i'm amy goodman. as we return now to our look back at excerpts of democracy now! over the past quarter century. let's go to 2010 when the whistle blowing website wickileaks released footage of u.s. soldiers firing from the military helicopter on iraqi civilians including two dead of reuters agency. >> let me know when you gather what you -- >> fire. >> roger. [gunfire] >> we need to move now. amy: julian assange, tell us how you got this footage? >> we got this footage some time last year. we don't disclose the source for source protection. when we first got it we were told that it was important and it showed the killing of journalists. we didn't have any other context. we spent quite some months after breaki the encryption looking and the more we looked the more disturbing it became. this is a sequence which has a lot of detail and i think in some ways can covers most of the bad aspects of the area war in iraq and what we must be be able to infer what is going on in afghanistan. amy: as we look at 25

i'm amy goodman. south african scientists say an explosion of covid-19 cases around johannesburg has peaked, just one month after the fast-spreading omicron variant was first detected in the region. south africa's national institute of communicable diseases said wednesday omicron appeared to cause fewer cases of debt and hospitalizations than other variants. researchers in scotland and at imperial college london announced similar findings. it's not clear whether omicron is less very light or because more people have partial immunity due to vaccination or a previous infection. meanwhile, the head of the world health organization has warned rich nations against administering booster shots widely until people in poor countries have access to vaccines. who director tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said wednesday about 20% of the world's vaccine supply is being used for booster shots. >> blanket booster programs are likely to prolong the pandemic rather than ending it. by diverting supply to countries that alrea

i'm amy goodman. coronavirus cases are skyrocketing in the united states and in many parts of the world with the fast spreading omicron variant combining with lacks public health measures and holiday gatherings to drive daily infections to pandemic level highs. here in the u.s., more than 200,000 people are testing positive for coronavirus each day, nearly reaching last winter speak with the u.s. on pace to surpass one million dly infections in january. u.s. airlines canceled thousands of flights over the christmas holidays, citing increasing rates of illness among flight crews. many schoolistricts and colleges have announced every turned to online classes. public health officials warn of a surge in pediatric covid-19 cases with northeastern hospitals saying a fourfold increase in the number of children hospitalized in the past two weeks. in china, some 13 million residents of the city of -- have in order to remain at home after officials reported more than 200 coronavirus infections, the most china h

i'm amy goodman. global coronavirus cases hit a record high monday as the omicron variant continued to spread at an unprecedented pace. worldwide, countries reported nearly a millionnd-a-half positive coronavirus tests in just 24 hours, with the rate of new infections rising rapidly in southern africa, europe, north america, and elsewhere. france ordered new public health measures monday, including a requirement people show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and other public places. but french officials abandoned a stopped short of a new lockdown and abandoned a push for vaccine workplace mandate. british prime minister boris johnson said he will not introduce new covid-19 restrictions in england in december despite a record 114,000 new cases reported on christmas day. in argentina, cases spiked to their highest level in six months and are increasing rapidly. in south africa, covid-19 cases have fallen by 40% in a week after the nation was the first to be hit hard by the omicron variant. but ca

i'm amy goodman. the justice department has sued texas over its heavily gerrymandered political maps, charging republican lawmakers drew new districts that favor white voters despite the rapid growth of black and latinx communities in texas. associate attorney general vanita gupta said monday the new maps show clear signs of discrimination. >> texas will gain two new congressional seats because of its population growth. almost all of which is due to the growth of minority population. however, texas has designed both of those new seeds to have white voting majority. the congressional plan also deliberately reconfigured a west texas district to eliminate the opportunity for latino voters to elect a representative of their choice. this is the third time in three decades where texas has eliminated a latinelectoral opportunity in t same district, despite previous court determinations it violates the law. amy: this comes a month after the justice department sued texas over its recently-passed voter suppress

i'm amy goodman. the justice department has sued texas over its heavily gerrymandered political maps, charging republican lawmakers drew new districts that favor white voters despite the rapid growth of black and latinx communities in texas. associate attorney general vanita gupta said monday the new maps show clear signs of discrimination. >> texas will gain two new congressional seats because of its population growth. almost all of which is due to the growth of minority population. however, texas has designed both of those new seeds to have white voting majority. the congressional plan also deliberately reconfigured a west texas district to eliminate the opportunity for latino voters to elect a representative of their choice. this is the third time in three decades where texas has eliminated a latino ectoral opportunity in theame district, despite previous court determinations it violates the law. amy: this comes a month after the justice department sued texas over its recently-passed voter suppress

