Democracy Now! 2026-07-29 Wednesday

Summary

Democracy Now! – July 29, 2026: Episode Summary

Overview

This episode of Democracy Now! focuses on three major international and domestic stories:

1. The high-stakes White House meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid ongoing armed conflict involving Iran, Gaza, and the West Bank.
2. The U.S. public health crisis, marked by the largest measles outbreak in 35 years and a nationwide cyclospora foodborne illness — both linked to massive public health funding cuts under the Trump administration.
3. Youth-led mass protests in India ("the cockroach movement") that forced the resignation of the Education Minister, followed by state-led crackdowns on students.

The show features frontline voices including UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese (banned from the U.S.), former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deborah Howery (who resigned in protest), and leaders of India’s youth protest movement.

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1. Trump-Netanyahu Meeting amid War & ICC Arrest Warrant

Key Segments and Discussion Points

White House Visit and Escalating Conflict

• President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu held their seventh meeting since Trump’s return to office, their first since the joint U.S.-Israel assault on Iran (00:25, 13:42).
• The meeting notably excluded media and public statements from Trump, marking a break in protocol (13:42, 14:35).
• Protests erupted outside the White House, with activists condemning Netanyahu as a “war criminal” for the devastation in Iran and Gaza.
  • Quote: “He is the reason for the illegal war that has started on my homeland of Iran... We want bombs to stop falling on our people now.” – Bita, Iranian American activist (04:18, 14:47)

Escalation and Human Rights Accusations

• Israeli military expanded operations, including the takeover of a fourth refugee camp in the West Bank and mass expulsions (15:14).
• Netanyahu’s visit and the lack of U.S. action on his ICC arrest warrant drew harsh criticism from rights groups and legal experts.
  • Quote: “Having an ICC wanted in the White House again just corroborates the charges of complicity leveled at the U.S. Administration. This is bullying in a sort of a formal diplomatic suit.” – Francesca Albanese (17:17)
  • Quote: “It doesn’t mean that [the U.S.] has to extend protection to a fugitive from international law, which is what’s happening.” – Francesca Albanese (17:17)

International Law and Complicity

• Francesca Albanese condemned not only U.S. sanctuary but also European countries—Italy, France, and Greece—for allowing overflight, calling for investigations (20:08).
  • Quote: “No double standards: apply international law as it is. Paraphrasing Rosa Luxembourg—either the rule of law, or barbarism... Every action matters as every crime matters and will be accounted for.” – Francesca Albanese (20:40)

Notable Moments

• New York City Mayor Zoran Mandani publicly called for the U.S. government to execute the ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu (19:13).
  • Quote: “Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.” – Zoran Mandani (19:28)
• Discussion of Israeli settler violence, labeled “Jewish terrorism” by Israeli opposition leader Lapid, and the alarming coordination between settlers and military (25:32–25:58).
  • Quote: “The international court of justice has ordered Israel to dismantle the occupation. There is no possibility for Israeli settlers or soldiers to invoke self-defense there.” – Francesca Albanese (25:58)
• U.S. walked out of a UN Security Council session after being condemned by France for blocking a human rights official’s term extension (27:21).

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2. U.S. Public Health in Crisis: Disease Outbreaks and Political Interference

Key Segments and Insights

Cyclospora Outbreak

• Over 11,000 people in 41 states have contracted Cyclospora, traced to imported lettuce (29:58).
• CDC staffing cuts and the discontinuation of key surveillance programs like FoodNet have severely hampered outbreak detection (29:58, 32:28).
  • Quote: “We don’t have as good of a really a lens on what is happening. And so we’ve seen, you know, close to 11,000 confirmed or suspected cases now.” – Dr. Deborah Howery (32:28)

Measles Resurgence

• The U.S. faces its worst measles outbreak in 35 years, risking loss of its eradication status due to declining vaccination rates and agency disarray under Trump (31:06, 36:20).
  • Quote: “Measles is highly contagious... It is not a harmless disease. It has long term consequences.” – Dr. Deborah Howery (36:49)

Political Interference and Resignation of CDC Leadership

• Dr. Deborah Howery resigned as CDC Chief Medical Officer, citing censorship, loss of scientific independence, and dangerous disinformation spread by RFK Jr., Trump’s Health Secretary (01:16, 40:03).
  • Quote: “I saw vaccine preventable deaths going up. I saw political interference in the work we were doing. I saw programs being dismantled and I was concerned for the health of Americans in this country... I could not stand by.” – Dr. Deborah Howery (40:03)

Trump Administration’s Role and Vaccine Misinformation

• Trump has pressured RFK Jr. to further weaken vaccine recommendations and revive debunked autism-vaccine claims, threatening to replace him with Dr. Mehmet Oz if he refuses (37:46).
  • Quote: “Science is about having a hypothesis, investigating it, and then finding out what the cause is—not doing that backwards like the secretary does.” – Dr. Deborah Howery (38:43)
  • Quote: “The secretary has promoted a lot of misinformation around vaccines and specifically about the measles vaccine during the outbreak. That’s not what parents and the U.S. public needs to hear in the middle of an outbreak.” – Dr. Deborah Howery (36:49)
• Cuts to USAID and PEPFAR risk the U.S. global health leadership and the ability to detect and respond to international epidemics (41:22, 42:15).

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3. India’s Cockroach Protests: Mass Movement and State Crackdown

Key Segments and Interviews

Mass Uprising and Government Pushback

• Weeks of youth-led protests (“the cockroach movement”) forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (45:17, 46:12).
  • Quote: “It is unprecedented... For a cabinet minister in the BJP government to resign is not—this does not just mean that an individual has resigned. This is the acceptance of defeat, even if temporary, for a government that prides itself on being beyond accountability.” – Neha Bora, All India Students Association President (48:28)
• Despite assurances, hundreds of students are being detained, targeted (particularly Muslims), and charged under harsh laws like the NSA and Gunda Act (46:39, 48:28).
  • Quote: “There is a witch hunt of Muslim protesters in Bihar. The divisive politics of the BJP… is being enforced by the security forces and the police across the country.” – Neha Bora (53:45)

Violent State Repression

• Police used pellet guns against peaceful demonstrators; severe injuries resemble those seen in Kashmir and Tahrir (53:45–53:53).
  • Quote: “Pellet guns...have also been used in Kashmir for years... now they're being used in the capital against protesters.” – Anjali Comet (53:54)
• Supreme Court ruling allows the government to continue existing criminal proceedings against students (46:39).

