Democracy Now! 2026-07-06 Monday

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Democracy Now! – July 6, 2026

Episode Theme Overview

This episode of Democracy Now!, hosted by Amy Goodman, delivers an in-depth exploration of the latest climate disasters, U.S. political developments, global conflicts, corporate accountability, and immigration justice. Key segments focus on the deadly U.S. and European heat waves; the controversial felony case against former Olympian Davey Hearn; the implications of a massive media merger; threats to birthright citizenship; President Trump’s financial disclosures; and the harrowing story of an asylum seeker’s release from ICE detention.

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Major Stories & Key Discussion Points

1. Extreme Heat Waves: U.S. and Global Impacts

• 23:00–24:00; 36:27–49:22
• Record heat claims at least 25 lives in New Jersey and thousands in Europe.
• Climate scientists attribute rising frequency and intensity of heat waves to fossil fuel-driven global warming.
• New York Times writer David Wallace-Wells joins to discuss his essay, “We Need to Retrofit the Planet—the Heat Wave Proves It.”

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• David Wallace-Wells (39:32):
  “The planet is now warmer than it has ever been in modern human history… we’re already outside the window of temperatures that include close the entire history of human civilization.”
• David Wallace-Wells (41:21):
  “We have an enormous landscape of the built environment… designed to survive climate conditions which we’ve left behind. We need to reimagine all of that to survive new climate conditions.”

U.S. & Global Action:

• Comparison of U.S. and European climate policies to China’s rapid green tech expansion and ongoing emissions (42:30–43:18).
• Critique of the Trump administration for undermining clean energy and overturning previous climate initiatives (43:20–44:04).
• Reflection on inequity: developing nations, especially in Africa and South Asia, remain most vulnerable despite contributing least to the crisis (44:38–45:49).
• The urgent need for a “Manhattan Project” for renewable energy (45:49–46:44).

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2. The Davey Hearn Felony Case: Reflecting Pool ‘Vandalism’

• 19:10–20:32
• Olympian Davey Hearn faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly ‘vandalizing’ the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool by touching peeling paint.
• Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, frames the case as scapegoating to distract from the failed no-bid Trump era pool renovation.

Notable Quotes:

• Norm Eisen (19:10):
  “The charges are outrageous… it should be concerning to every American when, on this kind of a basis, a felony charge can issue.”

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3. Media Concentration: Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

• 20:32–26:15
• Analysis of a proposed $110 billion merger involving Trump allies Larry and David Ellison.
• Concerns over excessive concentration of news, entertainment, and tech (including CBS, CNN, TikTok) under “cronies of President Trump.”
• Critique of potential political interference in antitrust review; hope grounded in possible intervention by U.S. state attorneys general, the U.K., and EU.

Notable Quotes:

• Norm Eisen (21:18): “You’re watching Fox News… you go to CNN, it’s the same thing. You go to CBS, it’s the same thing. Then on top of that, you have an even louder megaphone for influencing society.”
• Norm Eisen (25:13): “If Britain intervened, it would be a substantial hurdle… And Amy, very proud that at Democracy Defenders, we filed a complaint with the UK that will be part of the basis for action.”

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4. Birthright Citizenship Under Threat

• 26:15–29:53
• Discussion of recent Congressional and Supreme Court debates.
• Norm Eisen details legal battles defending birthright citizenship against attempts to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of immigrants.
• Strong rebuke of efforts to frame the 14th Amendment as permitting denial of citizenship, and criticism of legislative and rhetorical attacks as unconstitutional.

Notable Quotes:

• Norm Eisen (27:17): “It is the law under the 14th Amendment that all babies born here are citizens. And by a 5-4 majority, we secured… the ruling that what Mike Johnson said is false.”

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5. Trump’s Financial Disclosures & Corruption

• 29:53–34:45
• Trump reported to have made over $2.2 billion in the past year, with major profits from cryptocurrencies, real estate, and family investments.
• Norm Eisen likens scale of profit-taking and conflicts of interest to authoritarian kleptocracies.
• Exposure of losses suffered by small investors in Trump meme-coins as family profits.

Notable Quotes:

• Norm Eisen (31:38): “The behavior of the president, his family and his cronies… it makes the worst scandals of the presidency over the past 250 years, like Watergate or the Teapot Dome, look like weak tea.”

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6. Immigration and Detention: Rafael Rubio’s Story

• 51:05–59:00
• Detailed account from Rafael Rubio, a New York City Council staffer recently released from ICE custody after being unjustly detained for over five months despite holding Temporary Protected Status.
• Commentary from his lawyer, Gwyneth Hesser, on the government’s ongoing appeal of his asylum win and systemic injustices faced by detained immigrants.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• Rafael Rubio (52:34): “It was a very difficult experience… when I was greeted by this person who identified himself to be as an ICE agent, then I knew that something was about to happen.”
• Rafael Rubio (54:29): “Thank you so much. You saved my life in many ways. Thank you.”
• Gwyneth Hesser (55:51): “He wasn’t released initially, even with having been granted asylum, because they stated their intent to appeal… We actually needed a federal judge to order a bond hearing.”
• Amy Goodman (56:50):
  “How long did it take you to get your blood pressure medication?”
• Rafael Rubio (56:53):
  “Like three weeks.”

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Additional Headlines and Global Updates

International Hotspots

• Iran: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and family members assassinated; son Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei named new leader, tensions with U.S. persist (01:58–03:45).
• Israel/Palestine: Ongoing violence in Gaza, bombings in Lebanon despite ceasefire; settlement expansion in West Bank (03:45–05:30).
• Venezuela: Massive earthquake crisis ongoing with thousands reported dead (08:59–09:50).
• Ukraine/Russia: Russian missile strikes on Kyiv before NATO summit; attacks on Russian fuel infrastructure escalate (10:00–11:10).

