yt:channel:zuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw zuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2006-07-12T19:59:38+00:00 yt:video:SAErrQPfUPI SAErrQPfUPI UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T18:45:33+00:00 2026-05-22T18:51:14+00:00 Stephen Colbert and the risk of media consolidation to free speech As comedian Stephen Colbert goes off the air, under apparent political pressure, journalist David Sirota from @LeverNews says the Trump administration is weaponizing its regulatory powers to attack critics in the media. "It creates a chilling effect." yt:video:XMNMHf5rHGA XMNMHf5rHGA UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T16:04:26+00:00 2026-05-22T17:00:20+00:00 “AI Resist List”: Karen Hao on Data Center Resistance, Tech Billionaires, “Empire of AI” & More Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt We speak with journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, about the Trump administration’s alliance with tech billionaires, efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technology, and rising local opposition to data centers across the United States. 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 yt:video:vL4tXvY9Ht8 vL4tXvY9Ht8 UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T16:03:51+00:00 2026-05-22T16:23:07+00:00 Stephen Colbert Out at CBS as Trump Weaponizes Regulatory Power to Control the Media Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has ended his 11-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS. His program’s cancellation removes one of President Trump’s most vocal critics from the airwaves and comes after the comedian criticized his own employer for agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump. The settlement came as CBS parent company Paramount was seeking the Trump administration’s approval for a merger with Skydance, which the Trump administration approved just one week after CBS announced Colbert’s ouster. Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr has openly gloated about the administration’s attacks on critics in the media and the defunding of outlets like PBS and NPR, which no longer receive federal money. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance is seeking another megamerger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which would further concentrate media control in the hands of the billionaire Ellison family that has a long history of supporting Trump. 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 yt:video:PrGJ4Revcis PrGJ4Revcis UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T15:42:55+00:00 2026-05-22T15:47:34+00:00 U.S. aid cuts and Ebola U.S. aid cuts and the Trump administration's withdrawal from the World Health Organization are hampering the international response to Ebola, says health policy expert Matthew Kavanagh. yt:video:Lpq2lJ5os5Y Lpq2lJ5os5Y UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T15:09:16+00:00 2026-05-22T16:04:35+00:00 Ebola Response Hampered by Impoverishment & U.S. Global Health Cuts Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt The deadly Ebola outbreak spreading across the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 177 people, with more than 750 suspected cases reported in the DRC and neighboring Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials believe the virus may have been spreading undetected for months before the outbreak was identified, raising concerns that the scale of transmission could be far greater than initially understood. The epidemic has spread hundreds of miles away to South Kivu province, now under the control of the ⁠Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. 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 yt:video:XOgVlw7TQaA XOgVlw7TQaA UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-22T14:39:20+00:00 2026-05-22T16:04:35+00:00 Top U.S. & World Headlines — May 22, 2026 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 yt:video:uioXzSjbx7Q uioXzSjbx7Q UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T22:01:55+00:00 2026-05-22T07:16:07+00:00 Palestine censorship at Rutgers University Noura Erakat, a Palestinian human rights attorney and professor at Rutgers University, says that when it comes to divesting from Israel, “democracy doesn’t matter” to Rutgers. She also says professors at the university have been asked not to teach about the conditions in Gaza. yt:video:ZDNWXJdjdfw ZDNWXJdjdfw UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T21:45:32+00:00 2026-05-21T21:45:33+00:00 U.S. indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro The Trump administration has indicted Raúl Castro, the former president of Cuba and brother of the late Fidel, on charges stemming from the 1996 shootdown of four pilots with Brothers to the Rescue, an anti-Castro organization formed by Cuban exiles with ties to the CIA. Peter Kornbluh, a Cuba specialist at the National Security Archive, says that the indictment could provide justification for a possible future attempt to capture or assassinate the 94-year-old Castro, and warns that the U.S. may soon conduct an operation in Cuba similar to its seizure of Nicholás Maduro in Venezuela earlier this year. yt:video:RUqRmsEuCKs RUqRmsEuCKs UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T20:02:11+00:00 2026-05-22T06:43:24+00:00 The U.S. is only admitting white South African refugees The Trump administration is advancing plans to resettle an additional 10,000 white South Africans in the United States as refugees. The U.S. has resettled just over 6,000 refugees between October and April — all except three were from South Africa. President Trump has said Afrikaners face racial persecution and genocide in South Africa, claims that have been rejected by the U.N. Human Rights Office, among others. Last year, he cut off aid to the country. "Whiteness is being recast as endangered," says Lebohang Pheko, a professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg. "There is a move towards the alt-right, the MAGA discourse, which is about replacement theory." Pheko also suggests that Trump's actions toward South Africa are retribution for the genocide case it brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice. yt:video:5818N0h-lGk 5818N0h-lGk UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T17:02:21+00:00 2026-05-22T06:57:05+00:00 Pro-Palestine speech silenced at CUNY Law As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. "This