i'm amy goodman. an unprecedented december storm system spawned tornadoes and brought hurricane force winds to a swath of the sickly united states wednesday with 100 million u.s. residents facing weather alerts. the systems bond massive dust storms in colorado and kansas, one hundred mile-per-hour winds in nebraska and iowa, and for the first time on record, december tornadoes in minnesota. the extreme weather came as several states recorded monthly record high temperatures for december. it came less than a week after another storm stemeft 90 people dead and devastated parts of kentucky and other states. on thursday, president biden toward kentucky, which was devastated by tornadoelast week. the united kingdom is that a daily record for coronavirus cases with nearly 79,000 infections reported on wednesday. england's chief medical officer chris whitty said the country is suffering two epidemics simultaneously -- a wave of cases from the delta coronavirus variant, plus an unprecedented surge from the fa

i'm amy goodman. an unprecedented december storm system spawned tornadoes and brought hurricane force winds to a swath of the sickly united states wednesday with 100 million u.s. residents facing weather alerts. the systems bond massive dust storms in colorado and kansas, one hundred mile-per-hour winds in nebraska andowa, and for the first time on record, december tornadoes in minnesota. the extreme weather came as several states recorded monthly record high temperatures for december. it came less than a week after another stormystem left 90 people dead and devastated parts of kentucky and other states. on thursday, president biden toward kentucky, which was devastated by tornadoelast week. the united kingdom is that a daily record for coronavirus cases with nearly 79,000 infections reported on wednesday. england's chief medical officer chris whitty said the country is suffering two epidemics simultaneously -- a wave of cases from the delta coronavirus variant, plus an unprecedented surge from the fa

i'm amy goodman. president biden warned thursday of an imminent surge of covid-19 cases as the omicron coronavirus variant continued to spread around the world and across the u.s. at an unprecedented pace. pres. biden: for unvaccinated, we're looking at a winter of severe illne and death for unvaccinated. for themselves, their families, and the hospitals that will be overwhelmed. amy: u.s. covid-19 hospitalizations continue to rise, with nearly 1300 people dying of the disease each day. amid the surge, many prominent universities, including nyu, depaul, and princeton have returned to online classes. cornell university canceled most campus activities after 1100 students tested positive for coronavirus in just one week. the national football league and national basketball association have announced new covid-19 protocols after dozens of players tested positive this week. here in new york, mayor bill de blasio has announced plans to distribute one million high-quality masks and half a million at-home cov

i'm amy goodman. the world health organization has warned the omicron coronavirus variant is spreading faster than even the delta variant and is infecting vaccinated people and those -- at a far higher rate than other forms of the virus. who director-general dr. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus called on governments to require more public health measures and said many holiday festivities should be canceled. >> canceled is better than a life canceled. it is better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later. amy: here in the united states, the centers for disease control is warning omicron has overtaken delta as the dominant coronavirus variant, accounting for nearly three-quarters of new infections. the pentagon said it is dispatching teams of naval doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists to wisconsin and indiana as hospitals in those states face shortages of beds and medical workers. new york state confirmed a record number of daily infections for the fourth straight day mo

i'm amy goodman. the u.s. supreme court's conservative justices appeared ready to dramatically roll back reproductive rights wednesday as the court heard oral arguments on a challenge to mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. the case is being closely watched since it could undermine and possibly overturn the landmark 1973 roe v. wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide. the courts three liberal justices said reversing roe or another ruling known as planned parenthood versus casey, would damage the course legitimacy. this is just a sonia sotomayor. >> sponsors of this ill, the house bill in mississippi, said we are doing it because we have you justices. the newest ban mississippi has put in place, the six week ban, the senate sponsor said we're doing it because we have new justices on the supreme court. will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? amy: if roe v. wade is overturned, almost half states h

i'm amy goodman. today, a special broadcast, an hour with noam chomsky. the renowned political dissident, linguist, and author just turned 93 years old. nermeen sheikh and i recently interviewed noam as part of democracy now!'s 25th anniversary celebration. noam chomsky joined us from his home in tucson, arizona, where he teaches at the university of arizona. we asked him about the state of the pandemic and why so many americans have refused to get vaccinated. >> it is overwhelmingly a far right phenomenon others have been drawn in. and i think there are many sources. one of them is probably social media, ich does circulate lots of dubious or even false information. and if people are dded to a particular part of it, that's what they'll be fed. but beyond that, there is skepticism, which has justification, about the role of government. happens to be misplaced in this case, but you can understand the origins of the skepticism. and it's not just the pandemic. much worse than that are the attitudes of ske

