Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Minneapolis Crisis: Americans are turning against Trump and his ICE surge against Minneapolis, where agents executed an unarmed nurse, U.S. citizen Alex Pretti—with no signs of a real investigation in sight over the president’s personal Kent State. Democrats are threatening to close the government later this week over Homeland Security funding. Republican politicians are starting to read the room but most continue to defend ICE. ICE offers to leave Minneapolis in exchange for voter records—what’s that about? • Military top brass purged in China. • Rafah border crossing reopened: Will Israel make it a one-way trip?JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Jared Kushner presented a glittering vision of postwar Gaza centered around the construction of entirely new cities where rubble and Palestinian bodies currently lay rotting. Who will be in charge? Who will profit? • Minneapolis braces for today’s city-wide strike against ICE, which will close hundreds of businesses. • Trump looks Left on economic populism. • Kristi Noem’s Homeland Security tweeted a racist altered photo of a women arrested for opposing an ICE preacher.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos was asphyxiated and throttled to death by ICE guards in El Paso, the county medical examiner rules. Federal officials called his death a suicide. 5-year-old Pre-K Liam Ramos used as bait for his dad by ICE. An ICE document told officers and agents they can forcibly enter deportees without warrants. 32% of Americans tell NYT/Siena Poll Trump made the county better; 49% say it’s worse. • Supreme Court likely to rule that Trump can’t fire Fed board members like Lisa Cook at will, in a landmark separation of powers ruling. • What is in the vague “framework” settling the Greenland Crisis? • Clintons face bipartisan Contempt of Congress over Epstein testimony.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • According to the DOJ, there was a secret Trump Administration agreement between DOGE employee and an unidentified political advocacy group to turn over Americans’ confidential Social Security Administration data to try to overturn election results in certain states • The Greenland Crisis has not only sparked full-out trade war but rattled Western allies at the World Economic Forum at Davos. Always helpful, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls Denmark “irrelevant” after Denmark sells off $100 million in US Treasury bonds and notes. Greenlanders prepare for a possible US invasion. • Canada’s Mark Carney calls for a new New World Order in which the US is no longer considered reliable.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Trump tells Norway that being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize makes him think less about peace and more about what’s good for the US—so he’ll continue to press to somehow acquire Greenland. Trump shared a private text from Macron wondering WTF. America’s top Catholic archbishops denounce Trump’s aggressive foreign policy against Venezuela and Greenland. • China, Russia and Turkey invited to join Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace.” • BLM protest against ICE pastor in Minneapolis investigated by AG Pam Bondi. A Hmong man was dragged out of his home naked into the bitter cold by ICE—he’s a US citizen.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • The US Army orders 1,500 troops stationed in Alaska to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota in preparation for a possible Trump declaration of the Insurrection Act. Noem denies ICE using chemical agents against peaceful Minnesotans, then backtracks. And the FBI is asking agents to go to Minneapolis for “temporary duty.” Medical examiner to rule killing of detainee by ICE officers in El Paso as homicide. And: FBI killed investigation into shooting of Renee Good. • The Greenland Crisis has broken out into full-out trade war between the US and the EU. $108 billion in tariffs against US products go into effect February 1. • Kamala Harris’ team asked Josh Shapiro if he had ever been an Israeli agent. • There’s not actually anything inside Trump’s one-page “Great Healthcare Plan.” Does it matter? • Portuguese elections: Socialist Party’s Antonio Jose Seguro and far-right Andre Ventura head to a run-off.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Scott Stantis of The Chicago Tribune fills in for John today.Today we discuss: • As Trump mulls invoking the Insurrection Act against Minnesota, the first poll after ICE gunned down Renee Good—with four shots—shows most Americans disapprove of the agency and its violent tactics. Also: ICE shoots another man and gasses a family of six trying to escape the chaos in Minneapolis, where ICE is targeting daycare centers. • France, Germany, Sweden and Norway rush troops to Greenland as a shown of force against the United States. Even lickspittle Republicans are pushing back against an invasion. • María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s extreme-right politician and neoliberal darling, gave her Nobel Peace Prize to The Donald. • Even as Israel continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza, Israel and the US announce phase two of their ceasefire: the Board of Peace.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Trump caves in, reversing $2 billion in cuts to mental health and addiction programs after one day, after bipartisan pushback. • 75% of Americans don’t want the US to take control of Greenland. • Josh Hawley (R-MO) wimps out, and joins Todd Young (R-IN) in voting against a War Powers Resolution requiring Congressional approval for Trump’s war against Venezuela that they initially supported. • Elon Musk’s Grok AI will no longer let users virtually “undress” people.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Bill and Hillary Clinton tell the House Oversight Committee say they’ve “had enough” of the Epstein investigation and won’t testify despite a subpoena. James Comer says he’ll hold the former First Couple in contempt of Congress. • Iran says it may attack US military bases if the US attacks it again. Protesters claim 2,400 of their own have been killed in Iran. • Ogala Sioux and Lakota Nation officials say tribal members are being targeted in Minnesota and held hostage by ICE to coerce them into allowing ICE operations on tribal land. HHS outnumbers cops in Minneapolis. And: federal prosecutors are resigning over the DOJ’s instructions to go after Renee Good’s widow. • Japan and South Korea cozy up to confront China.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • The presumption that the FBI can be trusted to investigate the killing of activist Renee Good by ICE agent Jon Ross fairly has been all but destroyed by White House statements, freezing out local authorities, and the DOJ’s refusal to allow its civil rights experts to weigh in. Does it matter if the government abandons all pretense of objectivity? • As if life didn’t suck enough for Gazans who have survived the genocide, severe storms are ripping away the tents of hundreds of thousands of refugees. • Western analysts are eagerly hoping for revolution in Iran. • Malaysia and Indonesia block Grok over deep-fake porn. Even Renee Good has been virtually undressed.