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Notable Quotes by Speakers & Timestamps

• Norm Eisen (19:10): “Mr. Hearn has been charged with vandalism. He’s innocent. The charges are outrageous.”
• David Wallace-Wells (39:32): “The planet is now warmer than it has ever been in modern human history.”
• David Wallace-Wells (45:58): “Solar and wind and batteries are most of the solution… but agriculture and heavy industry remain a huge puzzle.”
• Norm Eisen (31:38): “It makes the worst scandals of the presidency over the past 250 years, like Watergate or the Teapot Dome, look like weak tea.”
• Rafael Rubio (52:34): “It was a very difficult experience for me… when I was greeted by this person who identified himself to be as an ICE agent, then I knew that something was about to happen.”
• Amy Goodman (54:29): [on Rubio’s release] “Thank you so much. You saved my life in many ways. Thank you.”

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Timeline of Key Segments

| Time | Topic/Event | |--------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:14–01:53 | Headline news: heat wave deaths, Iran tensions, Israel-Palestine conflict | | 05:53–08:08 | Further headlines: wildfires, heat alerts, Typhoon Bobby, National Mall evacuation | | 08:32–13:22 | Trump’s July 4th speech, Patriot Front rally, earthquake in Venezuela, Ukraine, NATO protests | | 19:10–20:32 | Davey Hearn arrest, attorney Norm Eisen’s reaction | | 20:32–26:15 | Paramont–Warner Bros. merger, corporate media consolidation | | 26:15–29:53 | Supreme Court, birthright citizenship debate | | 29:53–34:45 | Trump’s financial disclosures, cryptocurrency profits | | 36:27–49:22 | Heat wave discussion with David Wallace-Wells | | 51:05–59:00 | Rafael Rubio’s ICE detention and release, asylum fight |

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Summary Takeaways

• The episode is a sweeping look at systemic crises—climate, media, political corruption, and immigration injustice.
• The climate story is anchored by striking, data-driven testimony of worsening heat waves and urgent calls for planetary retrofitting.
• The criminalization of minor civil actions (Hearn case) and concentration of media power are positioned as threats to democracy and public accountability.
• Trump era corruption, especially exploiting new economic frontiers like cryptocurrency, draws analogies to kleptocratic regimes.
• The harrowing first-person account from Rafael Rubio personalizes the consequences of immigration enforcement policies and the arbitrariness of ICE detention.
• Throughout, Democracy Now! maintains its tone of urgency, investigative rigor, and active resistance to official narratives.

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Transcript

[Amy Goodman]

From New York. This is Democracy Now.

[Norm Eisen]

Climate disasters are becoming more frequent, more

[Rafael Rubio]

destructive and more costly.

[Norm Eisen]

And the World Meteorological Organization has warned we ain't seen nothing yet.

[Amy Goodman]

At least 25 people, people have died from extreme heat in New Jersey alone over the weekend following a heat wave that enveloped the eastern half of the United States. And in Europe, thousands of excess deaths have been linked to record temperatures. We'll speak to writer David Wallace Wells, his latest essay for the New York Times Magazine. We need to retrofit the planet. The heat wave proves it. Then prosecutors charge a former US Olymp Canoeist with a felony for touching the peeling paint of the algae infested reflecting pool in Washington, D.C. today is about accountability for damaging a national resource, a national treasure. And that is the reflecting pool. We'll speak to David Hearn's lawyer, Norm Eisen, President Obama's ethics adviser about the vandalism charges. Also about birthright citizenship and Eisen's challenge to the Paramount Warner Brothers discovery merger. And finally, a New York City Council staff member has been released after five months in custody at the ICE immigration jail named Delaney hall in Newark, New Jersey.

[Rafael Rubio]

Thank you so much. You saved my life in many ways. Thank you.

[Amy Goodman]

All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy now, democracynow.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Millions of Iranians have attended funeral services for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and four members of his family assassinated by the US In February. Joining the funeral were three of Khamenei's sons who had not been seen since the US And Israel launched the war. A fourth son, Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei, has been named new supreme leader and remained out of public view ahead of the funeral. President Trump told Axios negotiations with Iran will remain paused until at least July 9th and that, quote, neither side will shoot at the other. Israeli forces have bombed parts of Lebanon in a fresh violation of the U S Brokered agreement to end the attacks that Israel signed in June. Israel's most recent strikes targeted Nabatiya in southern Lebanon, killing at least four people. There are also reports of Israeli drones flying over the coastal city of Tyre. On Sunday, the Israeli prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed without evidence that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon have asked to be annexed by Israel. In Yemen, dozens of people are dead following an outbreak of fighting between Yemen's internationally recognized government Houthi rebels in Hodeida, a province near the Strateg Baba Mandab strait on the Red Sea. The violence began Friday when Houthi fighters used snipers, drones and artillery to attack government positions. A Yemeni minister says more than 50 Houthis were killed in a counterattack. On Sunday, the British military said a cargo ship came under fire off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. No group claim responsibility, but the Houthis are active in the area and had previously threatened to renew attacks on ships. Israel's military continues to attack the Gaza Strip in further violations of the U. S Brokered October ceasefire. Earlier today, two people were killed and 15 injured when Israel struck a tent housing displaced Palestinians in Al Mawasi, an area Israel previously declared a humanitarian safe zone. Another attack on Khan Yuna struck a vehicle, killing two Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israel's security cabinets approved the construction of 13 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. The International center of justice for Palestinians condemned the announcement, writing quote, this is a deliberate strategy to reshape the geography and demographics of the occupied Palestinian territories, entrenching, annexation and deepening Israel's unlawful occupation in clear violation of international law, they said. The family of the prominent Palestinian doctor Hassam Abu Safiyah says his health has sharply deteriorated after more than 555 days in Israeli prisons. Dr. Abu Safiyah had served as a pediatrician and director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza until he was abducted by Israel in December of 2024. He's been held without charge ever since. In a video message, Dr. Abu Safiyah's son Elias says his father shows clear signs of torture and medical neglect during a recent meeting with his Lawyer in which Dr. Abu Safiyah described being beaten with a hammer. My father was unable to breathe. My father was unable to speak. His face was disfigured from the marks of torture and pain. Especially after the last court session held

[David Wallace Wells]

in Jerusalem at the Supreme Court.