i'm amy goodman. a british court has ruled in favor of the u.s. government's appeal to extradite wikileaks founder julian assange to face criminal charges in the united states. a london district judge had previously ruled assange should not be extradited because he would likely die by suicide in a u.s. prison. u.k. judge timothy holroyde said he was satisfied with a pledge from the united states that assange would not be held in a maximum security prison in colorado. outside the court, supporters rallied for assange's release, warning his extradition would be a major blow to press freedom worldwide. we'll have the latest on assange's case after headlines. we will speak with one of his lawyers as well as his brother. this comes two days after secretary of state antony blinken addressed the white house's virtual summit of democracy, where he announced u.s. efforts to support independent journalism and reporters targeted for their work. on thursday, president joe biden welcomed venezuelan opposition lead

i'm amy goodman. today, a special broadcast, an hour with noam chomsky. the renowned political dissident, linguist, and author just turned 93 years old. nermeen sheikh and i recently interviewed noam as part of democracy now!'s 25th anniversary celebration. noam chomsky joined us from his home in tucson, arizona, where he teaches at the university of arizona. we asked him about the state of the pandemic and why so many americans have refused to get vaccinated. >> it is overwhelmingly a far right phenomenon others have been drawn in. and i think there are many sources. one of them is probably social media, ich does circulate lots of dubious or even false information. and if people are wedd to a particular part of it, that's what they'll be fed. but beyond that, there is skepticism, which has justification, about the role of government. happens to be misplaced in this case, but you can understand the origins of the skepticism. and it's not just the pandemic. much worse than that are the attitudes of skepticism about global warming. so one rather shocking fa

i'm amy goodman. president biden addressed the nation tuesday amid a fast-growing winter covid surge, largely linked to the highly transmissible omicron variant. he cautioned people against panicking but said unvaccinated people have "good reason to be concerned." biden announced a plan to distribute 500 million free at-home tests starting in january and more aid for hospitals. he also addressed the issue of federal vaccine mandates. pres. biden: i know vaccination requirements are unpopular for many. not even popular for those who are interested get them. my administration has put them in place not to control your life, but to save your life and the lives of others. 400,000 americans die from covid this calendar year and almost all were unvaccinated. most all were preventable. amy: in texas, an unvaccinated man in his 50's is believed to be the first recorded u.s. covid death linked to the omicron variant. it was his second covid infection. harris counturged residents to get vaccinated. california wi

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from unprecedented weekend storms across the united states has risen to 90, with dozens still missing. and kentucky, workers at that mayfield consumer products candle factory survived the stormed said supervisors threatened to fire them if they left early friday and even as forecasters one at approaching tornadoes and warning sirens could be heard. some of the workers left the factory ahead of the storm despite the threat to their livelihoods. at least eight people who remained died as a tornado ripped to the building and largely flattened. more than 100 workers were trapped. the rear december tornadoes are likely a result of the climate crisis. this is a meteologist jeff masters. >> we have a warmer climate that means you can get torna any time of year so you have to be prepared anywhere you live. you can get a tornado in december, january, february. we have seen an increasing number of these off-season storms. tornado season's all season long come all year long. amy:

i'm amy goodman. the death toll from unprecedented weekend storms across the united states has risen to 90, with dozens still missing. and kentucky, workers at that mayfield consumer products candle factory survived the stormed said supervisors threatened to fire them if they left early friday and even as forecasters one at approaching tornadoes and warning sirens could be heard. some of the workers left the factory ahead of the storm despite the threat to their livelihoods. at least eight people who remained died as a tornado ripped to the building and largely flattened. more than 100 workers were trapped. the rear december tornadoes are likely a result of the climate crisis. this is a meteorologist jeff masters. >> we have a warmer climate that means you can get torna any time of year so you have to be prepared anywhere you live. you can get a tornado in december, january, february. we have seen an increasing number of these off-season storms. tornado season's all season long come all year long. amy

i'm amy goodman. as covid 19 cases continue to search across europe, north america and south africa, a new report finds the world is dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic. researchers at johns hopkins and the global health security index scored every country on its ability to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. no country scored above 76 on a scale of one to 100. this is, one of the creators of the astrazeneca covid vaccine. >> it could be worse. it could be more contagious or more lethal or or both. we cannot allow situation where we have gone through all we have gone through and then find the enormous economic losses we have sustained mean there still no funding for pet pam -- pandemic preparedness. amy: in a the coronavirus pandemic has pose the greatest threat to children and 75 years, reversing progress in education, hunger, health care, poverty, abuse, and forced marriage. here in the united states, the senate has voted to reverse president biden's vaccine mandate for larg

