Contributing Writers

Donald Trump has tapped a new loyalist to head the Department of Justice, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who served on his defense team during his first impeachment trial and now works at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. Bondi previously dropped a probe into Trump University in 2013 after Trump’s family foundation donated $25,000 to her campaign.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would empower the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems has provided material support to a terrorist organization. A broad coalition of civil society groups have opposed the bill, warning that it would give the Trump administration sweeping powers to crack down on political opponents. H.R.

We speak with the celebrated Palestinian human rights lawyer Raji Sourani after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza. Israel called it “an antisemitic decision,” and the Biden administration said it rejects the charges on the grounds that the ICC does not have jurisdiction.

Broadcasting from Baku, Azerbaijan, on the final official day of this year’s finance-themed United Nations climate summit, we look at how climate justice activists are outraged at how little money is being offered by the most polluting nations to countries most severely affected by climate change.

On the final official day of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it is still unclear if this year’s United Nations climate summit will lead to an agreement before the end of the official conference or if talks will extend into the weekend. The COP29 presidency has released a draft text that calls for a $1.3 trillion in annual climate financing by 2035, but it only obligates rich countries to provide $250 billion of that total.

Donald Trump has tapped a new loyalist to head the Department of Justice, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who served on his defense team during his first impeachment trial and now works at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. Bondi previously dropped a probe into Trump University in 2013 after Trump’s family foundation donated $25,000 to her campaign.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would empower the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems has provided material support to a terrorist organization. A broad coalition of civil society groups have opposed the bill, warning that it would give the Trump administration sweeping powers to crack down on political opponents. H.R.

We speak with the celebrated Palestinian human rights lawyer Raji Sourani after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza. Israel called it “an antisemitic decision,” and the Biden administration said it rejects the charges on the grounds that the ICC does not have jurisdiction.

Broadcasting from Baku, Azerbaijan, on the final official day of this year’s finance-themed United Nations climate summit, we look at how climate justice activists are outraged at how little money is being offered by the most polluting nations to countries most severely affected by climate change.

On the final official day of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it is still unclear if this year’s United Nations climate summit will lead to an agreement before the end of the official conference or if talks will extend into the weekend. The COP29 presidency has released a draft text that calls for a $1.3 trillion in annual climate financing by 2035, but it only obligates rich countries to provide $250 billion of that total.

At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, civil society members held a People’s Plenary called “Pay Up, Stand Up: Finance Climate Action, Not Genocide” outside negotiation rooms in which U.N. member states attempted to hammer out a global climate finance deal.

We continue our look at COP29’s ongoing negotiations for an international climate finance agreement, which is still under contention as of Thursday morning due in large part to wealthy countries’ refusal to commit to a proposed monetary target on the financing of developing nations’ transition from fossil fuels.

As the U.N. climate summit nears its close, we examine a proposed climate finance deal that is already being contested by participants. Among the major issues is the absence of a firm number in the draft text on how much rich countries will pay. Poorer nations bearing the brunt of the climate crisis say at least $1.3 trillion a year is needed, a target that comprises just 1% of the global economy.

Just hours after the United States vetoed yet another U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected three resolutions supported by less than two dozen Democratic senators that sought to block the sale of U.S. tank rounds, bomb kits and other lethal weapons to Israel.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Israel’s assault on Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, whom Israel said they killed in August. This is a major development on the international stage, says HuffPost correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed, particularly in its implications for U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped several TV personalities for key posts in his incoming administration, including Dr. Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency that oversees health coverage for 150 million people. Oz, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, supports privatizing Medicare. “His background really has nothing to do with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” says Dr.

President-elect Trump has announced his nomination of billionaire Linda McMahon to head the Department of Education, which Trump has pledged to shut down. McMahon is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and also headed the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. “President-elect Trump has a habit of choosing people who have either a desire to destroy the department or who have no experience.

We continue to look at the attacks on civil society in Azerbaijan leading up to the COP29 U.N. climate summit. The government’s crackdown has included the arrests of local journalists, including several with the independent outlet Abzas Media. Since November of last year, at least six of their reporters have been arrested on trumped-up charges of smuggling foreign currency into the country.

As we broadcast all week from COP29 in Baku, climate justice activists and civil society groups have raised concern over Azerbaijan’s role as host of the U.N. climate talks. The authoritarian country has cracked down on journalists, activists and government critics leading up to COP29 and has been accused of using the climate summit to drum up business for its oil and gas industry.

As Democracy Now! continues to broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, we speak with Colombia’s Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, who chairs Colombia’s delegation here at COP29.

As we broadcast all week from the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan, we look at what Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president means for the climate. Clean energy and environmental advocates are raising alarm over Trump’s picks for key roles in his administration, including fracking magnate Chris Wright to serve as energy secretary and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department, where he could greatly expand drilling on federal lands.

The search for an energy alternative to fossil fuels has renewed interest in nuclear power production across the globe. Despite nuclear boosters’ promotion of the energy source, Tim Judson of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service calls nuclear power an “elaborate greenwashing scheme.

Tech companies are turning to nuclear to fulfill the skyrocketing energy needs of artificial intelligence, with major corporations like Amazon, Google and Microsoft announcing plans to invest in nuclear power. But the speed at which energy needs are growing may not align with the construction or revitalization of nuclear infrastructure, says Alex de Vries, who researches the unintended consequences of AI and cryptocurrencies.

In Baku, Azerbaijan, Democracy Now! continues our coverage of the 2024 U.N. climate summit and its host country’s record on human rights. “Considering that our economy is completely relying on oil and gas sales and the COP29 is a great place to have a lot of oil and gas lobbyists, it’s actually a great chance for the Azerbaijani government to have more oil and gas contracts … and then to enrich the regime itself,” says Zhala Bayramova, a human rights lawyer focused on LGBTQ rights now.