Contributing Writers

As U.S. and Iranian officials continue negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, President Trump has ordered a buildup of U.S. forces in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers. “This is an extremely dangerous situation, which both sides are actually incentivized to escalate,” says Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “Both sides actually believe that a short, intense war may improve their negotiating position.

Tributes are pouring in from across the globe for Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died on Tuesday. The civil rights icon and two-time presidential candidate was 84 years old. Democracy Now!’s Juan González recounts his experience as a reporter visiting Cuba and Puerto Rico alongside Jackson. “Jesse was always there when people were fighting for some form of social justice,” says González. “Of all the U.S.

Two ICE officers have been placed on administrative leave and are accused of lying under oath about an incident in Minneapolis last month involving two Venezuelan immigrants, one of whom was shot in the leg by an agent. After the incident, the two Venezuelan men, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, were charged with felony assault, falsely accused of beating an ICE officer with a broom and snow shovel. Sosa-Celis was shot in the right thigh.

We look back on the life and legacy of civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at the age of 84. From marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to building the Rainbow Coalition in his two presidential runs and beyond, “Jackson’s life contributed to making this country more democratic, more inclusive, more fair,” says Howard University political science professor Clarence Lusane.

As we remember the life and legacy of civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at the age of 84, we air remarks by Senator Bernie Sanders from a 2024 tribute held during the Democratic National Convention. Sanders, whose own two runs for president galvanized progressives across the United States, hailed Jackson’s campaigns in 1984 and 1988 for building a broad coalition for social justice.

Civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84. Jackson is known for working closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the civil rights movement, and he later ran two groundbreaking presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, when he pushed to cut the Pentagon budget while increasing domestic spending on education, housing and healthcare.

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human rights,” says Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations.

Faith leaders in North Carolina are leading a three-day trek from Wilson to Raleigh in an event aimed at supporting “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants,” and more. Reverend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove spoke with Democracy Now! from the march, saying that “love is the power that can overcome fear in this moment.

Three activists — Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray and Raoul Poole — featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary The Alabama Solution were placed in solitary confinement last month in what advocates believe is retaliation for their role in exposing the abuses of the state’s prison system and for helping to organize a prison labor strike.

Thirty-three-year-old Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia will soon mark one year trapped in ICE detention. Kordia, who was born in East Jerusalem, first came to police attention when she was arrested during the 2024 Gaza solidarity protests at Columbia University. Those charges were dropped, but Kordia was later detained at routine immigration check-in in New Jersey.

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human rights,” says Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations.

Faith leaders in North Carolina are leading a three-day trek from Wilson to Raleigh in an event aimed at supporting “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants,” and more. Reverend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove spoke with Democracy Now! from the march, saying that “love is the power that can overcome fear in this moment.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. If it becomes law, it would be the “worst voter suppression bill ever passed by Congress,” according to Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones.

As we continue to look at Wednesday’s contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, we speak with Vermont Congressmember Becca Balint, who walked out after Attorney General Pam Bondi accused her of supporting antisemitism. Balint, who is Jewish and whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, had just asked Bondi to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — a demand that Bondi repeatedly ignored during the hearing.

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human rights,” says Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations.

Faith leaders in North Carolina are leading a three-day trek from Wilson to Raleigh in an event aimed at supporting “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants,” and more. Reverend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove spoke with Democracy Now! from the march, saying that “love is the power that can overcome fear in this moment.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. If it becomes law, it would be the “worst voter suppression bill ever passed by Congress,” according to Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones.

As we continue to look at Wednesday’s contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, we speak with Vermont Congressmember Becca Balint, who walked out after Attorney General Pam Bondi accused her of supporting antisemitism. Balint, who is Jewish and whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, had just asked Bondi to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — a demand that Bondi repeatedly ignored during the hearing.

As we continue to look at Wednesday’s contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, we speak with Vermont Congressmember Becca Balint, who walked out after Attorney General Pam Bondi accused her of supporting antisemitism. Balint, who is Jewish and whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, had just asked Bondi to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — a demand that Bondi repeatedly ignored during the hearing.

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human rights,” says Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations.

Faith leaders in North Carolina are leading a three-day trek from Wilson to Raleigh in an event aimed at supporting “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants,” and more. Reverend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove spoke with Democracy Now! from the march, saying that “love is the power that can overcome fear in this moment.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. If it becomes law, it would be the “worst voter suppression bill ever passed by Congress,” according to Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones.

As we continue to look at Wednesday’s contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, we speak with Vermont Congressmember Becca Balint, who walked out after Attorney General Pam Bondi accused her of supporting antisemitism. Balint, who is Jewish and whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, had just asked Bondi to meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — a demand that Bondi repeatedly ignored during the hearing.

Authorities in Iran have arrested the Oscar-nominated screenwriter Mehdi Mahmoudian in Tehran. Mahmoudian co-wrote the film It Was Just an Accident with dissident director Jafar Panahi, and their film is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature at this year’s Academy Awards.

President Donald Trump held a lengthy meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday at the White House, where the two leaders discussed ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. Trump has said he wants to reach a deal with Iran about the country’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is only for peaceful civilian purposes but which the U.S. and Israel claim is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

Attorney General Pam Bondi testified Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, where she repeatedly refused to answer questions about her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. She also refused to apologize to Epstein survivors over the botched release of files, some of which contained survivors’ personal information and even uncensored nude photographs.