Democracy Now!
Shepard Fairey on Art, Activism & Resisting Fascism
- Title
- Shepard Fairey on Art, Activism & Resisting Fascism
- Runtime
- 5:59
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
We speak with artist Shepard Fairey, best known for the Obama “Hope” poster, about the role of art in politics, the rise of fascism in the United States and more. Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke with Fairey in Los Angeles last week and toured his studio. Some of his recent artworks depict ICE agents with labels like “Domestic Terrorist,” used by Trump administration officials to describe protesters who oppose the administration's immigration crackdown.
Fairey says that while he doesn’t think of his art as propaganda, he also doesn’t shy away from the label. “If you want to call it propaganda, it’s meant to initiate a conversation, a counternarrative that isn’t happening in a robust enough way,” he says.
Fairey created the film poster for Steal This Story, Please!, the new documentary about Amy Goodman and Democracy Now!, which had its theatrical opening earlier in ...
- Title
- Who Is Breaking International Law in the Strait of Hormuz? It's Not Iran, Says Scholar
- Runtime
- 8:44
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
While many Western countries have condemned Iran’s restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as a breach of international law, reaction has been relatively muted about the “clearly unlawful” war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran, says law professor Maryam Jamshidi.
“This says a lot about the ways in which international law is being deployed in this moment as a way of restraining and regulating Iranian behavior, while effectively allowing the United States and Israel a free hand to do what they want,” says Jamshidi, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and a nonresident fellow at the Quincy Institute.
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- Title
- "Gulf of Trust" Between Iran & U.S. as End of Ceasefire Nears, Peace Talks Uncertain
- Runtime
- 15:39
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The Strait of Hormuz is closed to shipping traffic after Iran once again shut off access to the key waterway over the weekend in retaliation for the ongoing U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. This comes as the U.S. Navy intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Sea of Oman on Sunday. Iran said the seizure violated the ceasefire reached earlier this month. Despite the escalation, President Trump announced a U.S. delegation is heading to Pakistan for a new round of peace talks. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Tehran has “no plans” to participate.
There has been a “gradual escalation” in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran since the last round of talks in Islamabad, says Iranian American analyst Vali Nasr, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Iran’s leadership is “suspicious that President Trump was really using the talks in Pakistan as a c...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 20, 2026
- Runtime
- 14:01
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- How war in the Gulf could worsen war in Sudan
- Runtime
- 1:36
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The burgeoning U.S.-Israeli war on Iran threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, as supply chain disruptions make agricultural production even harder, and as opportunities for resource exploitation incentivize other countries to turn the conflict into even more of a “proxy war.”
Sudan is separated from Iran by the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula, but its neighbors are all jockeying for power and influence as a crisis envelops the region — all at the heavy cost of civilian lives.
- Title
- Aliya Rahman files legal claim against DHS over violent Minneapolis arrest
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime.
She was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when her route was blocked by ICE vehicles. Rahman’s window was smashed, and she was violently pulled out of her car. She told the officers she is disabled and autistic, but says they mocked her. Rahman was brought to an ICE jail, where she was denied medical care. She eventually fell unconscious and woke up at a hospital.
- Title
- U.S. & Israel were "forced into two ceasefires"
- Runtime
- 2:11
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- “We’ve seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel,” says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been “forced into” ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign “of the evolving balance of power across the region” and demonstrates that Iran’s Axis of Resistance “is still effective.” Khouri is a Palestinian American journalist and public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut.
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- Will the U.S. be able to halt Iran's uranium enrichment?
- Runtime
- 2:04
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- President Trump on Thursday repeated his claim that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close” and that direct talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan as soon as this weekend.
(Despite the claims, the Pentagon is surging thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, including an additional 6,000 sailors and aviators joining the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier battle group. Around 4,200 others with the Navy and Marines are expected to arrive near the end of the month.)
The main question on the negotiating table, says Ali Vaez, Iran project leader at the International Crisis Group, is whether the Iranians, who “have been saying for years that they don’t want nuclear weapons,” will curb their nuclear activity, and if so, whether the U.S. would “be willing to provide them with economic incentives and sanctions relief.”