i'm amy goodman. the omicron coronavirus variant has been identified in at least 20 countries as more governments move to impose travel bans and other restrictions to curb its spread. this comes as new evidence shows the highly mutated variant was present in the netherlands at least several days before it was first detected and reported to the world by south africa. two flights on dutch airline klm may have been superspreader events for the omicron variant. in other coronavirus news, an fda panel voted by a narrow margin to endorse the use of merck's antiviral covid-19 pill. the oral treatment, which was shown in trials to reduce severe illness and death, could be approved for patient use within days and available within weeks. in legal news, a federal judge has blocked the biden administration's vaccine mandate for health workers. the requirement was scheduled to take effect from next week. in michigan, a 15-year-old student opened firat oxford high school near detroit, killing three students and inj

i'm amy goodman. presidents joe biden and vladimir putin held a two-hour virtual meeting tuesday amid mounting tension over the military build-up at the russia-ukraine border. national security adviser jake sullivan spoke to reporters following the call. >> he told president putin directly of russia further invades ukraine, the united states and our european allies would respond. amy: russia blamed escalating tensions on western powers and reiterated opposition to any plans for nato to expand in eastern europe. we'll have more on this story after headlines with the nation's katrina vanden heuvel. the house passed a $768 billion military budget tuesday in a 363-to-70 vote. the sum is $24 billion higher than what was requested by president biden, despite withdrawing this year from the u.s.'s longest war in afghanistan. the package includes funds aimed at countering china's power and to build ukraine's military strength. it also includes nearly $28 billion in nuclear weapons funding. separately, the sena

i'm amy goodman. the omicron coronavirus variant is continuing to spread around the world, with cases detected in nearly 50 countries and nearly one-third of u.s. states. omicron's proliferation has led dozens of nations to impose new travel restrictions. beginning today, all international travelers entering the u.s. will have to take a coronavirus test 24 hours within their departure or proof they have recovered from covid-19 in the last 90 days. it's still unknown whether omicron poses more risk than other forms of the coronavirus, but top u.s. infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci said sunday there are early indications it does not lead to more severe disease. the world health organization has so far not reported any deaths linked to the omicron variant. it's unknown if the new variant overtake delta, which continues to make up most infections. here in the u.s., covid-19 hospitalizations continue to rise with nearly 110,000 daily infections reported. another series of demonstrations against c

i'm amy goodman. the biden administration is ready to reinstate the contested trump-era remain in mexico policy as soon as next week after it reached an agreement with the mexican government. th means asylum seekers who arrive at the southern u.s. border will once again be returned and forced to wait in mexico while their cases are resolved in u.s. courts process , a that could take months or years. advocates warn biden has expanded the program to now potentially include asylum seekers from the entire western hemisphere. this comes despite mounting reports of human rights violations and other grave dangers faced by asylum seekers while stuck in mexico. this is a salvadoran asylum seeker in juarez, mexico, speaking thursday from a migrant shelter near the u.s. border. >> i have been here 22 days. staying here for a long time is desperate. we have children. we're here without our families. to stay here for another six month is difficult. thank god we have food, but it is hard to be without families. amy

i'm amy goodman. the build back better bill is dead after joe manchin announced sunday he would not vote for president biden and democrats' signature piece of legislation, the almost $2 trillion package that would expand the social safety net and combat the climate emergency. >> if i can't go home and explain it to the people of west virginia, i can't vote for. and i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. i just can't. i have tried everything humanly possible. i can get there. amy: manchin chose to make his announcement on fox news which prompted swift combination from many, the white house essentially accused the west virginia conservative of being lying. the press secretary said his announcement "represents a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues in the house and senate." manchin reportedly refused to take a white house, for sinking the bill on tv. progressive lawmakers called out th manchin an

i'm amy goodman. the u.s. has recorded over 800 deaths from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. on tuesday, a group of lawmakers marked the sobering milestone with a moment of silence on the steps of the u.s. capitol. this comes as the world health organization warned the omicron coronavirus variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate and is likely already present in most countries. while early data shows omicron appears to cause less severe illness, it may be more resistant to vaccines. u.s. officials say it could soon become the dominant variant. in upstate new york, cornell shut down its ithaca campus after over 900 covid cases were detected. many of the infections were of the omicron variant in fully vaccinated students. meanwhile, the head of the european union also warned omicron cases are gambling every two or three days and is eected to bome donant by mid-januar greece recorded its second-highest daily dth toll since the start of the pandemic. in medical news, pfizer said tuesday its a