[Amy Goodman]

We still call out, plead and appeal and beg to all the free people of the world and to everyone with

[David Wallace Wells]

an atom of humanity in their heart

[Amy Goodman]

to save my father's life before it's too late. Palestinian officials say Israeli attacks have killed about 1700 health care workers in Gaza since October 2023. At least 83 medical workers remain in Israeli prisons. In Greece, residents of Thessaloniki have been ordered to remain indoors with their windows shut after a fast moving wildfire engulfed a recycling plant, sending toxic smoke over the city. This comes as hundreds of firefighters battle wildfires in Portugal and Greece following a record shattering European heat wave that's already been blamed for thousands of heat related deaths. Here in the US at least 25 people are dead due to extreme heat and humidity after a massive heat dome brought record temperatures to the central and eastern U.S. over the Fourth of July holiday. Some 185 million people and more than half of U.S. residents were under heat alerts over the weekend with extreme weather forcing the cancellation of Independence Day events in states from Alabama to Connecticut. We'll have more on the extreme heat wave with David Wallace Wells. Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Bobby has brought devastating 175 mile per hour winds and storm surge to the Pacific Ocean, US territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The headline of David Wallace Wells piece in the New York Times Magazine that we'll talk about is we need to retrofit the planet. The heat wave proves it. In Washington, D.C. officials ordered thousands of people to evacuate the National Mall Saturday night as severe thunderstorms approached, delaying President Trump's speech and fireworks display marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thousands stood in security lines for hours in triple digit heat as a district tied its all time record high for Independence Day. Dozens were treated for heat related illnesses. Trump eventually spoke at 11:15pm delivering a 40 minute speech in which he promised a new Golden Age of America while casting his political opponents as communists who pose an existential threat.

[Norm Eisen]

Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We're not going to let it happen. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast.

[Amy Goodman]

Trump spoke after dozens of people wearing masks, mirrored sunglasses and symbols of the white supremacist group Patriot Front rallied in Washington D.C. on 4 July, rioting public transit and marching near landmarks. The group has portrayed itself as the, quote, protectors of white America, unquote. This comes after The Trump administration's Freedom250 celebration narrowly avoided disaster last week when a piece of debris fell from the stage, nearly crushing a group of about two dozen dancers. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have indicted the former US Olympian David Hearn on a felony charge for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, which has been plagued by peeling paint and rapid algae growth following the Trump administration's multimillion dollar renovation in a no bid contract. Hearn was arrested last month after he was spotted reaching into the water. He said he was curious about the state of the reflecting pool, had merely touched coating that had already floated to the surface. Later in the broadcast, we'll speak with his lawyer, the former Obama ethics adviser Norm Eisen. The confirmed Death toll from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes rose to more than 3,300 Sunday, with thousands remaining missing as officials began to bury the bodies of dozens of unidentified victims. Thousands have been left homeless, primarily in the region of La Guera. Meanwhile, the U S backed government of interim Venezuelan President Elsie Rodriguez is defending its actions in the aftermath of the quake, says survivors and residents decry what they've described as a delayed and inadequate response to the disaster. In Ukraine, at least 11 people were killed after Russia launched a series of overnight aerial strikes on Kyiv just a day before a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The the attacks came after President Trump reportedly offered to help Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war in a phone call between the two leaders that reportedly lasted nearly 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Russia faces a growing fuel crisis after Ukraine targeted more than 50 oil refineries and other energy sites across Russian territory and occupied Crimea since March. Over the weekend, a wave of Ukrainian long range drones struck a key oil terminal and naval base in St. Peter, Petersburg. President Trump is flying to Turkey today for the NATO summit in Ankara, where he's scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Heads of state from over 30 countries are also scheduled to attend. Ahead of Trump's visit, Turkish police detained more than 100 protesters as they march to demand Turkey's withdrawal from NATO. Among those arrested in Ankara were several journalists, human rights activists and academics. Police also cracked down on protest in Istanbul. NATO's crimes around the world are apparent. They have also committed numerous offenses in Turkey, orchestrated coups and have bases here. And now, shamelessly, they are being hosted in Ankara. I am here today to protest because I cannot accept this blow to my honor. NATO is a very big criminal organization. Pope Leo has urged the United States and European nations to ease up on their inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees. The pontiff made the appeal Saturday from the Italian island of Lampedusa, where he also visited a cemetery, praying over the graves of migrants who've died while making the treacherous journey from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean.

[Norm Eisen]

Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made. Indifference to the common good and corruption

[David Wallace Wells]

in their countries of origin.

[Norm Eisen]

A global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion. Fear that fuels prejudice and contempt. The belief that such problems do not concern us. The criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others.

[Amy Goodman]

President Trump has issued pardons to 11 more people, including nine who face criminal charges for violating the Clean Air act by tempering with emissions monitoring systems on cars. Trump also pardoned Adam Kadan, a former business partner of the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Kadan pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy related to the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats. His pardon came just months after he co hosted a fundraiser at Trump's Mar a Lago resort for a Long Island Republican congressional candidate. Fresh controversy has embroiled the FIFA World cup after President Trump called on the FIFA President Johnny Infantino to lift a red card suspension on the US Men's national team. Top goalscorer for Lauren Balogun. Trump reportedly had a private call with the FIFA chief last week to ask for a review of Balogun's suspension, which was lifted on Sunday ahead of the U.S. team's match against Belgium today. The reversal is highly unusual rule. It's the first time since 1962 that FIFA's allowed a player to appear in a game after being suspended. He was red carded. Trump took to Truth Social, thanking FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice, unquote and China's begun enforcing a new so called ethnic unity law that human rights groups warn could accelerate the forced assimilation of ethnic minorities, Beijing said. The law could also apply to individuals outside Chinese borders, Amnesty International said in a statement. Quote, rather than celebrating difference, it's about pushing ethnic groups such as Uyghurs, Tibetans and Mongolians to adopt a single state defined national identity dominated by Han Chinese culture law. This law risks providing a stronger legal basis for existing practices of transnational repression. Peaceful advocacy for minority rights in China by anyone, anywhere could be characterized as undermining ethnic unity, unquote, Amnesty International said. Here in New York, a Tibetan activist lit himself on fire outside the United nations headquarters last week protesting China's annexation of Tibet. In a livestream video posted before his self immolation, Lagba Rangzhen decried Beijing's policies for, quote, destroying the Tibetan people.

