“We were not prepared for what we were going to see,” says Human Rights Watch researcher Hiba Zayadin, who recently visited one mass execution site turned mass grave in Syria, following the sudden fall of the authoritarian Assad family from power. More than 150,000 Syrians remain unaccounted for after being held in Assad’s prisons, and many are believed to be buried in mass graves.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
As the official death toll in Gaza tops 45,000 and Israel’s wars throughout the Middle East continue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in court for a long-awaited corruption trial, making him the country’s first sitting leader to face criminal charges. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
We speak with The Nation’s Chris Lehmann about President-elect Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on the press and how major media figures and institutions are “capitulating preemptively” to the pressure. ABC News recently settled a defamation suit brought by Trump by making a $15 million donation to his future presidential library, despite experts saying the case was easily winnable.
We speak with the husband and sister of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, the 26-year-old Turkish American activist killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in September, who have criticized the Biden administration for failing to independently investigate her death. The recent University of Washington graduate was fatally shot in the head after taking part in a weekly protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the town of Beita, which she attended as an international observer.
A new lawsuit accuses the State Department of failing to ever sanction Israeli military units under the Leahy Law, which was passed in 1997 to prevent the United States from funding foreign military units credibly implicated in gross human rights violations. The case was brought by five Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and the United States and is supported by the human rights group DAWN.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Private healthcare companies are facing increased scrutiny following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson over what appears to be dissatisfaction with the company’s exploitative policies and frequent denials of care. Recent investigations from ProPublica and reporter Annie Waldman find that UnitedHealthcare is aggressively trying to limit mental health coverage and treatment for thousands of children with autism in its latest effort to cut costs and curtail care.
As the official death toll in Gaza tops 45,000 and Israel’s wars throughout the Middle East continue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in court for a long-awaited corruption trial, making him the country’s first sitting leader to face criminal charges. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
We speak with organizer Astra Taylor of the Debt Collective, which is urging President Joe Biden to cancel more student debt, including for older debtors, before the end of his term. According to the White House, the administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers over the past four years, but advocates say Biden can still do more in his final weeks as president. “This is a Titanic moment for the Biden administration.
President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to a corrupt former judge has sparked widespread outrage, including from members of his own party. Biden announced nearly 1,500 commutations and pardons last week in what the White House described as the largest single-day act of clemency from a president, but among those whose sentences were reduced is former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan — one of two judges in the notorious “kids for cash” scandal. In 2011, Conahan was sentenced to 17.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Private healthcare companies are facing increased scrutiny following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson over what appears to be dissatisfaction with the company’s exploitative policies and frequent denials of care. Recent investigations from ProPublica and reporter Annie Waldman find that UnitedHealthcare is aggressively trying to limit mental health coverage and treatment for thousands of children with autism in its latest effort to cut costs and curtail care.
Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein joins us to discuss the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he walked to a shareholders conference in New York City earlier this month, and his accused killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Thompson’s vigilante-inflected death has inflamed public discourse over the predatory practices of the private healthcare industry. “People working these call centers are themselves upset at having to deny claims,” says Klippenstein.
The South Korean National Assembly voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, 10 days after his ill-fated attempt to declare martial law in the country. Yoon had falsely accused political rivals of North Korean sympathies in his declaration, invoking previous eras of military dictatorship on the Korean Peninsula in the years following its partition. For more on what to expect from the upcoming judicial vote over Yoon’s removal, we speak to Korean activist Dae-Han Song.
Israel is continuing to bomb Syria a week after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli forces have launched over 800 strikes on Syria over the past week. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has approved a plan to expand illegal settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. “Israel is setting new precedents in the Middle East,” says Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Three activists with the Uhuru Movement will be sentenced by a Florida judge Monday as part of a legal saga that began when the FBI raided the group in 2022, accusing the antiwar Black liberation group of working as Russian agents. The “Uhuru 3” are Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, and white solidarity activists Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel.
Laila Soueif is on the 75th day of a hunger strike calling for the U.K. government to push for the release of her son, jailed Egyptian British author and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Charged with spreading false news, Alaa remains imprisoned in Egypt despite having completed his sentence in September. Human rights group say he has been subjected to torture, beatings and horrific treatment while in prison.
We go live to Damascus for the first time since the fall of longtime authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, where the country’s populace is still reeling from the power struggle that forcibly displaced more than a million people over the last months.
President-elect Trump, himself found liable in court for sexual abuse, has picked a striking number of suspected sexual predators for key positions in his incoming administration. Trump’s early pick of former Florida Congressmember Matt Gaetz for attorney general was shot down amid a firestorm over sexual misconduct allegations. Now Trump is pushing hard to keep the rest of his picks on track, including Fox host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump’s picks to lead the NIH and FDA were critics of health officials and their pandemic policies.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Three activists with the Uhuru Movement will be sentenced by a Florida judge Monday as part of a legal saga that began when the FBI raided the group in 2022, accusing the antiwar Black liberation group of working as Russian agents. The “Uhuru 3” are Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, and white solidarity activists Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel.
Laila Soueif is on the 75th day of a hunger strike calling for the U.K. government to push for the release of her son, jailed Egyptian British author and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Charged with spreading false news, Alaa remains imprisoned in Egypt despite having completed his sentence in September. Human rights group say he has been subjected to torture, beatings and horrific treatment while in prison.
We go live to Damascus for the first time since the fall of longtime authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, where the country’s populace is still reeling from the power struggle that forcibly displaced more than a million people over the last months.
President-elect Trump, himself found liable in court for sexual abuse, has picked a striking number of suspected sexual predators for key positions in his incoming administration. Trump’s early pick of former Florida Congressmember Matt Gaetz for attorney general was shot down amid a firestorm over sexual misconduct allegations. Now Trump is pushing hard to keep the rest of his picks on track, including Fox host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.
In just over a month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president again. He and his congressional allies want to hit the ground running, but Republican lawmakers are quickly confronting divides and questions over where to start.
Trump’s picks to lead the NIH and FDA were critics of health officials and their pandemic policies.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.