- Title
- Aliya Rahman v. DHS: Disabled Woman Dragged from Car Files Claim over Violent Arrest in Minneapolis
- Runtime
- 12:21
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime. “They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya,” says Jessica Gingold, one of Rahman’s attorneys. “All of those things are illegal, and this is our tool for making sure that they have to pay for that.”
Aliya Rahman was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when her route was blocked by ICE vehicles. Rahman’s window was smashed, and she was violently pulled out of her car. She told the officers she is disabled and autistic, but says they mocked her. Rahman was brought to an ICE jail, where she was denied medical care. She eventu...
- Title
- Rami Khouri: U.S. & Israel Were "Forced into Two Ceasefires" as Regional Balance of Power Shifts
- Runtime
- 6:41
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
“We’ve seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel,” says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been “forced into” ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign “of the evolving balance of power across the region” and demonstrates that Iran’s Axis of Resistance “is still effective.” Khouri is a Palestinian American journalist and public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut.
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- Title
- Report from Beirut: Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Met with "Cautious Optimism"
- Runtime
- 9:31
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
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A 10-day ceasefire has begun in Lebanon. The news is being celebrated across the country, but major questions remain over what happens next. President Trump announced the deal between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, says it will observe the ceasefire. The Israeli military is occupying a large swath of southern Lebanon, about 10% of the country. Early on in the current war, the Israeli military announced the intention to create a “security zone” from the Lebanese-Israeli border all the way to the Litani River, 20 miles north of the border.
Many in the country are questioning whether Israel will abide by the ceasefire, says Beirut-based journalist Kareem Chehayeb. Israel continued airstrikes on Thursday right up until the ceasefire took effect, including blowing up the last bridge over the Litani River. “With this kind of military mobilization and...
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- As Iran Reopens Strait of Hormuz, Are U.S. & Iran Near Deal or Renewed Fighting?
- Runtime
- 11:10
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
President Trump on Thursday repeated his claim that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close” and that direct talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan as soon as this weekend. Despite the claims, the Pentagon is surging thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, including an additional 6,000 sailors and aviators joining the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier battle group. Around 4,200 others with the Navy and Marines are expected to arrive near the end of the month. Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, says “we might be, at some point, returning to a hot war” because the Iranians, too, have “preserved a degree of retaliatory capacity.” The main question on the negotiating table is whether the Iranians, who “have been saying for years that they don’t want nuclear weapons,” will curb their nuclear activity, and if so, whether the U.S. would “be willin...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 17, 2026
- Runtime
- 14:29
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- How the Trump admin destroyed USAID
- Runtime
- 1:25
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Nicholas Enrich’s new memoir “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID” tells the inside story of the second Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID.
Enrich worked at USAID for over a decade before he was pushed out of the agency in early 2025, when the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency summarily cut its staff and funding. His book is named after one of Musk’s social media posts from that period, when the South African billionaire wrote, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
An estimated 14 million people are projected to die “unnecessarily” over the next five years due to DOGE’s unmitigated cuts, and nearly a million, mostly children, already have, says Enrich. Since its establishment in 1961, USAID has saved the lives of tens of millions around the world by treating and preventing serious healt...
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- Three years of Sudan’s civil war
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- It has been three full years since a bloody civil war began between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.
- Title
- "Into the Wood Chipper": Whistleblower's Inside Story of DOGE Shredding USAID, 14 Million May Die
- Runtime
- 13:00
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
A new book tells the inside story of the second Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID. Its author, Nicholas Enrich, worked at USAID for over a decade before he was pushed out of the agency in early 2025, when the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency summarily cut its staff and funding. An estimated 14 million people are projected to die "unnecessarily" over the next five years due to these cuts, and nearly a million, mostly children, already have, says Enrich. His new memoir, "Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID," is named after one of Musk's social media posts from that period, when the South African billionaire wrote, "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper."
Since its establishment in 1961, USAID has saved the lives of tens of millions around the world by ...