[Rafael Rubio]

It's not that we do not have independence.

[David Wallace Wells]

We had it, but the independence is lost.

[Rafael Rubio]

We have to get it back.

[David Wallace Wells]

Therefore, we Tibetans in exile must unite and struggle for the independence of Tibet.

[Amy Goodman]

Log rangs and died in the protest. He was a 52 year old resident of Queens, New York, originally from Eastern Tibetan and advocate for Tibetan independence for over a decade. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. A grand jury in Washington D.C. has indicted the former U.S. olympian canoeist Davey Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. On June 19th, Davey Hearn stopped by the pool while on a 64 mile bike ride. He says he touched the pool to see what it felt like and was then arrested, handcuffed and held for five hours by U.S. west Park Police. He's now facing a possible sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. He is one of the at least six people who've been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the pool. Following the incident. Trump posted on social media, the United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our nation's magnificent reflecting pool. Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of national monuments. Years in jail, Trump wrote. District attorney for Washington D.C. gene Pirro said Hearn willfully and violently damaged a two square foot piece of sealant of the pool. I know it's important to call this press conference because one of the most offensive images that I hold in my mind are, are the images of national monuments that are being debased, roped, torn down, graffiti and damaged by individuals. Today is about accountability for damaging a national resource, a national treasure. And that is the reflecting pool. That's U.S. attorney for Washington D.C. jean Pirro. The reflecting pool underwent a nearly $16 million renovation. President Trump wanted to paint the bottom of the pool American flag blue. The work was completed under a no bid contract. But then the pool turned green as algae blooms flourished and the bottom of the pool began to peel. Late night comics started to say that the pool was Mexican flag green. For more we're joined by Norm Eisen. He's co founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. One of Davey Hearn's attorneys was formerly White House Special Coun Ethics and Government Reform under President Obama and was co founder and board chair of cru. That's Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Noor Mizen, thanks so much for joining us. Can you talk about what Davey Hearn exactly was charged with?

[Norm Eisen]

Well, Mr. Hearn has been charged with vandalism. He's innocent. The charges are outrageous. And Amy, it should be concerning to every American when on this kind of a basis a felony charge can issue. So we're preparing to vigorously defend the case in court.

[Amy Goodman]

So explain what we understand. You can't help but think, I mean this has been here is President Trump who is a developer. This is a no bid contract. I don't know if you can talk about who this went to. And the humiliation of President Trump himself. I won't even say the White House for what's happened to the pool. Do you think this is about trying to deflect attention for the failure of this reflecting pool?

[Norm Eisen]

AMY we do think that Davy is being scapegoated for the failures of the White House with respect to the reflecting pool, that the blame is being shifted. He's innocent and we intend to vigorously defend the matter.

[Amy Goodman]

Noor Mizen, you are involved with a number of cases. I'd like to ask you first about the merger. The proposed merger that the U.S. department of justice is pushing forward has just approved between Paramount Skydance, which has already merged in something like an $8 billion deal, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery merger would be something like $110 billion with the Trump ally, billionaires Larry and his son David Ellison. Can you talk about the significance of what's happening here?

[Norm Eisen]

Of course, Amy. At Democracy Defenders Fund and Democracy Defenders Action, we have over 300 legal cases and matters entirely separate from Mr. Hearn's case. Another one of those very important democracy cases is the effort to mash together two of the largest entertainment and news entities, Paramount and Warner Brothers. And the concern here is under the Ellison's tutelage, David Ellison, his father, Larry Ellison, cronies of President Trump's the CBS network storied the Tiffany Network. We've seen its news operations demolished by Bari Weiss. Now they're going to put CNN under that same umbrella together, by the way, with TikTok, where they also have that social media outfit under their wing. If you like what they did to CBS, the destruction of 60 Minutes, for example, you'll love what they're going to do to cnn. And that's just the news side of things. We can have, you know, you're somebody's watching Fox News. They say, oh, I can't take this anymore. I'm going to turn the channel. And you go to cnn, it's the same thing. You go to cbs, it's the same thing. Then on top of that, you have an even louder megaphone for influencing society. The entertainment industry, film and tv, documentary films, all of that also under the Ellison sway. Reportedly, career professionals at the Department of Justice were not ready to let this merger go through. They had serious questions about whether it was illegal under antitrust law. With the excessive concentration of power in the hands of the Ellisons, they were overruled. There's the most profound questions about whether there was inappropriate political decision making to jam through this merger. Two of President Trump's cronies the Ellisons, and fortunately the state AGs, the UK government, the EU are still asking those hard questions. We anticipate that the state AGs will go to court and get an injunction just like they did, Amy, with the Live Nation merger, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, just like they have done with other cases. Nextstar, Tegna, another big media merger. The AGs were successful in getting court relief. We anticipate they'll do the same thing here.

