Pentagon Whistleblower Criticizes "Bloodthirst" of Iran War, Says Hegseth Is Enabling War Crimes
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/25/wes_bryant
Pentagon Whistleblower Criticizes “Bloodthirst” of Iran War, Says Hegseth Is Enabling War Crimes
As the United States mobilizes thousands more troops for deployment to the Middle East, we speak with retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, who criticizes the “bloodthirst” of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Bryant led the Pentagon office for civilian harm assessment from 2024 to 2025, before the unit was dissolved under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The “wholly illegal war” has been “carried out recklessly from the start and with little regard for the innocent,” Bryant tells Democracy Now! “Pete Hegseth has already directed the committing of war crimes. And unfortunately, our senior military leadership is bending the knee and carrying out whatever he tells them to do.”
New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin Is "Trump Loyalist, Anti-immigrant, Incompetent": Rep. Delia Ramirez
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/25/markwayne_mullin
New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin Is “Trump Loyalist, Anti-immigrant, Incompetent”: Rep. Delia Ramirez
Markwayne Mullin was sworn in Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem, who was ousted earlier this month. Mullin has served as senator for Oklahoma since 2023 following a decade in the House of Representatives. He joins the Trump administration amid a partial government shutdown, with Democrats demanding reforms to immigration enforcement before fully funding DHS.
“This agency of terror needs to be dismantled,” says Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Illinois. “And whether it is Mullin, whether it is Noem, whether it’s Tom Homan, that agency is dangerous, and every American should say, 'Enough is enough.'”
Ramirez also comments on the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court, the U.S. fuel blockade against Cuba and more.
Headlines for March 25, 2026
Pentagon Reports as Many as 3,000 U.S. Troops Set to Be Deployed to the Middle East; Iran Continues to Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Gulf Countries; Philippines Declares National Energy Emergency Due to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran; Lebanon Expels Iranian Ambassador from the Country; Russia Launches Nearly 1,000 Drones at Ukraine; NYT: TSA Shared Personal Info with ICE Before Arrests at San Francisco Airport; CNN: Concerns Raised About Safety at LaGuardia Airport Before Deadly Runway Crash; New Mexico Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million for Harming Children’s Mental Health and Safety; Eight Architecture and Cultural Organizations Sue Trump and Kennedy Center Board over Renovations; Democrat Flips Florida State House Seat in District That Includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home; Minnesota Officials Sue Trump Admin over Renee Good and Alex Pretti Investigations; Thousands March in Argentina to Mark 50 Years Since U.S.-Backed Military Coup in 1976
Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings "Peaceable Kingdom" at DN!'s 30th Anniversary Event
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/25/patti_smith
Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings “Peaceable Kingdom” at DN!’s 30th Anniversary Event
Over 2,000 people packed into the historic Riverside Church in New York on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Democracy Now! The program included a reading by legendary singer Patti Smith from her new memoir Bread of Angels, in which she remembered the U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2003 while trying to protect Palestinian homes from destruction. Corrie inspired Smith’s song “Peaceable Kingdom,” which she performed alongside Tony Shanahan on guitar and her daughter Jesse Smith on piano.
"People Have the Power": Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe at Democracy Now! Celebration
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/25/patti_smith_and_friends
“People Have the Power”: Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe at Democracy Now! Celebration
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary Monday at the historic Riverside Church in New York. The night ended with Patti Smith performing her anthemic hit “People Have the Power,” joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the National’s Aaron Dessner and more.
Watch the entire event here.
"Israel First": Ex-Israeli Negotiator Daniel Levy Says Netanyahu Led Trump into Illegal Iran War
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/24/daniel_levy_iran_israel_middle_east
“Israel First”: Ex-Israeli Negotiator Daniel Levy Says Netanyahu Led Trump into Illegal Iran War
“This is about how far Israel can extend its dominion, how much of a hard-power, dominant hegemon it can be in the region.” Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project says that U.S. involvement in the ongoing war on Iran is being driven by Israel’s expansionist ambitions in the Middle East. “Israel is still on the impunity high from its Gaza genocide, which has led us here.” Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, also provides analysis of current U.S., Israeli and Iranian wartime strategy, as well as potential ceasefire negotiations and Israel’s settler and soldier-backed ethnic cleansing of the occupied West Bank. “I think this will ultimately end very badly for Israel and generate tremendous blowback. But in the meantime, it is again the Palestinians bearing the brunt.”
As Trump Deploys ICE Agents to Airports, TSA Agents Continue to Go Without Pay: AFGE Union Steward
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/24/ice_government_shutdown_tsa_airports
As Trump Deploys ICE Agents to Airports, TSA Agents Continue to Go Without Pay: AFGE Union Steward
The partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused major staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration, an agency under DHS that handles airport security procedures created in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. TSA officers have not been paid for over a month, leading to hundreds of resignations and leaves of absence. As airports are hit with significant delays, Cameron Cochems, the vice president of a union representing thousands of fellow TSA workers, urges travelers to use their time waiting to call their elected representatives “to fund the TSA so we can get our paychecks and we can get back to work.”
To fill staffing shortages, DHS has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports. This comes as ICE is under fire for a hiring surge with minimal vetting and training for new officers. “It really feels like they’re a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. Our officers, they’re not getting paid, and having people that come in that are getting paid just feels like an insult,” says Cochems, who adds that the ultimate goal of the Republican Party is to eliminate union protections and privatize the TSA.
"Under the Rubble": Pulitzer-Prize Winner Reads Poem About Gaza at Democracy Now’s 30th Anniversary
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/24/mosab_abu_toha_performance
“Under the Rubble”: Pulitzer Prize Winner Reads Poem About Gaza at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Mosab Abu Toha read his poem “Under the Rubble” and spoke about his experience surviving Israel’s genocide of Gaza, which killed 30 members of his extended family. Watch the full event here.
Headlines for March 24, 2026
Iran Denies Trump’s Claim of “Productive” Negotiations to End War; Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon; U.N. Special Rapporteur Says Israel Has Adopted Torture as State Policy; Cuba Says U.S. Oil Blockade Has Caused Massive Disruptions to Healthcare System; Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary, Replacing Kristi Noem; Unpaid TSA Workers Demand Paychecks as ICE Agents Deploy to U.S. Airports; Videos Show ICE Agents Violently Arresting Mother and Daughter at San Francisco Airport; Supreme Court Scrutinizes Mississippi Law Allowing Mail-In Ballots Postmarked by Election Day; Postmaster General Warns USPS On Track to Run Out of Funds by February; U.N. Warns of Worsening Climate Crisis as U.S. Suffers Record March Heat Waves; Nearly 1,000 New York University Professors Strike for Fair Salaries and Job Security
Bruce Springsteen Performs "Streets of Minneapolis" at Democracy Now!'s 30th Anniversary
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/24/bruce_springsteen_streets_of_minneapolis
Bruce Springsteen Performs “Streets of Minneapolis” at Democracy Now!’s 30th Anniversary
Democracy Now! celebrated its 30th anniversary at the historic Riverside Church in New York City with live performances by guests including musician Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen performed his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis and spoke about his upcoming tour, which begins in Minneapolis next week. Watch the full event here.