- Title
- "Depths of Hell": Sudan Enters Fourth Year of Devastating Civil War Amid Growing Energy Crisis
- Runtime
- 13:30
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Sudan marked four years since a bloody civil war began between its national army and the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The RSF revolted against the Sudanese Armed Forces after a 2021 military coup left it with diminished political power. The coup itself upended the civilian-led democratic revolution that ousted Sudan's longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Both the RSF and SAF have been accused of major war crimes since the conflict began, reportedly carrying out ethnic cleansing, systemic sexual violence and starvation tactics on the country's civilian population.
"This war is not just fought on the bodies of civilians by happenstance. It's not incidental to the fighting. It is precisely the point. This war is a war of succession between the SAF and the RSF, who want to inherit the military security state," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair, "and they're doing so ...
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- Hormuz Crisis "Only Going to Get More Horrific Before It Gets Any Better": Prof. Laleh Khalili
- Runtime
- 18:10
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The U.S. implemented a naval blockade on Iran earlier this week. Laleh Khalili, a professor of Gulf studies who researches the shipping and logistics industry and its impact on the global economy says it could lead the U.S. military to begin “firing on ships that it assumes are Iranian or carrying oil from Iran or other cargo to Iran.” Iran, in response, could “interpret this as a belligerent action,” ending the fragile ceasefire agreed to by both parties. “Iran is going to defend itself against this imperial imposition, and how it's going to do that remains to be seen.”
Meanwhile, explains Khalili, shipping disruptions in the Gulf have affected the supply chains of key resources including oil, aluminum, helium and fertilizer. "Transportation costs are going to be higher, so food prices are going to be higher; people's MRIs are going to be scheduled out by six months … semiconductor ma...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 16, 2026
- Runtime
- 11:40
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- Maoz Inon & Aziz Abu Sarah on Israelis and Palestinians working together
- Runtime
- 2:36
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Maoz Inon's parents were killed in the October 7 attacks in 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah's brother died after being tortured in an Israeli prison. The two have closely worked together calling for peace in Israel and Palestine over the past two years. They just released a book titled “The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.”
- Title
- Israel's demands of Lebanon are "anything but reasonable"
- Runtime
- 1:52
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The U.S. hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday in Washington. Israel's demand that Hezbollah be disarmed is "anything but reasonable," says Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negotiator. "What [Israel] is doing here is trying to put something that sounds reasonable on the table, but with the intention of embarrassing and humiliating the Lebanese government," which Levy says does not have the capacity to disarm Hezbollah.
- Title
- Reps. Swalwell & Gonzales resign over sexual misconduct allegations
- Runtime
- 1:43
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned Tuesday. Both of them faced potential expulsion votes after they were accused of sexual misconduct involving former staffers.
- Title
- Report from Lebanon: “We will return to these villages”
- Runtime
- 1:29
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- “What the world should know is that we will return to these villages,” says Lebanese journalist Lylla Younes. Her family's village in the southern border municipality of Bint Jbeil was bombed yesterday.
- Title
- "The Future Is Peace": Maoz Inon & Aziz Abu Sarah on Israelis and Palestinians Working Together
- Runtime
- 13:55
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Maoz Inon’s parents were killed in the October 7 attacks in 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being tortured in an Israeli prison. The two have closely worked together calling for peace in Israel and Palestine over the past two years. They just released a book titled The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.
“I grew up angry. I grew up believing peace is impossible. But at some point, I realized — when I was 18 — that Maoz and I are not on the opposite side. To bring justice, to bring peace, to bring equality and dignity to all of us, we have to work together,” says Abu Sarah.
“We need enough people that realize that we have the agency to change the future, to create the future we deserve to live within,” adds Inon.
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- Title
- Reps. Swalwell & Gonzales Resign over Alleged Sexual Misconduct; Will Congress Take More Action?
- Runtime
- 10:21
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned Tuesday. Both of them faced potential expulsion votes after they were accused of sexual misconduct involving former staffers.