[Amy Goodman]

The significance of the British government, as you just mentioned, suggesting that it may challenge Paramount Skydown's blockbuster $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. And you talk about CBS then would be under the same roof as CNN and hbo, among other media properties. Lisa Nandi, the British culture and media secretary, expressed concern about concentrating control of media assets in the hands of fewer corporate owners. She said, following engagement with the parties in independent research, my department has today written to the current and proposed owners of Warner Bros. Discovery on my behalf to inform them I am minded to intervene. She said. What would it mean if Britain intervened?

[Norm Eisen]

It would be a substantial hurdle to completing this misbegotten merger mashup. The combined entity has substantial assets that are in the UK market or impact the UK market. It would be one of the strikes against the merger. The most devastating because the largest concentration is in the United States, would be the state ags. But the UK and the EU matter. And Amy, very proud that at Democracy Defenders, we filed a complaint with the UK that will be part of the basis for action if they move. So we are on the case in the US and wherever necessary to stop these kinds of assaults on our democracy.

[Amy Goodman]

I want to turn to another issue, birthright citizenship. This is House Speaker Mike Johnson speaking about the Supreme Court decision on Fox News over the weekend. I really enjoyed Justice Clarence Thomas dissent. It's everybody should read that, must read.

[David Wallace Wells]

And he explained that the 14th Amendment,

[Amy Goodman]

the original intent was to enhance and really value citizenship. And it's been devalued because of birthright

[David Wallace Wells]

tourism, which is what we have now.

[Amy Goodman]

It's a threat to the rule of

[David Wallace Wells]

law and national security.

[Amy Goodman]

We do need to address it.

[David Wallace Wells]

We're looking at all angles. If there's some legislative fix, we'll advance that immediately.

[Amy Goodman]

If it's a constitutional amendment, as you

[David Wallace Wells]

know, it takes a little more time,

[Amy Goodman]

but we've got to address this. It really is a serious, serious issue. So Norm Aizen, if you can talk about this approach that Congress would pass a law and this whole framing of birthright citizenship as birthright tourism, suggesting there would be pregnancy tests for anyone coming into the United States. That's not American citizen.

[Norm Eisen]

Amy. It's so wrong. We at Democracy Defenders Fund represented together with LULAC and our other wonderful partners in the case, including the aclu, those brave moms who were willing to stand up and fight the Trump administration's unconstitutional claim that Donald Trump gets to choose which babies born in this country are citizens and not. That is false. It is the law under the 14th Amendment that all babies born here are citizens. And by a 54 majority, we secured with co counsel the ruling that what Mike Johnson said is false. I talked to some of those moms that morning when we got the win was at the Supreme Court. Wow. They were so excited for themselves. But for all the babies and for the rule of law, now you're seeing a lot of sour grapes. This should not have been a 54 decision. It's very alarming that there were four votes for this open and shut issue at the Supreme Court. And now you're seeing statements like Mike Johnson. We forced even Mike Johnson, Amy, to admit that a constitutional amendment might be necessary because Congress doesn't have the power to do this. That doesn't stop people like him, like the president, like the White House, from fear mongering and making these absurd statements about what is a clear constitutional rule. Birthright citizenship is protected. Will they try other acts to harass, frighten, intimidate? Certainly our legal team is ready. And if you don't believe me, we have over 300 legal cases and matters to prove it, including some of the most high profile landmark wins shutting down Donald Trump's corruption. Like the Lisa Cook case. He was wrongly trying to fire and prosecute her. Like the $1.8 billion slush fund case, the Kennedy center case. We are going to go to bat for our moms who are being harassed even though the case was won. And we're going to keep fighting for the Constitution.

[Amy Goodman]

You mentioned corruption. New filings show that President Trump made more than $2.2 billion last year, most of it fueled by cryptocurrency profits, but with a significant rise in profits across his real estate business and other family investments. His legal settlements with media giants ABC News, Paramount, Meta cbs. The mandatory financial disclosure report released Tuesday shows Trump made at least 1.4 billion billion from his family's cryptocurrency ventures, including $635 million for Trump branded cryptocurrency meme coins and $590 million from the Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto business. He defended how he's profited from the presidency while speaking to reporters last week.

[Norm Eisen]

Well, you know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up. Everybody's profiting. If you have a 4, how's your 401k done? It's about up 85%. Thank you, President Trump.

[Amy Goodman]

So that was President Trump speaking to reporters before boarding the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 jet donated by the royal family of Qatar, reportedly at a cost of $400 million, paid for by the US taxpayers. But Trump plans to keep the jet after leaving office, saying he'll donate it to his presidential library. Can you respond to all of this? And of course, on the issue of cryptocurrency, the amount of money that those who invested in it lost as the Trump family gained,

[Gwyneth Hesser]

the

[Norm Eisen]

behavior of the president, his family and his cronies inside and outside of the federal government aiming economy is like nothing we've ever seen in American history. It makes the worst scandals of the presidency over the past 250 years, like Watergate or the Teapot Dome, look like weak tea. The profit taking of over 2.2 billion dollars by President Trump alone in one year, exploiting the office of the presidency to do that is outrageous and shocking. You have to look beyond American history to dictatorial regimes like Putin's Russia or North Korea for similar examples. And even there, it's an extreme, startling example here in the United States. Take the crypto, where at Democracy Defenders, we've been at the forefront front of exposing this. You have Donald Trump raking in over $600 million while the on his meme coin, his Trump meme coin, while the value of the thing has gone down by 95%. Well in excess of a billion dollars in losses for people. That's ordinary Americans losing hundreds and thousands or even more. When Donald Trump profits, he reaches into the pockets of all of us to take that money. You also see that not just in the domestic arena, but internationally, where a company associated with the Trumps crypto company, World Liberty Financial, took in an over $500 million investment from a UAE Emirati state fund. The Emirates have the most profound connection, for example, to our Iran war debacle. And the notion that they're pumping money into Trump coffers is also a profound conflict of interest. So is Donald Trump regulating or as the case may be, failing to regulate the crypto industry while he probably profits from a lack of regulation? But the American people are hurt. It's corruption on a scale we've never seen in American history, Norma, and frankly, seldom in world history.

