passport holders, including for Palestinian officials set to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly this month. When the U.S. denied a visa to Yasser Arafat to address the U.N. in 1988, the General Assembly was moved to Geneva — the U.N. faces similar calls now. The move by the U.S. is “an indication of the unprecedented degree to which the U.S.

Authorities in Indonesia have launched a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests, sparked by outrage over generous housing allowances and other perks for politicians amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis. The protests were further inflamed after video showed a police vehicle running over a motorcycle taxi gig worker, who later died from his injuries. Security forces have detained more than 3,000 people since late August.

Acclaimed historian Greg Grandin joins Democracy Now! to discuss the Trump administration’s attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in international waters, which killed 11 people earlier this week. President Trump and other senior officials have claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the United States and was operated by the gang Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. “It was pure murder,” says Grandin.

Both Democratic and Republican senators grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday in a contentious hearing on his policies and anti-vaccine misinformation. RFK fired the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, causing turmoil at the agency, and this week 1,000 current and former HHS employees sent a letter to Congress demanding his resignation. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A 35-year-old former U.S. Army sergeant, Bajun “Baji” Mavalwalla II, faces up to six years in prison for protesting against ICE deportations in what legal experts are calling a test case for the Trump administration’s attempts to criminalize and punish dissent. Mavalwalla was arrested and charged with “conspiracy to impede or injure officers” after he was identified in a video taken at the protest and shared on Instagram.

The Trump administration is facing growing criticism for suspending visas for Palestinian passport holders, including for Palestinian officials set to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly this month. When the U.S. denied a visa to Yasser Arafat to address the U.N. in 1988, the General Assembly was moved to Geneva — the U.N. faces similar calls now. The move by the U.S. is “an indication of the unprecedented degree to which the U.S.

As Congress returned to Washington Tuesday, the controversy over files related to convicted serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has picked back up, with bipartisan pressure to make files related to the federal investigation into Epstein public. Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California has co-authored a bipartisan measure that could compel the Justice Department to release the files.

Jeffrey Epstein survivors rallied in front of Congress on Wednesday, detailing their experiences of abuse and calling for the release of all Epstein files. “We cannot heal without justice,” says one Epstein survivor, Chauntae Davies. “We cannot protect the future if we refuse to confront the past.” Survivors also announced that some victims would work to confidentially compile their own list of individuals implicated in Epstein’s crimes.

A 35-year-old former U.S. Army sergeant, Bajun “Baji” Mavalwalla II, faces up to six years in prison for protesting against ICE deportations in what legal experts are calling a test case for the Trump administration’s attempts to criminalize and punish dissent. Mavalwalla was arrested and charged with “conspiracy to impede or injure officers” after he was identified in a video taken at the protest and shared on Instagram.

We speak to journalist Jean Guerrero about the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-immigrant crackdown and the bipartisan roots of “anti-immigrant cruelty” in the United States. Guerrero’s latest opinion piece in The New York Times is titled “The Border Is Invading America” and traces the development of U.S. border policies since the Clinton administration.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, recaps and responds to the latest legal news on the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

President Trump is preparing to send National Guard troops into Chicago and Baltimore, right after a judge in California ruled that he broke the law by deploying troops to Los Angeles against anti-ICE protesters. “This is not about public safety, and it’s not about law and order.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks since dawn have killed at least 54 Palestinians, including people seeking food. The attacks came as Gaza health officials recorded another 13 deaths due to starvation — three of them children. That brings the number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza to more than 360. According to a leading global monitor, more than half a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are suffering “catastrophic” levels of hunger due to Israel’s blockade.

Thousands of mourners attended a funeral for 12 senior Houthi figures in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a on Monday after they were killed by Israel in an airstrike last week. The dead included the Houthi prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi. The Houthis have ruled the capital and much of northern Yemen for over a decade. For the last two years, Houthi fighters have regularly launched missiles at Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea in what they described as actions in solidarity with Gaza.

A federal judge stopped the Trump administration from illegally deporting as many as 700 Guatemalan children over the Labor Day weekend, ordering a last-minute block on their removals even as some children had already been boarded onto planes. The National Immigration Law Center filed an emergency request to stop the deportation flights, arguing that the children would face harm and abuse if they were returned to Guatemala.

A federal appeals court struck down most of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs Friday, saying they have no legal basis. The decision could undo many of Trump’s tariffs from “Liberation Day” in April, as well as earlier tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China.

Twenty years ago today, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore in southeastern Louisiana, tearing through the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force and gushing winds, driving a massive storm surge toward New Orleans. Thousands were abandoned by state and federal officials, left to fight for survival in the rising floodwaters — many stranded on the rooftops of their sinking homes without water, food or medical care.

A new documentary, Steal This Story, Please!, which tells the personal story of Amy Goodman and her decadeslong career as an independent journalist, is premiering this Sunday at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The film highlights some of the monumental stories Democracy Now! has covered throughout the years and the importance of independent journalism.

As Israel pushes deeper into Gaza City, President Donald Trump met Wednesday to discuss plans for a postwar Gaza with his son-in-law and former Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This comes as Israeli business leaders are reportedly involved in developing a postwar Gaza plan that includes the creation of a “Trump Riviera” and a manufacturing zone named after Elon Musk, using financial models developed by the U.S. firm Boston Consulting Group.