Swalwell’s resignation came just days after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle reported multiple allegations against him, including twice raping a former staffer. Swalwell denied the allegations. He dropped out of the California gubernatorial race on Sunday. Gonzales had been facing calls to resign since February, when the San Antonio Express-News revealed he had an affair with a staffer who later took her own life, and also sent explicit text messages to another staffer.
“Congress itself shouldn’t see these resignations as the end of the story here,” says Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center. “They actually should see it as the beginn...
- Title
- "Scorched-Earth Campaign": Israel Uses "Gaza Playbook" to Turn Southern Lebanon into Rubble
- Runtime
- 8:39
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Israeli forces continue to bombard towns in southern Lebanon today, according to Lebanese state media. Several people were killed in a strike on the coastal town of Ansariya. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed over 2,100 people, wounding nearly 7,000. Over 1 million Lebanese have been displaced, and 40,000 homes have been destroyed or heavily damaged. We go to Beirut, where we’re joined by investigative journalist Lylla Younes. Her family’s village in the southern border municipality of Bint Jbeil was bombed yesterday.
“It’s not just real estate that is lost when these homes are destroyed. It’s not just a house. Our grandparents built these structures,” says Younes. “What the world should know is that we will return to these villages, and when we do, we’ll return to rubble, and it will be an immense process of rebuilding.” She notes the Israeli mil...
- Title
- Israel's War & Demands "Could Throw Lebanon Back Into a Civil War": Former Israeli Negotiator
- Runtime
- 12:00
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday in Washington. Hezbollah, which was not a party to the talks, made clear it will not abide by any agreement that results from their negotiations.
Israel's demand that Hezbollah be disarmed is "anything but reasonable," says Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negotiator under Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin. "What [Israel] is doing here is trying to put something that sounds reasonable on the table, but with the intention of embarrassing and humiliating the Lebanese government," which Levy says does not have the capacity to disarm Hezbollah.
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- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 15, 2026
- Runtime
- 11:11
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- Can the U.S. reach another nuclear deal with Iran?
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Seyed Hossein Mousavian served as Iran's spokesperson for nuclear negotiations from 2003 to 2005, as well as ambassador to Germany from 1990 to 1997. He now lives and teaches in the United States.
- Title
- When will Trump and Netanyahu end the war?
- Runtime
- 1:27
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Robert Malley was a key negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA and served as a senior Middle East official in multiple Democratic administrations.
- Title
- President vs. Pope: Trump Posts Pic of Self as Jesus, Pope Says Warmakers Have “Hands Full of Blood”
- Runtime
- 8:47
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The first-ever pope from the United States is clashing with the White House. Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, which counts more than a billion people in the world as its members, has spoken out forcefully against war. He said in his Palm Sunday address that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war … [whose] hands are full of blood.” In response, President Donald Trump said Pope Leo is “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.” Trump is also under fire for sharing an AI-generated image that appears to show himself as Jesus Christ. Pressed about the controversy in an interview on Fox News, Trump’s Catholic Vice President JD Vance said the pope should “stick to matters of morality.”
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to F...
- Title
- Exclusive: Former American & Iranian Negotiators on Ceasefire Talks & How War Could End
- Runtime
- 31:42
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
After the first round of ceasefire negotiations in Pakistan collapsed over the weekend, we speak to two former nuclear negotiators about prospects for ending the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, including what another nuclear deal might look like. Robert Malley, a U.S. negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal (which President Trump withdrew from in his first term), says Trump’s “mercurial” behavior makes it difficult to predict his objectives and the course of any future talks. “Iran was in full compliance with the JCPOA” and was blindsided by the U.S.'s decision to pull out of the deal, says Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who served as spokesperson for Iran's nuclear negotiation team from 2003 to 2005. Now its leaders “don’t know whether the U.S. is really for diplomacy or not.”
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Frid...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 13, 2026
- Runtime
- 13:18
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- The Trump administration has fired 100 immigration judges
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The Trump administration has fired six more immigration judges in its effort to reshape immigration policy and the immigration courts. Two of the fired judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, had each dismissed high-profile cases brought by the government against international students who had advocated for Palestinian rights, Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Around 100 immigration judges have been fired by the Trump administration. Firings in previous administrations were rare.