[Amy Goodman]

We have to leave it there. I want to thank you for being with us. Co Founder, Executive Chair of Democracy Defenders Fund One of Davey Hearn's attorneys, he was White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform in the Obama administration. Coming up, as heat kills 25 people in the last few days in the United States alone and thousands in Europe, we'll speak to New York Times writer David Wallace Wells. His latest essay, we need to Retrofit the the Heat Wave proves it stay. A beautiful thing should never break apart.

[Gwyneth Hesser]

No.

[Rafael Rubio]

No.

[Amy Goodman]

Sunlight on My Window By Jez Park Jez pike this is democracy now, democracynow.org I'm Amy Goodman. As we turn now to the record breaking heat wave that scorched the northeastern United States over July 4th weekend. At least 25 people are dead in New Jersey due to extreme heat and humidity after a massive heat dome settled over the eastern half of the US Bringing triple digit temperatures, disrupting travel and prompting emergency measures for millions of people. Many of those who died were found in homes with no air conditioning, on the street and in parked cars. According to officials. In New Jersey, more than 185 million people, more than half of US residents were under heat alerts over the weekend with extreme weather forcing the cancellation of Independence Day events in states from Alabama to Connecticut. Severe weather forced the cancellation of the Great American State Fair, a two hour evacuation of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and delayed President Trump's Fourth of July speech here in New York area. The heat wave shattered records dating back nearly 60 years. Central park reached 100 degrees, subway stations registered even higher temperatures while 17,000 customers lost power. This weekend's North American heat wave follows a record shattering European heat wave that's already been blamed for thousands of heat related deaths across Spain, France and Germany. Climate scientists say the burning of fossil fuels by humans is the primary cause of global warming and the reason why heat waves are becoming longer, hotter and more frequent. On Friday, a team of scientists explained the recent heat wave would have been, quote, virtually impossible, unquote, before humans began warming the planet. This is Theodore Keeping, a climate scientist at Imperial College London who worked on the analysis.

[David Wallace Wells]

We found that in the last 50 years, since a previous heat wave affected Europe in 1976, that the chance of a heat wave like this has gone from almost impossible to something that we're expect to see every couple of decades. And as the climate continues to warm, we will see events like this increasingly frequently and in a future climate, this may be something that we expect to be commonplace.

[Amy Goodman]

For more on the extreme weather here and around the world, we're joined in studio by David Wallace Wells, New York Times opinion writer, columnist for the New York Times Magazine. His recent piece headlined we need to retrofit the Planet Planet the Heat Wave proves it. He's also author of the book the Uninhabitable Earth. Welcome back to Democracy Now. It's great to have you with us, David. Start off by talking about what's happening here and if you can put it in the context of climate change.

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, the planet is now warmer than it has ever been in modern human history. Basically since the agricultural revolution 10 or 12,000 years ago. We're already outside the window of temperatures that include close the entire history of human civilization. And we are warming more rapidly than the planet has ever warmed in its history, including periods where warming produced deaths of 50 to 90% of all life on Earth. So we're running a pretty radical experiment and things are changing pretty rapidly. Just over the last couple of decades, we've seen the pace of warming accelerate and we've seen the chances of heat waves like the one that we saw in Europe Europe grow as much as a hundredfold more likely. So just since the 2003 heat wave which killed tens of thousands of people in Europe, a heat wave like the one that we just saw in Europe has gone 100 times more likely. There are a lot of questions about why we haven't prepared adequately for these heat waves and we should be asking them and doing more to protect ourselves in the future. But I think the baseline observation that we have to make is that things are moving incredibly quickly and that makes it incredibly hard for us to change our ways.

[Amy Goodman]

I think Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776 at the signing of the Declaration of Independence that it was 76 degrees on July 4th. Of course, in this area it was over 100 degrees triple digits. Your piece is headlined we need to Retrofit the Planet the Heat Wave. Cruise it. I was upstate New York and trees there was a kind ofi called it a torrential tornado. It took down trees in the Catskill area all over, and yet was hardly talked about afterwards. And yet it was in the midst of this heat wave that happened over like 30 minutes. How do you retrofit the planet?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, I mean, there are a lot of pieces to it, but unfortunately a lot of the natural world, like the tree landscape that you're talking about about, it's going to be quite difficult. The human built environment is a little bit easier, but it still requires something like you know, take the European heat wave, building in air conditioning for 300, 400 million people who don't have it today, reimagining the way that buildings are built so that they don't retain heat, which is what they were designed to do, but actually repel heat, which is what Europe's going to need in the decades ahead. It also involves different kinds of urban planning. I think about the way that L A has been rebuilding the aftermath of its fires, resisting a lot of fire codes that might help future, might help neighborhoods, you know, be more resilient in the face of fire in future decades. And instead the local communities are fighting those restrictions. So, you know, we have an enormous landscape of the built environment the world over, which was designed and erected to survive climate conditions, which we've left behind. And we basically need to reimagine all of that to survive new climate conditions, which are going to get considerably hotter even just in the decades ahead.

[Amy Goodman]

Can you compare the US And Europe's approach to climate change to China?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, you know, China is a kind of a complicated story. They're both the world's biggest emitter. They're responsible for almost one third of all carbon emissions emissions in the present, and also the source of the greatest hope for climate change because they are producing something like 70 to 90% of all the world's EVs, solar panels, batteries. So they're both contributing the most to the problem and contributing the most to the solution. In the US we're not producing nearly as much of that technology. We are building out our green energy infrastructure relatively quickly, but we're not, not doing nearly enough to bring emissions down into line with our targets. And that means that we're heading up against some really terrifying climate thresholds.

[Amy Goodman]

What has the Trump administration done?