i'm amy goodman. the u.s. has recorded over 800 deaths from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. on tuesday, a group of lawmakers marked the sobering milestone with a moment of silence on the steps of the u.s. capitol. this comes as the world health organization warned the omicron coronavirus variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate and is likely already present in most countries. while early data shows omicron appears to cause less severe illness, it may be more resistant to vaccines. u.s. officials say it could soon become the dominant variant. in upstate new york, cornell shut down its ithaca campus after over 900 covid cases were detected. many of the infections were of the omicron variant in fully vaccinated students. meanwhile, the head of the european union also warned omicron cases are gambling every two or three days and isxpected toecome minant by mid-januar greece recorded its second-highest daily dth toll since the start of the pandemic. in medical news, pfizer said tuesday its a

i'm amy goodman. u.s. coronavirus infections have reached an all-time high, surpassing even january's terrible peak, with daily cases now averaging 267,000 and rising rapidly. hospitalizations are up, too, with nearly 80,000 u.s. beds filled, though that figure is out half of the numb hospitalized ding last winter's surg on wednesday, the cdc revised its estimate of the percentage of u.s. omicron variant infections downward, suggesting the dangerous delta variant is continuing to circulate widely. the fda is warning that over-the-counter rapid antigen tests might be less sensitive to detecting the omicron variant. the warning comes as the biden administration is preparing to make a half-billion tests available for free to u.s. households. here in new york, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of children hospitalized with covid-19 this month. dr. james schneider - >> we are saying recognize her of admissions of children's from newborns to 21 years of age in hospitals and i's with icron. no

i'm amy goodman. u.s. coronavirus infections have reached an all-time high, surpassing even january's terrible peak, with daily cases now averaging 267,000 and rising rapidly. hospitalizations are up, too, with nearly 80,000 u.s. beds filled, though that figure is out half of the numb hospitalized ding last winter's surge. on wednesday, the cdc revised its estimate of the percentage of u.s. omicron variant infections downward, suggesting the dangerous delta variant is continuing to circulate widely. the fda is warning that over-the-counter rapid antigen tests might be less sensitive to detecting the omicron variant. the warning comes as the biden administration is preparing to make a half-billion tests available for free to u.s. households. here in new york, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of children hospitalized with covid-19 this month. dr. james schneider - >> we are saying recognize her of admissions of children's from newborns to 21 years of age in hospitals and i's with icron.

i'm amy goodman. today, a special on two people who will not be home for the holidays, edward snowden and julian assange. in this special broadcast, we spend the hour with nsa whistleblower edward snowden, along with two pulitr prize winning journalists, glenn greenwald and chris hedges. i recently moderated a discussion with them at the virtual war on terror film festival after a screening of "citizenfour," the oscar winning documentary about snowden by laura poitras. the documentary chronicles how snowden met with laura poitras and glenn greenwald in a hotel room in hong kong in june 2013 to share a trove of secret documents about how the united states had built a massive surveillance apparatus to spy on americans and people across the globe. it was the biggest leak ever to come out of the nsa. after sharing the documents, edward snowden was charged in the united states for violating the espionage act d other laws. as he attempted to flee from hong kong to latin america, snowden was stranded in russ

i'm amy goodman. president biden has declared a major federal disaster in kentucky as communities across eight states are reeling from a deadly tornadoes that ripped across a swath of the southern and midwestern u.s. friday and saturday. around 100 people are feared dead with the highest death toll in kentucky, where at least 80 people were killed. this is kentucky governor andy beshear. >> it is like nothing he knew must've ever seen before even in a movie or on tv. it is that devastating. homes totally gone and the people inside them totally gone, too. the warnings were there. i don't fault anybody for that. one of our challenges is we are losing so many people in this, our morgue is not big enough. coroners are coming om other states to help. amy: deaths were also confirmed in tennessee, illinois, and missouri. in edwardsville, illinois, an amazon warehouse partially collapsed friday night, killing at least six people. labor and rights advocated blasted amazon following the news. union leader stuar

i'm amy goodman. the world health oanization is warning the omicron coronavirus variants poses a very high risk to nations and could set off new waves of infection, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. on monday, the who director general thanked leade in southern africa for soundi the alarm over the new variant and called for a global treaty to prevent, prepare for, and spond to future pandemics. >> the world needs a new accord on pandemics. our current system this incentivizes countries from alerti others to threats that will inevitably land on their shoulders. amy: the world health organization has criticized travel bans against southern africa. on monday, more than two million nurses from 28 countries filed a complaint with the united nations, demanding an investigation into wealthy countries that have blocked a proposed patent waiver for covid-19 vaccines. the nurses accuse the governments of protecting the profits of big pharmaceutical companies at the expense of public health. meanwhi

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