Contextual Analysis and Generational Politics

• Shuddha Bhrata Sengupta (artist and commentator) credited the protests with changing the “scent in the air,” linking today’s movement to a decade of resistance—from citizenship law protests to campus activism and farmers’ demonstrations.
  • Quote: “There’s clearly a restlessness for change and an unwillingness to accept the lies and the slander that the regime produces on a daily basis... This is the change in the air.” – Shuddha Bhrata Sengupta (54:50)
  • Tribute paid to long-imprisoned student activist Omar Khalid, whose legacy inspires current demonstrators (58:11).

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Noteworthy Quotes & Timestamps

• Francesca Albanese:
  • “Having an ICC wanted in the White House again just corroborates the charges of complicity leveled at the U.S. Administration.” (17:17)
  • “No double standards: apply international law as it is.” (20:40)
• Bita (Iranian American activist):
  • “He is the reason for the illegal war that has started on my homeland of Iran...” (04:18, 14:47)
• Dr. Deborah Howery:
  • “I could not in good conscience remain under those conditions.” (01:16)
  • “I saw vaccine preventable deaths going up. I saw political interference in the work we were doing...” (40:03)
• Neha Bora (India):
  • “This is the acceptance of defeat, even if temporary, for a government that prides itself on being beyond any form of accountability...” (48:28)
• Shuddha Bhrata Sengupta:
  • “There’s clearly a restlessness for change and an unwillingness to accept the lies... this is the change in the air.” (54:50)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [00:25–06:00]: Trump-Netanyahu meeting, escalation in Iran, Gaza, and the West Bank
• [13:42–28:17]: Extended interview with Francesca Albanese on ICC warrant, U.S. complicity, Israeli settler violence, and international law
• [29:58–42:52]: U.S. public health crisis discussion with Dr. Deborah Howery — cyclospora outbreak, measles resurgence, consequences of CDC and USAID budget cuts, and vaccine disinformation
• [44:49–58:36]: The India segment — background and impact of youth protests, dialogue with student leaders and cultural analysts

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Tone & Language

The episode adopts the urgent, unfiltered, and justice-driven tone characteristic of Democracy Now! Hosts and guests speak candidly, foregrounding both frontline testimony and expert legal/medical analysis. The tone is critical of the misuse of power, aligned with a call for accountability, human rights, and solidarity with those resisting from below.

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This summary captures all core discussions, contextual insights, and the powerful voices shaping this episode—crucial listening for those tracking the contemporary intersections of war, health, and protest movements.

Transcript

[Amy Goodman]

From New York. This is Democracy now.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

I just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump. When I say excellent, it's not just lip service.

[Amy Goodman]

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House Tuesday for their first meeting since the two nations launched their war on Iran five months ago. The meaning comes as the Israeli military expands operations in the occupied west bank and continues to carry out deadly attacks in Gaza. We'll speak with Francesca Abanesi, UN Special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. Then we look at the cyclospora outbreak and the biggest measles outbreak in 35 years in the United States. This comes after the Trump administration made sweeping cuts to public health programs. We'll speak to the former chief medical officer at the CDC, Dr. Deborah Howery. She resigned in protest.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Last year, Secretary Kennedy censored CDC science, politicized its processes and stripped leaders of independence. I could not in good conscience remain under those conditions.

[Amy Goodman]

Then to the cockroach movement in India, where weeks of protest by hundreds of thousands of years young people led to the resignation of India's education minister. But now the Modi government is continuing to crack down on protesters. While many of us are celebrating the resignation of the education minister, many students across the country who participated in the protests are facing a witch hunt. All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now. Democracy now, democracynow.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. France and Spain are racing to contain wildfires amidst a heat wave that has temperatures soaring to 42 degrees Celsius. That's up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 360,000 people have been evacuated so far. On Tuesday, French authorities evacuated 4,000 more people from tourist sites along its Atlantic coast. It's the largest peacetime evacuation in France's history. Earlier this month, 13 people died in a blaze in southern Spain. This is a resident of El Tiemblo, Spain.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

This has affected my heart because I have had heart surgery. That is how it has affected me. I have had to bear the rest bottom my emotions and keep on going. I have to help my neighbors.

[Amy Goodman]

In Japan, at least 18 people have been killed after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the country Monday. Rescue efforts continue at a Collaps shopping mall. An explosion ripped through the mall about an hour after the earthquake in Uganda. The country's health minister declared the country Ebola free Tuesday. The latest outbreak of the disease had infected 20 people, killing two since 2000. Uganda's suffered multiple outbreaks of the disease. Meanwhile, Ebola continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the government reporting over 3,300 cases and more than 1,400 deaths. In Washington, D.C. israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a memorial service for South Carolina's Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. They also had meetings with President Trump. After his meeting, Netanyahu posted a video boasting he had, quote, one of the best conversations, unquote, with President Trump. Meanwhile, in an unusual move, President Trump did not invite the press in for a photo op or questions after their meeting. Since Trump returned returned to office, Netanyahu has made seven trips to US Protesters gathered near the White House.

[Bita (Iranian American activist)]

And he is the reason for the illegal war that has started on my homeland of Iran that is also currently being bombarded. And every time he comes to visit our people, our countries get bombarded again. And we are here to make sure that our voices are heard. And he knows that we don't want him here. He is not welcome here. We know that he's a war criminal. We want bombs to stop falling on our people now.