[David Wallace Wells]

They've gone to war with clean energy and tried to undermine it everywhere that they could. They've literally bought off wind projects so that those will not go forward. They've taken an ax to Biden's Inflation Reduction act, which was essentially a climate bill, and tried to undo all of the tax incentives that were in it to subsidize clean energy. And they've done very little to help the problem of interconnection and the grid, which are so essential to the buildout of clean energy in America. They haven't totally succeeded. Last year, 90 plus percent of new energy infrastructure was green, but they're doing everything they can to put their hand on the needle and change the direction of policy and make America more like a petro state. And less like the electro state that China is to trying, trying to be.

[Amy Goodman]

So how can the US be a leader on green energy?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, we need to spend considerably more, particularly on these technologies, the grid and interconnection, so that the developers who are willing and ready to build out solar farms in particular can build them quickly and can install them and make them make that power available to American citizens. When you saw something like that happen in Australia over the last couple of years, they're now offering their citizens three hours of free electricity every single day because the buildout has been rapid and the infrastructure alongside it has been so successful.

[Amy Goodman]

And talk about what's happening with Africa. The effects of countries that are least responsible for climate change bearing the brunt, even though many thousands of people are dying around the world outside of Africa because of the heat.

[David Wallace Wells]

This is one of the cruelest features of climate change. It is a universal threat. It tells us that we're on this planet together and we have one shared fate. But it also tells us that the same inequities that horrify us about our society in general apply when it comes to climate change. Those with the least are the most vulnerable, they are the least responsible and they're heading for the darkest climate outcomes. One of the more optimistic things that's happened in the last few years though, is that countries in the global south, across sub Saharan Africa, across South Asia, Asia, have actually taken decarbonization into their own hands and started building out new green energy capacity on their own, even without help from the Global north, which was long assumed to be necessary. They've done that in part because that technology is so cheap coming from China that they're able to afford it themselves. And you've seen some of the most rapid uptake of solar power, in particular in the world's developing countries, much faster even than in the global north, where we expected it to be the fastest.

[Amy Goodman]

The Manhattan Project developed the US atomic bomb. What would a Manhattan Project for renewable energy look like?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, the interesting thing about the energy sector is that we have the technology that we need to get a lot more progress than we have right now. Solar and wind and batteries are most of the solution. They're not the entire solution. But geothermal needs to be promoted considerably more. The things that I'm more worried about about are heavy industry and agriculture, which are big parts of the carbon emissions puzzle, which we don't yet have quite satisfying solutions for. And in fact, some of the things that we thought were going to be quite successful, especially in agriculture, have proven Much less useful over the last few years, not panning out like we hoped. So I think we need considerable R and D in those areas and money just flowing into the system on the renewable side to make sure that the technology that we have today actually gets implemented at scale and pace.

[Amy Goodman]

Can you explain what meteorologists are saying when they talk about a heat dome, this large high pressure system that traps hot air on the ground?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, it's part of the explanation for the European heat wave. It's part of the explanation for the east coast heatwave that we just lived through. And it seems to be arising an even more spectacular one in the American west right now. Which means that over the coming weeks we're likely to see quite scorching temperatures west of the Mississippi, which is especially scary because those are fire prone parts of the landscape that have been dealing with drought. And we may see some really dramatic uptake in wildfire activity in the West. But in general, these are weather patterns that intensify the heat waves that we might otherwise be seeing, making them last longer and more punishingly than we would have expected in the past.

[Rafael Rubio]

Past.

[Amy Goodman]

What about divesting from fossil fuels? What would that look like?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, I mean, it would mean depriving some of these companies with their operating. Some of their operating capital, and I think even more significantly, signaling the political unwillingness to participate in the system of destruction that these companies are leading. I think both of those goals are worthwhile, but we do need to do a lot more than just pull our money out of the fossil fuels. We need to supply clean, cheap, healthy energy to the world, which is going to require a lot of additional investment, not just disinvestment.

[Amy Goodman]

When you were doing research for this piece, we need to retrofit the planet. And for your book, the Uninhabitable Earth, what shocked you most?

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, these days, what worries me most is that global warming is accelerating past thresholds that we used to consider unacceptable. Not that long ago, 2018, the UN published its 1.5 degree report that showed the difference between 1.5 degrees of global warming and 2 degrees of global warming. And the difference between those two levels was considered so significant that it terrified the world into action. That's why we had the climate awakening of the 2019-2020 period with Greta Thunberg and extinction rebellion, the sunrise movement, all of that, the climate strikes, was the result of fear about reaching that 2 degree threshold and the intensity of the urgency of trying to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. Now we are basically already at 1.5 degrees right now. And because of the effects of El Nino, we may see something close to 2 degrees of warming as soon as next year. And that's not a long term average, but in the long term, almost certainly we will be blowing past that 2 degree threshold, which again in 2018, 20, 19, 2020 terrified the world. Now we've made that future inevitable.

[Amy Goodman]

David Wallace Wells will link to your piece in the New York Times Magazine headlined we need to retrofit the planet. The heat wave proves it. Coming up, a New York City Council employee has been released after five months in custody at the US Immigration jail in Newark, New Jersey, known as Delaney Hall. We'll meet him. Stay with us. Children we all shall be free Children, we all shall be free Children, we all shall be free when the Lord shall appear Children, we all shall be

[Norm Eisen]

free Children, we all shall be free all shall be free when the Lord shall appear.

