Democracy Now

On his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump moved to roll back protections for transgender people. In his inaugural address, Trump declared the U.S. government’s policy is “there are only two genders: male and female.” Chase Strangio, co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, describes Trump’s executive orders aimed at pushing “a slew of policies that just seek to both eradicate trans people from civic and public life and also push trans people out of federal government.” “Trans people are bracing themselves for a lot of negative outcomes here, not just symbolic, but really material ones,” says Strangio. “I know the community is scared. I know people are confused. And in this chaos, we just have to come together and build all the forms of resistance we know how to.”

As immigrant communities are bracing for raids and mass deportations promised by Donald Trump, the future for thousands of asylum seekers is also uncertain. As Trump took office, his administration immediately shut down the Biden-era CBP One mobile app, used by Customs and Border Protection to manage asylum requests at ports of entry. Thousands of asylum seekers lost their appointments scheduled for Trump’s first day in office, January 20. “People are afraid. Their lives are uncertain, especially those who have children, those who have fled extreme conditions. Now their lives are once again at risk,” says Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, who describes how immigrant communities are preparing to resist Trump’s agenda. “We stand ready, committed to push back against the policies that are being created to criminalize people of color and people of immigrant backgrounds.”

During Donald Trump’s inaugural address on Monday, he declared a national emergency at the southern border. On the first day back in office, Trump signed a number of executive orders on immigration that seek to end birthright citizenship and use military resources for Trump’s border policies. “This is a massive abuse of emergency power,” says Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “These emergency powers are intended to address sudden, unexpected crises … that are moving too quickly for Congress to be able to address. That is not unlawful immigration at the border. It is not sudden or unexpected, and it is something that Congress can and should be addressing through comprehensive immigration reform.”

During Monday’s inauguration, Donald Trump repeated his threat to retake the Panama Canal. The United States controlled the waterway since the early 20th century, but in 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed a landmark treaty to give Panama control of the canal. Democracy Now! co-host Juan González debunks Trump’s “grossly false” claims about the canal’s history. “The Panama Canal was created at gunpoint by the United States,” says Juan González. “The entire myth that Trump has created is entirely false and needs to be challenged.”

President Donald Trump was sworn in Monday as the nation’s 47th president. The inauguration took place inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the same spot where Trump’s supporters staged an insurrection on January 6, 2021, in a violent attempt to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 race. Hours after Monday’s inauguration, Trump granted “full, complete and unconditional” presidential pardons for about 1,500 people involved in the January 6 insurrection. He also commuted the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, many of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy. “The expansiveness of the pardon, the glee with which the pardon was issued, is striking,” says Jeff Sharlet, an expert on the far right, who describes the overtures Trump and his close allies made to white supremacists and antisemites during the first day of Trump’s presidency.

• Tech Billionaires Share Stage as Donald Trump Takes Oath of Office as 47th U.S. President
• Trump Declares Emergency at Southern Border, Promising "Millions and Millions" of Deportations
• Trump Pardons 1,500 Capitol Rioters Including Proud Boys and Oath Keepers
• Biden Grants Clemency to Indigenous Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier
• Trump Withdraws U.S. from Paris Climate Agreement 
• Trump Withdraws from WHO, Rolls Back LGBTQ Rights and Puts Cuba Back on Terrorism List
• Senate Votes 99-0 to Confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State
• Senate Armed Services Committee Advances Pete Hegseth's Nomination to Lead the Pentagon
• Gaza Authorities Say 10,000 Bodies Could Be Uncovered from Rubble After 15 Months of Genocide
• Trump Lifts U.S. Sanctions on Far-Right Illegal Israeli Settlers, Threatens to "Develop" Post-War Gaza
• Vivek Ramaswamy Departs DOGE to Launch Campaign for Ohio Governor 
• Elon Musk Appears to Make Nazi "Seig Heil" Gesture Twice During Trump Inauguration
• Cecile Richards, 67, Longtime Former President of Planned Parenthood, Dies of Brain Cancer

Today is the federal holiday that honors civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929, and was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis at just 39 years old. We play an excerpt from King’s last speech, “I Have Been to the Mountaintop,” in which he spoke of the ongoing struggle for equal rights that he said would continue even without him. “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land,” King said. He was killed one day later.

With the U.S. political establishment gathered in Washington for the second inauguration of Donald Trump, the iconic venue Busboys and Poets on Sunday hosted the Peace Ball, an event held around presidential inaugurations since 2009 and featuring voices of resistance to war, racism, poverty and more. This year’s Peace Ball featured author Angela Davis, who spoke of the power of “infinite hope” to fight against injustice. “I want us all to generate the kind of collective hope that will usher us into a better future,” said Davis. We air highlights from the event.