[Amy Goodman]

On Capitol Hill, the Senate voted to confirm Jay Clayton as the Director of National Intelligence Tuesday, with all Republicans supporting his nomination and all Democrats voting against it. During the confirmation hearings, Clayton repeatedly refused to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election and declined to say that Trump had lost. Negotiations between the US And Iran have stalled as Iran rejected a proposal to evenly divide control of the Strait of Hormuz. This is Iran's deputy Foreign Minister.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

We told them explicitly that under no circumstances are they permitted to do so. We said that if any warships approach the Strait of Hormuz for this purpose, or if they bring equipment or any vessel or any other assets for mine clearing operations near the Strait of Hormuz, they will be considered legitimate targets by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

[Amy Goodman]

Despite the lull in fighting, Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles towards a US Military base in Jordan Tuesday. The US Central Command called it an attempted surprise attack. This comes amidst new reporting from Reuters that China is expected to deliver shoulder fired air defense missile launchers to Iran within weeks. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia joined the US in striking what they said were Iranian proxies in Iraq Tuesday. In Yemen, Iranian backed Houthi rebels claimed to have launched missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker Tuesday. The US Walked out of a UN Security Council meeting Tuesday during the French Ambassador's remarks. It comes after France blasted the US for voting against extending Volker Turk's term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights after the vote Friday, France's UN Mission posted on the US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia isolated and the world no longer listens to it. France posted on X In Iran, human rights groups say authorities have hanged two people who participated in anti government protests back in January. The two men executed Tuesday were Amir Hassan Safari and Abol Fazi Sepahi. Video verified by the New York Times show large crowds of protesters gathering near the site of the public executions. In Gaza, at least one person was killed and over a dozen wounded in an Israeli strike that destroyed a mosque surrounded by tents of displaced Palestinian families. Video footage shows Israeli jets striking the Al Mutaqin Kamask in Gaza City Tuesday, igniting April powerful explosion. 60 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons returned to Gaza, showing signs of severe injuries and starvation, with some of them so fragile they were unable to walk. The men were detained across Israel's most notorious prisonsofa Negev and Sidi Tayman, many held for more than a year and recounted brutal beatings and other forms of torture by Israeli soldiers. In Israel, activists protesting against settler violence in the occupied west bank clash with police in Tel Aviv Tuesday. It comes as Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he's ordered the IDF to take over a fourth refugee camp in the west bank and expel its Palestinian residents. This is July 11th. A protester from Haifa.

[Anjali Comet]

The reason I'm here today is because

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

what we have seen coming out of

[Anjali Comet]

the west bank just the past week,

[Francesca Albanese]

but the past months and years is horrifying.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

It's immoral and we believe that it is endangering not only Palestinians who are witnessing ethnic cleansing and the evacuation of their homes, but it's also endangering all of us.

[Amy Goodman]

A federal judge has ordered the release from my custody of one of the key witnesses in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo salgado Araujo, the 52 year old Mexican father killed by an ICE agent July 7th in Houston. Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego must be released within 48 hours, the judge ruled. He was one of the three passengers in the van driven by Salgavo the morning of the fatal shooting. Two other key witnesses, including his younger brother Victor, remain in an ICE jail. Community organizers Tuesday again disrupted a Houston City Council meeting. Sagado Araujo's eldest son, Ronaldo, addressed the council demanding justice for his father and an end to the collaboration between Houston police and ice.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

How will you show up for the rest of the immigrant community here in Houston to make sure that what happened to my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, doesn't happen to any of them. This isn't a partisan issue. This is an issue of right and wrong, and this wrong needs to be addressed. Every single one of you council members have immigrants living in your district. How will you protect them?

[Amy Goodman]

This comes as Reuters reports more than 12,000 people have been detained after the Office of Refugee Resettlement provided personal information on unaccompanied migrant children, as well as their parents and sponsors to federal immigration agents. Since January of last year, ORR has shared more than 460,000 leads to immigration authorities. Meanwhile, the New York Times has found ICE arrests have surged at airports nationwide as the tsa, the Transportation Security Administration, expands its collaboration with ice. Wired reports A longtime Department of Homeland Security official has resigned over what he described as Trump's brazen corruption and the quote, unquote war on immigrants. Mark Rosenblum served as executive director of the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, where he led efforts to publish information on immigration arrests and deportations. DHS stopped issuing that data after Trump returned to office, Rosenblum said on a LinkedIn post, quote, it'll come as no surprise that I'm thrilled to end my relationship with the current administration. Between the war on immigrants, the war on feds and the war on facts, not to mention the crazy war in Iran and the brazen corruption, I just need a change, he said. President Trump's reportedly pressuring Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To more aggressively push for policies that would further slash childhood vaccination recommendations, the Wall Street Journal reported. The issue came up during a lunch back in May at Trump's National Golf Club in Northern Virginia when Trump confronted RFK Jr. On why he wasn't doing more to probe a widely debunked link between childhood vaccinations and autism. At the time, Trump reportedly told Kennedy he believed the secretary, quote, had the yips, unquote, to reduce the number of vaccinations for children. Lobbyists and Department of Health and Human Services staffers reportedly told the Journal Trump may replace Kennedy Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Dr. Mehmed Oz if RFK Jr fails to fulfill the demands. Separately, Anthony Fauci, the former veteran director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is expected to testify at a Senate hearing today on the COVID 19 pandemic. And in Peru, Keiko Fujimori has been sworn in as president. She's the daughter of the former dictator Alberto Fujimori, who spent years in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the 1990s. Protesters took to the streets of Lima. President Keiko Fujimori does not represent us, ladies and gentlemen. What is happening right now in Peru is monstrous. We cannot live like this with this government that she has brought in today.

[Francesca Albanese]

And Mr. Rossby Galosy has passed new

[Amy Goodman]

laws and they do not represent us, ladies and gentlemen. This is why we are here in the streets. Today they kill us.

[Francesca Albanese]

Today they murder us.

[Amy Goodman]

Today they extort us.

[Francesca Albanese]

That is why we're in the streets.