[Amy Goodman]

We want no cowards in our band that from their colors fly we call for valiant hearted men that are not afraid to die Children, we all shall

[Norm Eisen]

be free Children, we all shall be free Children, we all shall be free when and the Lord shall be we

[Amy Goodman]

see the pilgrim as he lies with glory in his soul to heaven he lifts his longing eyes and bids this world adieu Children, we all shall be free Children, we all shall be free

[Rafael Rubio]

Children, we all, we all shall be

[Norm Eisen]

free where the Lord shall be Give yeast to the sick Give sight to

[Amy Goodman]

the blind Enable the children we all shall be free. From the album Songs of Slavery and Emancipation. This is democracy now, democracynow.org, i'm Amy Goodman. We turn now to the case of a New York City Council employee who was released in June after being detained at the immigration jail Delaney hall in Newark, New Jersey for more than five months. Rafael Rubio was taken by federal immigration officers in January during a routine asylum interview. Despite having legal protections to live and work in the United States, he had TPS Temporary protected status as a citizen of Venezuela. That was valid through October 2026. Following numerous legal setbacks, including a deport order, Rafael Rubio was granted asylum in May by an immigration judge and was finally released in June after 158 days in custody. For more, we are joined by Rafael Rubio and his lawyer, Gwyneth Hesser, senior staff attorney at the Bronx Defenders. We welcome you both to Democracy Now. Raphael wow. Talk about the day you were taken and whether you you thought this was going to happen in any way.

[Rafael Rubio]

I mean, yeah, thank you for having me. It was a very difficult experience for me I didn't know. I kind of had an idea when I was on my way to that interview, to that appointment, that something could go wrong and eventually did. It was a very difficult experience to go through and to navigate through. When I was wrapping up the salon interview with a silent officer, I noticed that he was, like, really, really nervous and anxious. And then when he told me that I needed to turn off my cell phone and put it back in my backpack and proceed to the next room to be met by somebody that he didn't actually identify, I felt that something was really off at that moment. And then when I got. When I was greeted by this person who identified himself to be as an ICE agent, then I knew that something was about to happen.

[Amy Goodman]

And you were taken, right, To Delaney Hall?

[Rafael Rubio]

No, I was actually taken to OCJ in Orange County, Yale in upstate New York. Gushing.

[Amy Goodman]

And then.

[Rafael Rubio]

And then I was transferred to MDC Brooklyn. And then I was transferred to Delaney hall in Newark, New York.

[Amy Goodman]

Gwynethaster. What happened here?

[Gwyneth Hesser]

I mean, that's what they're doing now. I've had clients detained when they show up for court. Rafael showed up for his interview, and they're transferring people. They don't give notice. I have clients that have been taken down south. Luckily, Rafael was able to stay in this area. But this is what we're seeing now.

[Amy Goodman]

Can you talk about the moment of your release and being there with the New York City Council? I want to go to that clip. We played it in our billboard of that moment when everyone saw that, Rafael, you were free.

[Rafael Rubio]

Thank you so much. You saved my life in many ways. Thank you.

[Amy Goodman]

Julie Menon, the city council speaker. Can you explain what the city council did? What she did? Not everyone has a city council speaker. One to free them.

[Norm Eisen]

Correct.

[Rafael Rubio]

Backing you up. Yeah, that was. I mean, I cannot thank her enough for what she did. I had been denied my asylum claim, and I also had been denied my first habeas. And at that point, I was. I felt that I had no hope to stay in the United States. And then all of a sudden, she called me. I mean, I called one of her closest assistants, and she happened to be right next to her when I called her. So she was actually waiting for that call. And then we had a conversation over the phone, and she told me that I needed to do something like changing my legal representation, the one that I had at the moment. And she told me that she had spoken with the Bronx Defenders and that she wanted me to retain their services as my legal representation moving forward, which I Did. And with the results that we had.

[Amy Goodman]

Gwynetheser, if you can explain more, you have Rafael granted asylum in the U.S. but the federal government's appealing this decision.

[Gwyneth Hesser]

Yes, they are. And he wasn't released initially, even with having been granted asylum, because they stated their intent to appeal. They get 30 days. And so we actually needed a federal judge to order a bond hearing in immigration court so that we could do a bond hearing to get him released.

[Amy Goodman]

Well, can you tell us the stories of people inside and also if you heard the protesters outside and what that meant to you?

[Rafael Rubio]

I did. Stories inside those detention facilities. Difficult stories. People are sad. Detainees are sad. It's people that have tried to build a future in this country. People that have complied with the law and everything. They have followed the law, they have paid their taxes, they are raising families and children and whatnot. And all of a sudden, they are stuck in that limbo.

[Amy Goodman]

How long did it take you to get your blood pressure medication?

[Rafael Rubio]

Like three weeks.

[Amy Goodman]

Can you talk about your treatment in Delaney?

[Rafael Rubio]

Of course. Every time that you got transferred, it seems like they lost record. They don't keep track of the record accurately. So every time that I got transferred, it would take me like a week or two weeks for them to timely deliver my medication. That was the case with the laning hole as well, when I was ultimately translated the last time to that facility. Because I have been transferred to that facility, then transferred back over to Brooklyn once. It took them, like two weeks or so to provide me with my medication. So I take high blood pressure medication, and that cannot be disrupted like that.

[Amy Goodman]

We have been reporting on the horror of the earthquakes in Venezuela. Over 100 Venezuelans deported there hours before the earthquake. It's believed over 100 have been killed. Are you afraid of being taken once again, even with the judges ruling freeing you?

[Rafael Rubio]

If I tell you the truth, yes.

[Amy Goodman]

And Gwyneth Hesser, what can be done to stop that from happening?

[Gwyneth Hesser]

I mean, luckily, because he had the judge's order granting his release on bond, I've explained to Rafael that they really cannot detain him again. It would be in violation of the court order. But it seems right now, that's not that much solace, because sometimes things are happening that are outside of the law. So in theory, it shouldn't happen, but.

[Norm Eisen]

Correct.

[Gwyneth Hesser]

Yeah.

[Amy Goodman]

Well, thank you so much for taking this time. I'm sorry that what has happened to you and will continue to follow your case. Rafael Rubio, New York City Council employee, just released after being detained at Delaney hall for five months. An asylum seeker from Venezuela and Gwyneth Hesser, senior staff attorney at the Bronx Defenders. That does it for our show. I'll be in Kansas City July 17th and 18th. I'm Amy Goodman.

[Gwyneth Hesser]

Thank you.