Ahead of President elect-Donald Trump’s second inauguration, thousands of people rallied in Washington, D.C., on Saturday at the People’s March to oppose his policies on immigration, abortion, LGBTQ rights, the climate crisis and more. We air voices of resistance from the protest. “All of us deserve to feel like human beings, and all of us deserve to have our rights respected,” said Hope Giselle, executive director of the National Trans Visibility March. “Without a democracy, without a true democracy, we all fall to the wayside of corruption and a government that does not see us as human beings, and I refuse to allow that to stand.”

We continue our coverage of the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire by going to Jerusalem to speak with Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who has experience negotiating with Hamas, including during this latest conflict. Baskin says while it’s heartening to see captives returning home, the ceasefire agreement is “a bad deal” because of how fragile it is. “Hamas would not have agreed to enter into this two- or three-phase deal without having guarantees … that in fact the war would end,” says Baskin. “But we don’t know that, because Netanyahu has given alternative promises to members of the government that Israel reserves the right to return to war.”

As the ceasefire in Gaza has entered its second day and appears to be holding, we begin our coverage in Ramallah. “We’re hoping that it will continue, the Israelis will continue to release prisoners. And, of course, we have no guarantees they will not be rearrested again,” says Tala Nasir, a lawyer with the Palestinian prisoner and human rights organization Addameer. She also notes that many of those released are coming home in poor health. “They were starving inside the prisons,” Nasir notes.

• Palestinians Return to Decimated Homes, Israeli Hostages Released as Ceasefire Takes Effect
• Netanyahu Says U.S. Gave Him Green Light to Resume Attacking Gaza Despite Ceasefire
• Trump Vows Blitz of EOs Cracking Down on Immigration, Schools, Gov't Agencies Ahead of Swearing-In
• Immigrant Communities Brace for Mass Deportations as Trump Returns to Presidency
• "Literally Cashing In on the Presidency": Donald and Melania Trump Launch Their Own Cryptocurrencies
• TikTok Briefly Goes Dark, Then Returns After Trump Says He Will Delay Its Ban
• Biden Issues Preemptive Pardons for Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, House Jan. 6 Cmte. Members
• Biden Pardons Marcus Garvey, Immigration Activist Ravi Ragbir
• Biden Declares ERA Is "Law of the Land" But Fails to Back Up Announcement with Executive Action
• Biden Admin Reveals U.S. Role in Developing, Funding Kyiv's Drone Program
• Tehran Gunman Assassinates Two Top Iranian Judges
• 80+ People Killed in Northeast Colombia, Thousands Flee as Peace Talks Collapse
• DOJ Sues Walgreens for Role in Opioids Crisis
• Atlanta City Workers Kill Unhoused Man as They Bulldozed Encampment Near Ebenezer Baptist Church
• American Historical Association Council Rejects Members' Will, Vetoes Scholasticide Resolution

After commuting the sentences of over 2,500 people imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, Joe Biden has set a record for most pardons and commutations by a U.S. president. But Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier remains behind bars. Over 120 tribal leaders are calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier as one of his final acts in office, warning this may be the last opportunity Peltier has for freedom. Peltier is 80 years old and has spent the majority of his life — nearly half a century — in prison despite a conviction riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct. In December, tribal leaders, including the NDN Collective’s Nick Tilsen, met with a pardon attorney at the Department of Justice to prepare a recommendation on Peltier’s case for Biden. With only a few days left in Biden’s term, Native Americans are eagerly anticipating his decision. “All of us see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier, and that’s why we fight so hard for him,” says Tilsen. “This is about paving a path forward that gives us the opportunity to have justice and begin to heal the relationship between the United States government and Indian people. And so, this decision is massive.”

The ultra-rich have donated a record-shattering amount of funds to the 2025 Trump-Vance Presidential Inaugural Committee, with contributions from major corporations like Apple, Chevron, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Google, Pfizer, Microsoft and the pharmaceutical lobby. On Monday, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos will attend Trump’s inauguration with the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and a slew of other wealthy individuals tapped to join the new White House administration. “What’s even more concerning than the total amount being spent is the size of the donations that are coming in from corporations and billionaires, all of whom — just about all of whom — want something from the Trump administration,” says Craig Holman, Public Citizen’s Capitol Hill lobbyist, who is pushing for new legislation to regulate donations to the inauguration ceremony. “They are buying influence with the Trump administration, so we’re going to see scandal after scandal follow this inauguration. And reform often comes on the heels of scandal.”