[Amy Goodman]

And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman with Anjali Comet, longtime Democracy now producer, who's back with us after many years producing and co hosting. Welcome, Anjali.

[Anjali Comet]

I'm delighted to be back. Thank you and welcome to all our viewers and listeners from across the country and around the world. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House Tuesday for their first meeting since the two nations jointly attacked Iran five months ago. Trump and Netanyahu met for 90 minutes, but they did not appear together to make public comments. Netanyahu posted a short video after the meeting.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

I just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump. When I say excellent, it's not just lip service, a conversation with full partnership, mutual support, understanding of the common goal to ensure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons and other goals as well. This is one of the best conversations I have had with the president of the United States, our friend, President Donald Trump.

[Amy Goodman]

After their meeting, both Trump and Netanyahu attended the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Meanwhile, protesters in Washington gathered near the White House to condemn Netanyahu's visit. This is an Iranian American activist named

[Bita (Iranian American activist)]

Bita, and he is the reason for the illegal war that has started on my homeland of Iran that is also currently being bombarded. And every time he comes to visit our people, our countries get bombarded again. And we are here to make sure that our voices are heard. And he knows that we don't want him here. He is not welcome here. We know that he's a war criminal. We want bombs to stop falling on our people.

[Anjali Comet]

Netanyahu's visit comes as Israel is escalating its military operations in the occupied west bank, where there's been a surge in settler violence. On Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he's ordered the IDF to take over a fourth refugee camp in the west bank and expel its Palestinian residents. Israel is also continuing to carry out deadly attacks in Gaza, where a severe humanitarian Crisis is unceasing. The Trump administration allowed Netanyahu into the United States even though the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrant for Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.

[Amy Goodman]

We're joined now by a top UN official who's been barred from visiting the United States due to her public criticism of Israel. Francesca Abanesi is the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territory. She's been under sweeping U.S. sanctions for most of the past year. A judge lifted them briefly, then they were reimposed. She's also author of the new book when the World Stories, Words and Wounds of Palestine. Francesca, thank you so much for being with us from Italy. If you can start off, I mean, this was unusual yesterday. I think it was Netanyahu's seventh visit to Washington since Trump returned to the White House. It was his first since the beginning of the US And Israel's attack on Iran. And interestingly though, we see a video of Netanyahu saying it was the best conversation they ever had. Trump, in a rare move, did not invite reporters into the White House for either a photo op or conversations afterwards. And apparently the conversation was about Iran. Yet in Israel, the Israeli military has launched major operations in the occupied West Bank. Now the Israeli Defense Minister, as we just said, saying they're taking over a fourth Palestinian refugee camp. Can you assess the situation and the significance of this meeting?

[Francesca Albanese]

Thank you for having me, Amy. Having an ICC wanted in the White House again just corroborates the charges of complicity level that the US Administration. This is bullying in a sort of a formal diplomatic suit. But again, since Netanyahu's last Visit to the U.S. u.S. The list of crimes that have happened that the Israeli army, but also Israeli civilians have committed against the Palestinians has just grown longer and more documented by Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations and UN Commission of Inquiries, other committees, myself and other special rapporteurs. What does it mean? You know, I often hear the argument that the, that the United States is not a member to the icc. It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean that they have to extend protection to a fugitive from international law, which is what's happening. At the same time, this is not just a fugitive, this is an accomplice to other violations of international law that the US is committing itself against Iran and against Palestinians in many ways. So what does it tell us, in a nutshell, that the United States is, is actively contributing to make the international criminal law architecture that it has been building from Nuremberg, the Nuremberg trials up until now crumble on our head. And this Is no. I mean, this should make no one happy, including US Citizens who think that they have nothing to do with it or with Israel and Palestine. This is everyone's business.

[Anjali Comet]

Francesca. I want to turn to a clip of New York City Mayor Zoran Mandani last week in a video message, he called on the US Government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu precisely because of this arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

[Zoran Mandani]

As I've said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes as I do for anyone else charged by the icc. My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. And I want to be equally. Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.

[Anjali Comet]

Francesca. Prime Minister Netanyahu said in an interview on Fox News in response that Mandani was quote, fomenting hate and you posted an X as Netanyahu was en route to the U.S. that quote, Italy, France, Greece did it again. Three Rome Statute parties opened their airspace to the fugitive Netanyahu in breach of their obligation to cooperate with the icc. I call on competent authorities to investigate possible complicity. Talk about what your calling on countries to do, including the United States.

[Francesca Albanese]

Very simple. No double standards apply international law as it is Paraphrasing Rosa Luxembourg. It's either the rule of law or it's barbarism. I do agree with what New York mayor has just said and not out of sympathy, but because what he said is legally right and is morally compulsory. And we cannot keep on looking idle or standing idle in the face of impunity. This is why at the beginning of this interview when you asked me what I think of this visit by ICC wanted Benjamin Netanyahu. It's bullying. It's bullying in diplomatic suit because I mean, the New York mayor might not have the power to enforce an arrest. Head of state and still he called upon competent authorities, federal authorities, to do so. It doesn't matter that it doesn't happen today because there is someone who prefers to abide by the law of might rather than a rule of law. We need to keep on voicing dissent in conformity with international law. This is what I keep on doing from within Europe. As a European, it doesn't matter if they ridicule me, if they mount hatred campaign or smear campaign against me. My skin has grown thicker as I think everyone who's dealing with justice and human rights. And at the same time we need to recall the obligations that these states, including as I said, Greece, Italy and France have. This is the third time, if my count is correct, that these three countries authorized flights of ICC wanted Netanyahu over their airspace, making all of us, all European, French, German, sorry, Greece, Greek and Italian citizens, accomplices, even morally. This is unacceptable and this is why there should be an investigation over the authorities who allowed it. It looks small in the context of a genocide, but every action matters as every crime matters and will be accounted for.

