Democracy Now!

As Iran and the United States maintain rival blockades on the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, we look at the more than 20,000 seafarers stranded on commercial ships since the outbreak of the war and unable to move out of the region. These maritime workers are often working-class men from developing countries across the Global South who form the crews on about 1,500 oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels currently stuck on the water. Unpaid for several weeks, they lack the visas to disembark... Читать дальше...

Construction crews in Arizona who are building President Trump’s expanded border wall have razed a portion of a Native American archeological site in the Sonoran Desert estimated to be at least 1,000 years old. Aerial photos reveal that bulldozers caused extensive damage to a 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as an intaglio, which holds special significance for the Hia-Ced O’odham people.

Lorraine Marquez Eiler, co-founder of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance and an elder of the Hia-Ced O’odham... Читать дальше...

As the Trump administration continues to expand the ICE detention system, concerns are growing over abuses inside immigration jails, including use of physical violence, pepper spray and electric shocks against detainees. Earlier this year, more than 70,000 people were being detained by ICE in jails across the country.

Congressmember Adelita Grijalva from Arizona, who visited two ICE jails recently, says detainees who spoke to her described dire conditions, medical neglect and more. “People are losing weight. Читать дальше...

A new investigation by Reuters details how the Trump administration is seeking to gain federal control over elections in at least eight states, employing investigations, raids and demands for access to balloting systems and voter ID records for the campaign.

“What we’re seeing is the Trump administration, in some ways, is seeking to relitigate the 2020 election, and they’re also seeking to impose federal authority over the administration of elections,” says investigative journalist Ned Parker.

Trump Downplays Renewed U.S. Strikes on Iran as “Just a Love Tap” and Claims Ceasefire Is Holding, UAE Expels Pakistani Workers as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Leaves 20,000 Sailors Stranded, Israeli Attacks Kill 12 in Lebanon, Including Paramedic and Two Children, U.S. Imposes More Sanctions on Cuba as Brazil’s President Says Trump Ruled Out Military Action, Dozens Killed as al-Qaeda-Linked Insurgents Attack Villages in Mali, Tennessee Republicans Approve New Congressional Map Diluting Power of Black Voters... Читать дальше...

“The country’s most important civil rights law no longer effectively exists, and that’s going to have ramifications on American democracy for a very long time.” Mother Jones correspondent Ari Berman reacts to the Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision rejecting key principles of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Since the court issued its ruling last week, Republican-controlled states have begun to redraw their voting maps in a “gerrymandering arms race” that “could lead to the largest drop in Black representation... Читать дальше...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won big in state-level elections this week, with the Hindu nationalist BJP now controlling over 70% of the country. Leading opposition politician and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has refused to recognize the results as legitimate, accusing the Modi government of mass disenfranchisement. Ahead of elections, 9 million names were deleted from the rolls under a process called “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR). Читать дальше...

Gaza is facing an “environmental and biological apocalypse” under Israeli bombardment and blockade, reports Palestinian aid worker Eyad Amawi of the Gaza Relief Committee. Israel’s destruction of infrastructure has become a “generator for disease,” with sewage contamination and rodent infestation now an everyday hazard for refugees living in tent camps. “[It’s] no longer just bombardment or physical destruction. It is the collapse of every essential condition required for human survival: water, food... Читать дальше...

Leading scholar in the field of critical race theory Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality,” which she has described as a “lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.” Crenshaw, a professor of law at UCLA and Columbia University and executive director of the African American Policy Forum, has just published a new book, Backtalker: An American Memoir.

“Backtalker is a frame that I use to encourage people to talk back against... Читать дальше...

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, warning residents of 12 towns and villages, including some north of the Litani River — beyond its current zone of occupation — to leave their homes. Those warnings were followed by reports of airstrikes in the south.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a fragile temporary ceasefire in mid-April that has since been extended, but fighting has continued at a lesser scale. More than 1 million Lebanese, nearly one-fifth of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced. Читать дальше...