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a long-awaited ceasefire deal with Hamas. If finalized, the ceasefire is expected to go into effect on Sunday. “The main challenge will be the second phase, and here there are many, many problems on the horizon,” says Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, who stresses the importance of also freeing the thousands of Palestinians held by Israel. “Again and again, Israelis always think that they are the only victims.” The announcement comes in the final week of U.S. President Joe Biden’s term as Israel prepares for the incoming Trump administration. “The only reason that Israel did not agree to this text until this week is because it didn’t have to worry about U.S. pressure,” says Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani, who explains why the limited agreement will not shift politics in Israel and Palestine. “I believe Netanyahu will do everything possible, with the collusion of certain Trump officials, to try to scuttle it after the first phase.”

• Israel Continues to Pound Gaza as Cabinet Votes on Ceasefire Deal
• Israeli Forces Continue Raids on Occupied West Bank, Including Hospital in Nablus
• "How Does It Feel to Have Your Legacy Be Genocide?": Max Blumenthal Confronts Outgoing Blinken
• Trump Nominees for Treasury, Interior, EPA Face Senate Hearings
• Ron DeSantis Names Trump Loyalist, Florida AG Ashley Moody to Fill Marco Rubio's Senate Seat
• Giuliani Holds On to NY, FL Properties as He Settles with Defamed Georgia Election Workers
• Death Toll from L.A. Wildfires Hits 27 as Study Says Disaster Could End Up Claiming 1,000s of Lives
• Climate Activists Tell Oil Cos to "Pay Up" for L.A. Wildfires as Guterres Slams Fossil Fuel Industry
• Biden Administration Sanctions Sudan's Army Chief al-Burhan Amid Mounting Humanitarian Disaster
• Ohio Woman Sues Ohio City and Hospital After She Was Arrested over Miscarriage
• Biden to Commute Sentences of 2,500 Prisoners Convicted of Nonviolent Offenses
• JBS and Perdue Farms to Pay $8 Million for Child Labor Violations at Slaughterhouses

In her confirmation hearing Wednesday, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, refused to answer Democrats’ questions about maintaining the Department of Justice’s independence from the president and pursuing his personal vendettas. Bondi also avoided directly answering questions about Trump’s vow to pardon January 6 defendants and refused to say Trump definitively lost the 2020 election. “Bondi clearly has a comfort level with basing her prosecutorial discretion on whether someone has power and influence, and whether they’re willing to give her a taste of that,” says The American Prospect’s David Dayen, who explains how such abuse of power could dangerously expand the ability of the president to go after political enemies.

We host a roundtable on the planned Gaza ceasefire with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project, Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News. We discuss how incoming President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pressured Israel to accept the deal and what it reveals about the outgoing Biden administration’s refusal to use its own leverage for the same end. “Joe Biden could have ended this long ago,” and that he chose not to “exposes the utter moral rot that existed within the Biden White House,” says Scahill. Still, our guests say it’s unlikely that the ceasefire announcement signifies true relief for Palestinians beset by Israel’s genocidal violence. Levy says Netanyahu is already working to renege on the deal and continue a war that has helped him retain his political power, while Shehada warns that all signs point to the continued subjugation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in conditions “more painful than the war.”

We go first to Gaza for reaction from Palestinians to the long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas announced Wednesday. When implemented, the deal would mark the first pause in Israel’s relentless attack on the Gaza Strip in over a year. The ceasefire is expected to go into effect Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a Cabinet vote required to approve it. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to strike civilian-dense areas in Gaza. “The bloodshed is not stopping since the announcement,” reports journalist Shrouq Aila, on the ground in Deir al-Balah. “Nobody knows what the future holds.”

• Netanyahu Puts Ceasefire on Hold as Gaza Celebrates Possible End to 15 Months of Genocide
• Ceasefire Terms Include Prisoner Exchange, Surge of Aid into Gaza, Israeli Withdrawal
• Israel Kills at Least 70 More Palestinians in Hours After Ceasefire Deal Announced
• Attorney General Nominee Pam Bondi Won't Rule Out Prosecuting Trump's Critics
• Secretary of State Nominee Marco Rubio Defends Trump's "America First" Foreign Policy
• Confirmation Hearings Open for Trump's Picks to Lead Transportation, Energy, CIA and OMB
• ExxonMobil Countersues California AG and Environmentalists over Plastic Pollution Claims
• Mike Turner Ousted as House Intelligence Committee Chair Following "Concerns from Mar-a-Lago"
• In Final Oval Office Address, President Biden Warns of Growing "Tech-Industrial Complex"
• Ukraine Claims Largest Attacks Yet on Russia Using U.S.- and U.K.-Made Missiles
• U.N. Rights Chief Joins Calls for End to Western Sanctions on Syria
• Haitian Armed Groups Have Displaced 1 Million from Their Homes