[Anjali Comet]

Francesca, let's go to the West Bank. I mean, you recently posted on social media that pogroms against defenseless civilians are happening all over the west bank while Gaza is under fire. Israeli civilians and army joining forces. It's not just Netanyahu you wrote, and a few rotten apples. This is Israel.

[Francesca Albanese]

Absolutely. And look at what Israelis themselves are saying. I want to point to the fact that an increasing number of Israeli organizations, forces, journalists have been sounding the alarm for over a year, and especially in late, in the latest, in the latest days, in recent days, that the situation is out of control. A few days ago, a land for all coalition said the Israeli forces cannot keep control, cannot ensure protection of anyone because the settlers, who are the settlers? These are Israeli civilians who behave like thugs, who behave like squads who have been killing and beating, attacking Palestinian families and properties. And they are completely unleashed, supported by the army. Look, I've been investigating. I was no expert on the occupied Palestinian territory until 40 years ago. I was an expert on the question of Palestine. And now I know what happens in Gaza, the West bank and East Jerusalem better than anything else because this is what I do. I look at it every day. And in the time of genocide, I cannot let it go. And I can tell you the pogroms have been a constant feature of settlers, Israeli civil, armed Israeli civilians since before October 2023. Just in 2023, before October 7, there were 12 pogroms, meaning attacks by armed squads, Israeli civilian squads attacking Palestinian villages, and everyone seemed not to care. It we take, we pay attention now because the situation has gone out of control. And I keep on saying I'm not just talking for the Palestinians, I'm talking for everyone in that land, including Israelis, who clearly see what's happening. But unfortunately, the weight of the pro Israel and the pro apartheid lobbies is Just too strong for their voices to be heard.

[Amy Goodman]

I wanted to very quickly ask you, I mean you have the opposition leader Lapid Reid sayingthis is not you. Francesca albanese this is him saying I never thought that in my lifetime we would talk about Jewish terrorism, but this is Jewish terror. He said about Israeli settlers in the west bank. And of course you then have Israeli soldiers who are working with Israeli settlers.

[Francesca Albanese]

I had missed that. Thank you Amy. And well finally me and Lapid agree. And the thing is, the thing is that this should have been said months and years ago but the fact that Lapid says that proves that the situation has gone out of control. And again is not just Netanyahu half of the government's incite colonization. I've received, I've been, I don't read Hebrew but I've been receiving screenshots of chats in Hebrew by Israeli activists and academics who keep on sounding the alarm and they say they are calling for blood. They say no house units but blood. Now I just want to remind in closing that the west bank as well as Gaza and East Jerusalem are illegally occupied. There is no possibility for Israel settlers or soldiers to invoke self defense there because the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to dismantle the occupation. So I really encourage every US citizen with that place at heart, but also with US values at heart not to turn your eyes and your gaze away because this is happening. The US support to this criminal endeavor is happening with your taxpayers money very quickly.

[Amy Goodman]

We just have 20 seconds. Your comment on the US walking out of the UN Security Council meeting Tuesday during the French ambassador's remarks coming after France blasted the US for voting tofor voting against extending Volkerturk's term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. France said on X the US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Francesca albanese well I don't think that

[Francesca Albanese]

US used to be a big one of human rights absolutely. But surely it was much better than that and clearly is no longer not only that, now it's really leading a campaign from the Board of Peace, whatever it is, to where it stand on Venezuela, Cuba and Israel or Iran. It's leading a campaign to dismantle the multilateral order that was conceived, including through US support in the aftermath of World War II.

[Amy Goodman]

Francesca Albanese UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territory. Her new book when the World Stories, Words and Wounds of Palestine. Coming up, the cyclospora outbreak. Thousands are experiencing this parasite around the United States and the biggest measles outbreak in 35 years. What does this have to do with the Doge sweeping cuts to public health programs? We'll speak with the former medical officer at the cdc. Stay with us.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

In the hogger the forsaken Got no reason to cry, you got to chew the angels falling from on high waiting for no answer. Bacon waffle pie, pie of eyesight pie blue black o that pie the pie of pie pie in the hog of the forsaken.

[Neha Bora]

He will leave you one more chance

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

which if you won't be taken, he'll

[Neha Bora]

leave it for the ants.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

Sings out in the wilderness, sings for fun. He sings of these and those times as well as the times to go.

[Amy Goodman]

Hob of the Forsaken by the late folk musician Michael Hurley in our Democracy now studio. This is democracy now, democracynow.org I'm Amy Goodman with Anjali Comet.

[Anjali Comet]

More than 11,000 people across 41 states in the country have been sickened by the foodborne parasite cyclosporact. Food safety experts have tracked one pocket of the outbreak that sickened 2,000 people and sent 98 to the hospital to iceberg lettuce, grown in Mexico and distributed by food giant Taylor Farms, the largest produce supplier in the United States. Recall, lettuce was distributed and sold in at least 27 states. The numbers of cases are still climbing and all sources of contamination in these latest outbreaks may never be identified. A key part of the food safety system in the United states is the FDA's FoodNet surveillance program, which is a collaboration between the federal government and state agencies. When billions of dollars in public health funding were slashed at the beginning of the Trump administration, FoodNet stopped its mandatory tracking for cyclospora and five other pathogens, including Listeria, a bacteria that is fatal in 30% of cases. Mass government layoffs are also a factor. The CDC lab that specializes in the cyclospora parasite was reduced from a team of 11 to just three.