- Title
- Hungarian opposition leader defeats Victor Orbán
- Runtime
- 1:41
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Official election results in Hungary show Péter Magyar and his opposition Tisza party won Sunday's parliamentary election in a landslide, with more than the two-thirds majority needed to amend Hungary's constitution.
Hungary's far-right Viktor Orbán has been prime minister of the country since 2010, making him the European Union's longest-serving leader.
Hungarian journalist and analyst Szilárd Pap explains the rise of Péter Magyar and Hungary's new opposition party.
- Title
- Oil Crisis looms after failed Iran-U.S. negotiations
- Runtime
- 2:36
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Ship traffic has been halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Iran denounced Trump's move as an illegal act amounting to "piracy" and has threatened to strike Gulf ports in retaliation. Trump ordered the blockade after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war following 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Global oil prices jumped after Trump announced the blockade.
- Title
- U.S. to Begin Automatic Draft Registration in December
- Runtime
- 7:43
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The federal government is preparing to begin automatically registering eligible U.S. men ages 18 to 26 for the military draft pool. The U.S. hasn't had a military draft since 1973, but it still maintains a registry of eligible men in case the draft is restored. New rules around automatic military draft registration were tucked into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
We are joined by Edward Hasbrouck, an organizer with the Anti-Draft Coalition, which opposes the plan for automatic draft registration and is calling for repeal of the Military Selective Service Act. "The important thing is to take the draft off the table, remove it from the arsenal of war planning. Forcing the government to confront the question, before they make wars, of whether enough people will fight them actually constrains wars before they happen," says Hasbrouck.
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- Title
- Trump Fires Judges Who Blocked Deportations of Student Activists Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi
- Runtime
- 10:54
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The Trump administration has fired six more immigration judges in its effort to reshape immigration policy and the immigration courts. Two of the fired judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, had each dismissed high-profile cases brought by the government against international students who had advocated for Palestinian rights, Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Around 100 immigration judges have been fired by the Trump administration. Firings in previous administrations were rare.
The Trump administration is eroding "the concept of procedural due process, the idea that you get to have a hearing in the United States" by "firing judges that it perceived as being opposed to the administration's stated goal to deport as many people as possible with the least amount of due process possible," says Carmen Maria Rey Caldas, a former immigration judge in New York who was fired in August.
The firi...
- Title
- Viktor Orbán's Era Is Over: Hungarians Celebrate as Longtime Far-Right Leader Suffers Landslide Loss
- Runtime
- 12:05
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Official election results in Hungary show Péter Magyar and his opposition Tisza party won Sunday's parliamentary election in a landslide, with more than the two-thirds majority needed to amend Hungary's constitution. Hungary's far-right Viktor Orbán has been prime minister of the country since 2010, making him the European Union's longest-serving leader. His campaign was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Trump administration.
Tens of thousands gathered in Budapest on Sunday to celebrate the victory over Orbán. "Everybody was partying on the streets. Strangers were hugging each other. Music, drinks, cars honking. So, basically, it was like a street carnival for the entire night," says Hungarian journalist and analyst Szilárd Pap, who also explains the rise of Péter Magyar and Hungary's new opposition party.
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- Title
- Trump Orders Naval Blockade of Iran After Failed Talks, Iran Threatens Retaliation in Gulf
- Runtime
- 11:34
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Ship traffic has been halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Iran denounced Trump's move as an illegal act amounting to "piracy" and has threatened to strike Gulf ports in retaliation. Trump ordered the blockade after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war following 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Global oil prices jumped after Trump announced the blockade.
Ervand Abrahamian, professor emeritus of history at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, predicts "the U.S. will start bombing Iranian oil installations. Iran will retaliate by bombing the Gulf oil installations, gas installations. The oil prices then could really zoom up. Some people expect it to reach $200 a barrel." Abrahamian warns that soaring energy prices ...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 13, 2026
- Runtime
- 11:54
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- Israel approves 34 new settler outposts
- Runtime
- 0:24
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Israel's Cabinet has secretly approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank — Israel's largest-ever recognition of unauthorized outposts in a single step. This comes amid a sharp rise in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.