will be the third graduation and commencement ceremony in a row where we do not have a student speaker, we do not have a faculty speaker and we do not have a live-stream commencement," says Shivani Desai, a member of CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine. "They took all of that away from us, and they took that away specifically because of Palestine repression." yt:video:CNsGXyrVkaU CNsGXyrVkaU UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T14:50:09+00:00 2026-05-22T07:46:20+00:00 Top U.S. & World Headlines — May 21, 2026 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 yt:video:GnXSK-facyc GnXSK-facyc UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T14:46:58+00:00 2026-05-22T06:52:50+00:00 "They're Trying to Silence Us": Students, Faculty on Censoring Pro-Palestine Voices at Graduations Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt As colleges hold graduation ceremonies across the country, many schools are attempting to silence pro-Palestine speech at the commemorations, including canceling speakers and eliminating live speeches by students altogether. There will be no live student speakers at the City University of New York's School of Law or at New York University's school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that included expressing support for Palestine and criticism of Israel. Rutgers University canceled biotech CEO Rami Elghandour's commencement speech at its School of Engineering's convocation, citing complaints about his social media posts on Israel and Palestine. And the University of Michigan's president issued a public apology after professor Derek Peterson praised pro-Palestine students during his commencement address. "Our students are being told that your families, Palestinian families, are expected to suffer and die, and you should be OK with it," says Noura Erakat, a Palestinian human rights attorney and professor at Rutgers University. Erakat adds that Rutgers professors have been asked not to teach about the conditions in Gaza. "We are asked to betray the empirical record, including the one on genocide and apartheid, and we refuse to do that." "This will be the third graduation and commencement ceremony in a row where we do not have a student speaker, we do not have a faculty speaker and we do not have a live-stream commencement," says Shivani Desai, a member of CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine. "They took all of that away from us, and they took that away specifically because of Palestine repression." 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 yt:video:bYNrNgXuhE8 bYNrNgXuhE8 UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T14:43:31+00:00 2026-05-22T07:05:41+00:00 Rising Conflict in DRC, Sudan, Other African Countries Linked to Trump's Gutting of USAID: Study Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt The decades-old U.S. humanitarian aid agency USAID was largely dismantled in the early days of President Trump's second term by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. The authors of a new study in the journal _Science_ conclude, "The abrupt withdrawal of USAID led to a significant and sustained increase in conflict across Africa's most USAID-dependent regions." We are joined by Austin Wright, one of the study's authors and a professor of public policy at the University of Chicago. "What we found is that that shutdown had these large effects," says Wright. "These are often double-digit percentage increases in the incidence, severity and lethality of violence across Africa in the affected regions." 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 yt:video:TIG0NKYQvNc TIG0NKYQvNc UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T14:37:13+00:00 2026-05-22T07:30:45+00:00 Trump Resettles White South Africans at "Record Pace" While Blocking Refugees from Everywhere Else Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt The Trump administration is advancing plans to resettle an additional 10,000 white South Africans in the United States as refugees. Under President Trump's proposal, which was submitted to Congress on Monday, the U.S. would lift its record-low refugee admissions figure from 7,500 to 17,500, with the additional openings reserved for Afrikaners. This comes as the administration continues to block the entry of refugees from other countries. The U.S. has resettled just over 6,000 refugees between October and April — all except three were from South Africa. Trump has said Afrikaners face racial persecution and genocide in South Africa, claims that have been rejected by the U.N. Human Rights Office, among others. Last year, he cut off aid to the country and boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg. "Whiteness is being recast as endangered," says Lebohang Pheko, a professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg. "There is a move towards the alt-right, the MAGA discourse, which is about replacement theory, and which is absolutely about displacing the idea that anything other than whiteness is normative." Pheko also suggests that Trump's actions toward South Africa are retribution for the genocide case it brought against Israel at International Court of Justice. "We are processing resettlement cases for white Afrikaners at a record pace," adds Sharif Aly, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project, which is currently litigating a class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's dismantling of the United States refugee program. "This program has never been a fast program, and it's being expedited for just this one population." While Afrikaners are being quickly resettled, "thousands of other people who have went through years of vetting, who have went through years of persecution and violence," are being blocked from entering the U.S., says Aly. 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 yt:video:r2OFpWlzXPw r2OFpWlzXPw UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw Democracy Now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw 2026-05-21T00:30:17+00:00 2026-05-21T07:08:46+00:00 Iran's death penalty Amnesty International’s 2025 report on the global use of the death penalty finds that executions have surged to their highest recorded number in over 40 years, driven largely by the expanded use of political executions in Iran to “create a climate of fear and intimidation in the society and deter dissent.”