[Amy Goodman]

Meanwhile, the resurgence of the measles that began last year has reached a 35 year high with at least 2,300 cases, three deaths, including two children. The CDC set a goal in 1978 to eliminate measles in the United States and achieved eradication status in the year 2000 following decades of vaccination efforts. Efforts this the year the US Will lose that status. There's so much to discuss when it comes to public health in the United States right now. For more, we're joined by Deborah Howery. She's the former chief medical officer at the cdc, resigned in August last year in protest over political interference at the agency and the firing of the CDC director, Susan Menarez. Dr. Houry is a board certified emergency physician professor at Emory University Rochester School of Public Health. Well, it looks like it's a real blank show here in the United States, Dr. Hawry. But if you can start off by explaining what cyclospiriasis is, how it has spread, and if you think it is related to the massive cuts the staff at the cdc, what, almost a third have been laid off or fired or have left since the Trump administration came into office.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Absolutely. Well, so Cyclospora is a parasite and it is found in foods such as lettuce, vegetables, cilantro and certain fruits. And we see it every year, usually a couple hundred cases. And by washing foods really well and certainly cooking them to temperatures over 150 degrees, you can prevent a lot of these cases. Cases. But what has happened this time is because there have been significant cuts to CDC and FDA and as part of FoodNet, they are no longer tracking it. Mandatorily, we don't have as good of a really a lens on what is happening. And so we've seen, you know, close to 11,000 confirmed or suspected cases now. That is, you know, four to five times more than than I am aware of. And what is concerning about this is, you know, it's not just a simple food poisoning. It can be diarrhea that can last for several weeks, it needs to be treated by antibiotics, and several people have been hospitalized by it.

[Anjali Comet]

And Dr. Howery, can you explain more what FoodNet is and what the problems are when you stop this long term tracking?

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

So FoodNet was really kind of like I talk about CDC as disease detection. And so it was a system that tracked states would report if they had several different pathogens like E. Coli, salmonella, many of those food poisonings that we're very familiar with. And Cyclospora was one of those. But when funding levels did not keep up with what was needed to maintain it, several of these pathogens were cut at the same time, as we've seen with USAID funding that funded a lot of the malaria and parasitic work at cdc. And those cuts had an impact. That coupled with, you know, the Doge cuts to overall CDC workforce really has just left our country hampered in being able to detect and respond to these outbreaks.

[Anjali Comet]

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Defended the Trump administration's handling of the Cyclospora outbreak that sickened thousands of people nationwide. He was Questioned by ABC News reporter Elizabeth Schultz.

[Amy Goodman]

Week last.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Last week.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

We do have the outbreak under control. We have done extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics, and we've identified the. The source of the outbreak. We and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Any response to some of the criticism that the cuts to the federal agencies under your leadership has slowed the.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

Those criticisms are invalid. We've had no cuts in our surveillance program.

[Anjali Comet]

Dr. Howery, what do you think of RFK Jr. S response? Do you trust him? I mean, the number of scientists working on this at the CDC has dropped from 11 to 3. Who do you hold responsible?

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

So I would invite the secretary to actually meet with the CDC scientists and come to CDC and get a briefing. When I was chief medical officer there, we never spoke to him about measles or avian influenza, Ebola. We offered to brief the secretary. He doesn't really have a good, I think, understanding of what CDC does and where the cuts are. I recall last year he talked about mistakes were made when people that did lead were laid off and those scientists were eventually brought back. I don't know how we can say cyclospora is under control when there's over 10,000 cases. It's in greater than 30 states. States. And you look at other infectious disease outbreaks. The US Is really at a tipping point when you look at measles, whooping cough, all these vaccine preventable diseases as well. And the secretary is responsible for this.

[Amy Goodman]

So if you can talk about measles and the significance of the fact that the CDC set it as its goal, what, like more than half a century ago, to eliminate measles, achieve that status a quarter of a century ago, and now this year will lose that status of eradication that we're talking about a surge in measles and what this means, Dr. Howery, and how it relates to these cuts.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

So unfortunately, you know, the secretary has promoted a lot of misinformation around vaccines and specifically about the measles vaccine during the middle of an outbreak. He talked about the vaccine having fetal parts in it and promoted things like vitamins as well as therapies that weren't licensed for measles, such as antibiotics and steroids. That's not what parents and the US Public needs to hear in the middle of an outbreak. Measles is highly contagious, and we have seen several outbreaks across the United States with now a record number of cases in over 30 years. What's concerning to me is it's not a harmless childhood disease. We've seen several hundred hospitalizations, children are missing school, and several have died. Many years from now, we will also see that some will go on to develop a brain infection and die and many will have their immune memory wiped out. So this is not a harmless disease. It has long term consequences.

[Amy Goodman]

Speaking about vaccines on another issue, I mean, you have very interestingly, Anthony Fauci's testifying before the Senate on the US response to the COVID 19 pandemic. And then you have this expose in the Wall Street Journal that President Trump is reportedly pressuring, pressuring RFK Jr. The health secretary, to more aggressively push for policies that would further slash childhood vaccine recommendations. Reporting that the issue came up during a lunch in May when Trump confronted RFK on why he isn't doing more to probe a widely debunked link between childhood vaccines and autism. Many might have thought it was RFK who was pushing this, but in fact, in fact, Trump is putting pressure on him and even weighing, sacking him, firing him. What are your thoughts about this and the core issue of the connection between vaccines and autism?

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

So vaccines and autism has been widely studied. It's been probably one of the most studied things when it comes to autism. I think autism is a serious problem in this country and we should be doing more to study. But something that's been studied for over 30 years and has not been found linked to autism is not where I'd be spending taxpayer money. I'd be spending it on things like environmental factors, looking at genetic predispositions, other infectious diseases. We need to seriously study autism. I think when you have a finding you want and you're back walking it, to really get the science to fit the data, that's not how we should be doing things. Science is about having a hypothesis, a question, investigating, investigating it and then finding out what the cause is, not doing that backwards like the secretary does. Although the report said that President Trump was pushing the secretary to do this, I don't know that. But what I can tell you is the secretary, you know, for decade has been anti vax and, you know, has sued the CDC and fired all the vaccine committee members. So I really don't think he needs any encouragement from the president to do this.

[Amy Goodman]

And Dr. Hari, if you could explain again for our listeners and viewers why you quit last year.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

I quit because I saw vaccine preventable deaths going up. I saw political interference in the work we were doing. I saw programs being dismantled and I was concerned for the health of Americans in this country. So I could not stand by and

[Anjali Comet]

you saved your emails. Dr. Harry, can you talk about.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Yes. So just as good clinical practice or as being a capstone official, the role that I had at cdc, my emails are preserved. And so when there were conversations to where I had concerns about conflicts of interest, how decisions were being made, or just so that we could track institutional memory, I documented all of that. And when I had concerns, I certainly raised them both verbally and in writing.