- Title
- Are the U.S. & Europe breaking up over Iran?
- Runtime
- 1:21
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Has the Iran war caused a lasting rupture between the United States and Europe?
- Title
- Viktor Orbán faces his toughest electoral test in 16 years
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The Trump administration has worked to strengthen ties with Hungary and its far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is facing his biggest electoral challenge in 16 years.
- Title
- Israel keeps attacking Lebanon despite U.S.-Iran ceasefire
- Runtime
- 2:17
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- With Lebanon seemingly left out of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, can direct talks between Israel and Lebanon bring peace? Or will Israel simply use the cover of negotiations to continue attacking its northern neighbor?
- Title
- Ahead of Hungary Election, JD Vance Campaigns with Orbán in Show of Support for Far Right in Europe
- Runtime
- 10:57
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Amid strains in U.S.-European relations, the Trump administration has worked to strengthen ties with Hungary and its far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is facing his biggest challenge in 16 years. With just days to go before parliamentary elections, Orbán's Fidesz party is trailing the center-right pro-EU Tisza party led by Péter Magyar. U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest this week and appeared alongside Orbán to openly campaign for his reelection.
"This election is really crucial, not just for Hungary, but for the international right wing," says Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University. "There's been a lot of American signaling that the U.S. would really love to have Viktor Orbán be reelected. The problem is the Hungarian people don't seem to agree."
Scheppele also discusses the role of Sebastian Go...
- Title
- Will the U.S. and Europe Break Up? Trump Says He May Pull Out of NATO as Iran War Criticism Mounts
- Runtime
- 10:58
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has deepened rifts with several European countries. The Spanish government has been most outspoken in its opposition to the war, and U.S. allies like Germany and the United Kingdom have voiced some criticism while providing logistical support for the assault on Iran. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has tried to smooth over differences and placate President Trump, even as he has mused about pulling the U.S. out of the military alliance and renewed his threats to seize Greenland.
"If there's one thing that actually one can say about President Trump, it's that he's been very consistent in his total disdain for Europe and for NATO," says Nathalie Tocci, an international affairs scholar based in Madrid, as well as a Guardian Europe columnist.
"Trust in the relationship seems to be broken. And, of course, once trust is broken, it's extremely difficult to put th...
- Title
- "10 Minutes of Terror": Lebanon Death Toll Tops 300 from Israel's "Black Wednesday" Attack
- Runtime
- 18:26
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
As the United States and Iran prepare to hold talks in Pakistan aimed at ending the war, Israel is continuing to bomb Lebanon, where the death toll from Wednesday's massive wave of attacks has topped 300.
"It was 10 minutes of terror, a day that the Lebanese are calling Black Wednesday," says Lebanese Australian journalist Rania Abouzeid, speaking with _Democracy Now!_ from Beirut. "It was hard to tell what was blowing up where, because those hundred or so attacks were all happening simultaneously."
Israel and the U.S. have claimed the Iran ceasefire deal struck this week does not include Lebanon, contradicting Iran's position. Abouzeid says direct talks between Israel and Lebanon are very "divisive" as many Lebanese fear being left out of a regional settlement, with Israel allowed to continue its attacks, displacement and occupation in the country.
Subscribe to our Daily E...
- Title
- Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 10, 2026
- Runtime
- 14:20
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
- Title
- Israel pummels Lebanon despite Iran ceasefire
- Runtime
- 2:15
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Lebanon has declared a day of mourning after Israeli attacks on Wednesday killed over 250 people and injured 1,000 others. At one point, Israel launched a hundred strikes in just 10 minutes. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks as “barbaric” and accused Israel of carrying out a new massacre.
The strikes came as the Israeli government and the Trump administration claim the Iran ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon. Since Israel’s genocide of Gaza, “the silence of states and the continued flow of weapons has only emboldened Israel,” says Beirut-based Human Rights Watch researcher Ramzi Kaiss.