[Amy Goodman]

Finally, Dr. Howery, the connection between the massive cuts at the CDC and domestic dealing with measles to these parasites to what's happening overseas and the evisceration of USAID Agency for International Development and our headlines today we just reported on the thousands of cases, for example of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the connection between these two and the lack of tracking and what that means for global health.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

So I think it's very concerning. You know, Secretary Rubio is talking about America first, but the changes to the USAID funding and PEPFAR funding to CDC will result in significant less presence in countries. Currently CDC is in about 60 countries and that means that we're working closely with health departments there, the Ministries of health and the US has a good eye on what is happening. But with the changes to funding, many of these countries will no longer have CDC staff there, meaning we're not going to know when there's that global health threat. And years ago in Uganda, because of the support that CDC and USAID had provided, local staff were able to quickly detect the outbreak, do lab testing and control it. That is why we need to have a presence overseas to really protect Americans here from health threats both in the States, United US and abroad.

[Amy Goodman]

You referred to pepfar, but for people to understand that was the George W. Bush program dealing with AIDS in Africa. Now AIDS going up and HIV deaths in South Africa for example because of the cut in funding. If you could end by addressing this.

[Dr. Deborah Howery]

Yeah. When you take support away from life saving programs, you are absolutely going to see people die as a result, both in the US and globally. Public health matters, when it works, you often don't know because you're saving lives. But when you take it away, we see those consequences.

[Amy Goodman]

Today Dr. Deborah Howery, former Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cdc. She resigned last year to protest political interference and the firing of the CDC during the director, Dr. Howery is board certified emergency physician professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. Coming up we look at the cockroach movement in India where weeks of protests by hundreds of thousands of young people led to the resignation of India's education minister. Now the Modi government is cracking down. We'll talk about the response of the protesters. Stay with with us. I landed here from Punjab. No real home but inky love.

[Neha Bora]

Inky love oh, inky love no real

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

home but inky love.

[Amy Goodman]

By Sunny Singh and Artemaka Democracy now studio. This is democracy now, democracynow.org, i'm Amy Goodman with Anjali Comet who's rejoined us at Democracy now has spent the last several years working on a PBS Firelight supported documentary film about India's right word shift. So it's great to be doing this segment with you. It is amazing to see what's happened in India. You just returned from India. Could you have predicted what do to?

[Zoran Mandani]

No.

[Anjali Comet]

This is absolutely, you know, unprecedented the scale of protests. I mean there have been mass protests for many years in India in the past, especially during the past 12 years of the Modi regime. But this, the number of people who came through to these protests, young people who weren't necessarily politicized, who weren't organizers, who weren't activists, but who just felt compelled to come out. Well, we turn now to India where the youth led cockroach movement has accused the right wing BJP government of backtracking on its promise not to take punitive action against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations. Weeks of protests by hundreds of thousands of young people in India's capital New Delhi and cities across the country led to the resignation of the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday. This is Abhijit Dipke at the main protest site in the heart of New Delhi. Jantar Mantar shortly after receiving news of Pradhan's resignation.

[Benjamin Netanyahu]

It's a victory for the constitution of India. It's a victory for the people of India and the defeat of the dictionary. Action must be taken against the police officers who attacked us. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Lamba. Assistant Commissioner of Police Ajay Sharma. Shachin Sharma, these batons you used in the name of Home Minister Ahmet Shah and Prime Minister Modi. As of now, there has only been one resignation. Remember, don't mess with cockroaches.

[Anjali Comet]

Following the Education Minister's resignation, the cockroach movement agreed to call off the mass protest Saturday once senior members of the Modi government assured them that protesters would not not face any repercussions. But in addition to the police violence against demonstrators last week, hundreds of students have been detained since the protests ended. Police in states governed by Modi's BJP have reportedly arrested over 100 students in the days since the protest was officially called off, filing harsh criminal cases against many of them. In West Bengal, where the BJP recently won elections, the Hindu nationalist chief minister suggested that the protesters were all moving Muslims. And on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India passed an interim order allowing the government to proceed with existing cases against students. Leaders of the movement have decried the detentions as a witch hunt and vowed to resume the protests.

[Amy Goodman]

For more, we're joined now from New Delhi by Tuga. Sridharata Sangupta is an artist with the Rocks media collective, writes on social and political issues in India. His recent essay about the protests published in the Wire is headlined Night Shifts in Jantari. Anne Nihabura is with us, the national president of the All India Students Association. She was on hunger strike at the protests in New Delhi for 23 days, completing her PhD in theatre and Performance studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University or JNU in New Delhi. We welcome you both to Democracy Now. Neha, let's start with you. If you can talk about the significance of these mass student protests. But then the. And the crackdown once they stopped and now young people saying they're going to start again if these arrests and the punishment continues.

[Neha Bora]

So what happened at Jantar Mantar when Dharmendra Prihan tendered his resignation is nothing that has happened before. It is unprecedented resulted in the history of India in the past 12 years. In our country we have a government, we have a ruling. We have the ruling BJP which one year after coming to power declared that there need not be any resignations under this government. It used to happen in previous governments, but there need not be any resignations now. Since then there have been massive protests, protests against the government on citizenship policies, on the farm laws that were brought in. But this kind of step back from the government due to mass protests, this is happening for the first time. For a cabinet minister in the BJP government to resign is not. It just does not mean that an individual has resigned. This is the acceptance of defeat, even if it is temporary for a government that prides itself on being beyond any form of accountability, on being beyond even the very idea of democracy where elected representatives are answerable and can be removed from office if they don't perform. So for us, this win is massive. It means that, that the government that we are facing right now, even that government with an extremely repressive state mechanism, with, with a government that has almost dismantled all institutions of democracy, for that government to accept defeat in front, in front of a mass Movement is a moment of great joy for us. It helps us feel rejuvenated in the struggles that we are yet to fight, that we are yet to win. But because this government and its policy is and has always been that of vengeance, they know that the resignation of Dharmenda Pradhan is a big blow to the reputation of this government, to any form of arrogance that this government held. And ever since the protest was called off after Dharmenda Pradhan's resignation, we are witnessing a massive crackdown on student activists across the country. Specifically in states which are ruled by the BJP or the NDA alliance. For example in Bihar. I was in Bihar two days ago and we met the BGP there, the DGP of police and Bihar. He showed us an official notification from the Bihar police which stated that there were over 600 students who had been detained for protesting against paper leak in Bihar, 355 of them were released and over 300 students continue to be arrested under charges as severe as attempt to murder. In Bengal there were 14 students who were arrested, arrested, two arrests. Fresh arrests were made yesterday morning. Out of those 14 students which were earlier arrested, 13 are Muslim students. And strict laws akin to the NSA have been evoked. Charges in the under the Gunda act have been filed against them. In Assam, students continue to be arrested. In Mumbai, students continue to be arrested. And here in Delhi. Tell me we have. First of all, on the 20th of July there was a massive fall for march to Parliament. That call saw massive state repression at the hands of the government and the security forces. Pellet guns were used against peaceful protesters. The use of these pellet guns was being denied until today ago. But media reports have revealed that there is a general entry in the Delhi police's register where the Delhi police acknowledges having fired pellet guns. There have been reports where it is when it is being said that a DCP level officer ordered the firing of pellet guns on peaceful protesters in Bihar which is a state in India. An AK77 was fired, fired upon protesters by the security forces, by the Bihar police. This kind of massive crackdown. And in Delhi what we are witnessing is a witch hunt of protesters, specifically Muslim protesters. There is a witch hunt of Muslim protesters in Bihar. The divisive politics of the BJP that we have been seeing for the past 12 years that is being enforced by the security forces and the police across the country. And people are being intimidated. People are being put behind bars specifically based on their religion. If they are Muslim students, they are being intimidated. They are being put behind bars.

[Amy Goodman]

I just wanted to say we've been looking online at the pictures of pellet wounds, people who have suffered almost like we saw in Tahrir.

[Zoran Mandani]

Yeah.

[Anjali Comet]

These pellet guns obviously have also been used in Kashmir for years against protesters in Kashmir. And now they're being used, used in the city's capital against protesters, you know, many of whom, you know, many of their parents. This is in many ways a revolt against an older generation that voted the BJP into power. You know, and Neha, you were just talking about how, you know, a lot of those who've been arrested and detained with harsh criminal cases against them are Muslim. And this is something that Muslim protestors at protestspevious protests in 2019 and 2020 are facing facing very serious charges with many of them still in jail. I wanted to bring Shuddha Bhrata Sengupta into the conversation from the RUQS media collective. Shuddha, you've been at so many of these large protests that NEHA was talking about over the past 12 years. What is different about this one? And talk about the kind of cultural shift that you're seeing.

[Zoran Mandani]

Thank you, Anjali and thank you Amy for having me on the program. First of all, I'd like to salute and express my gratitude to neha's generation, to Neha and many other thousands of young people like her for giving us reasons for hope in what we thought was an increasingly dark time. This protest, which is I think mistakenly be called the first Gen Z protest, it's not the first Gen Z protest in India. The 201920 citizenship protest was led by very young Muslim women who are also Gen Z and I think think that for the last several years we've been tracking the discontent of the young and there's clearly a restlessness for change and an unwillingness to accept the lies and the, and the slander that the regime produces on a daily and a nightly basis. And that's really the change in the air. I've written and compared it to a change of the scent, the aroma of the air. So like the scent of jasmine and monsoon time that that completely changes your sensory perception. So that's the case. And you rightly pointed out that there are people from the 201920 protests who called for nonviolent civil disobedience, including my friend Omar Khalid, Sharji Imam and several others who were arrested. Omar Khalid and Shaji Imam still remain in prison. Prison six years for having called for peaceful, non violent protests, for actually saying that if the state attacks us with violence, we must offer them, these are Omar Khalid's words, that we must offer them love in return. And it was interesting to see Omar Khalid return to haunt the cockroach Janata Party protests where many young people came back with signs saying, remember Omar Khalid. Somebody says he walked so that we can run. And I think that is important to stress a certain continuity. Neha talked about the continuity between the Citizenship Amendment act protests, the farmers protests, protests against suicides by Dalit students like Rohit Vella. In this particular instance, the neat paper leak, the NWT paper leak was actually first brought to attention through the suicide of a young Dalit Tamil student called S. Ajita. And she brought up, she was party in a Supreme Court case against the discriminatory provisions of this examination. The Supreme Court, I think, insulted her by dismissing that case and she had to tragically take her own life. So there is a string of continuities between all these moments of, of articulate, passionate dissent in the new situation. We've seen the young people during the last weeks and months respond with incredible humor, with incredible cheer and incredibly high spirits. And that's certainly something new that Neha and many thousands of young people have shown us. And that's an inspiration for even someone who.

[Anjali Comet]

And Shuddha, you brought up Omar Khalid who's been in jail without trial for over five years. And actually New York City Mayor Zoran Mandani brought him up while speaking about Nelson Mandela's legacy at a recent event. And he said, why must we wait as Omar Khalid enters his sixth year of captivity in Delhi, a political prisoner jailed under the same manufactured charges of terrorism that were once leveled against Madiba.

[Amy Goodman]

We're going to have to end it there. We thank you so much for both being with us. Sudha Bharta, Sungupta, artist of the Rocks Media Collective and Neha Bora, who just completed a 23 day hunger strike. That does it for our show. I'll be in Martha's Vineyard July 31, Friday night for the screening of Steal the Story, please and Q and A after. I'm Amy Goodman with Anjali Comet.