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Iran threatens to retaliate if the US follows through on its threat to militarily attack to defend protesters, while requesting negotiations with the White House. • Back home in the US, the Trump Administration characterizes anti-ICE protesters as domestic terrorists and threatens to send in more ICE forces. • Trump threatens to veto extension of Obamacare subsidies. • Trump to meet with Denmark over Greenland.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Producer Robby West fills in for John today.Today we discuss: • The ICE agent who shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good to death in her car has set off a confrontation between the federal government and local law enforcement. Protests heat up and major questions about ICE tactics and training arise as the weekend begins and ICE shoots two more people in Portland. • Oil executives head to the White House to discuss looting Venezuela’s oil. Major companies want taxpayers to guarantee they’ll be compensated if their risks head south. Meanwhile, Russia is being accused of spreading propaganda about US imperialism. • Gavin Newsom is pre-running for President. • Trump says he’s only constrained by his own morality. Is that enough? 61% of Americans say they want America to be a moral leader. 39% say it is.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Trump’s plan to run the Venezuelan government via coercion and threat of force is turning the acting post-coup government paranoid. Will this powder keg explode into civil war? Meanwhile, Bruce Fein joins Nicolás Maduro’s legal defense team. Will Trump’s continuing recognition of the Venezuelan government validate Maduro’s claim to be a POW? • Abruptly changing course, Trump invites Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the White House. Can Petro trust Trump not to arrest him too? • Trump pulls the US out of a key climate treaty and dozens of others. JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Under a 1951 agreement, the US can “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft.” Will Trump exploit it to seize the island? • Trump says Venezuela will send 30 to 50 million barrels of oil — about two months’ worth of production — worth between $1.8 and $3 billion to the US. It is unclear if it would receive anything in return. Meanwhile, Russia has deployed a submarine and other vessels to escort an oil tanker — which is also being pursued by US forces — across the Atlantic. • Aldrich Ames, the counterintelligence officer for the CIA who spied for the Soviet Union and later Russia, has died at age 84. The 31-year veteran is believed to have compromised more than 100 intelligence operations and sent a number of Soviet agents to their deaths or prison, as he traded information for large sums of money that funded his lavish lifestyle. JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • America’s Coup Against Venezuela: The UN Security Council and many nations, including US allies, criticize Trump for overthrowing and kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro, and Trump threatens a second military attack unless Acting President Delcy Rodriguez collaborates with the US to expel Cubans and Iranians, cracking down on drugs, and ceasing oil sales to US adversaries. Venezuela braces for economic collapse. Oh, and Canada is worried about the effect on its oil industry. Maduro calls himself a POW. • Cuba in Trouble: Venezuelan oil supplies likely to be cut off, but neither Mexico nor Russia is inclined to fill the gap. Will the US intervene militarily in a country likely to resist? • Trump Targets Poor Kids: HHS to cut off Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado—Democratic states—from $7 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss the ultimate holiday weekend media dump: the overthrow of a sovereign head of state of a country most voters can’t find on a map. • Regime change against Venezuela: President Maduro kidnapped, VP less compliant than Trump hoped, Trump says he wants to steal the nation’s oil. Will the UN, Congress, Europe or the Democrats prove less useless than usual? John and Ted explain what’s happening and predict what’s next. • Never too many new wars: Trump threatens to attack Greenland, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Iran. Which threats are real? Will Congress insist on its war powers, or impeach the president? • AI psyops are go: Images of Maduro in custody and of Venezuelans celebrating in the street have been debunked as fake, but does it matter? Oh, and Russia is jealous of Trump’s “special military operation.”JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.Special TWO-HOUR SHOW! Starting 10 AM EST, we’re taking your voice calls. Tune in early for a full explanation for how to talk to Ted and John LIVE.Today we discuss:• Happy New Year! Millions of Americans now have no health insurance, thanks to bipartisan Congressional inaction.• Taking a page from Trump, new NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani hits the ground running with leftie rhetoric and an unapologetically liberal agenda. Gone is the Adams’ Administration’s IHRA’s right-wing definition of anti-Semitism. He will also speed up public and private housing construction.• Swiss ski resort fire kills about 40 people. A “flashfuire” is blamed.• Venezuela’s president says he’s open to a deal. Meanwhile, the Pentagon blew up 3 more “drug boats”—and left survivors floating in the ocean.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Special TWO-HOUR SHOW! Starting 10 AM EST, we're taking your voice calls. Tune in early for a full explanation for how to talk to Ted and John LIVE.Today we discuss: • Israel blocks 37 aid groups from Gaza. How much worse will the misery get? Will the world care? • Trump bombed 7 countries in 2025: Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria. • US border agents are searching travelers’ phones and other electronic devices at a record rate. • Zohran Mamdani becomes Mayor of New York tonight.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Special TWO-HOUR SHOW! Starting 10 AM EST, we're taking your voice calls. Tune in early for a full explanation for how to talk to Ted and John LIVE.Today we discuss: • The U.S. has been operating for the past 5 years under the assumption that China is preparing to invade Taiwan as soon as 2027. China is conducting military drills that encircle the island of Taiwan, demonstrating its ability to blockade. • Trump bombed a shipping dock, probably in Venezuela, where “they load drugs.” Looks like the drugs are marijuana. • Medicaid can share patient data with ICE, judge rules. • Protests in Iran over inflation and the collapse of the rial

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Special TWO-HOUR SHOW! Starting 10 AM EST, we're taking your voice calls. Tune in early for a full explanation for how to talk to Ted and John LIVE.Today we discuss: • Switzerland’s army chief says his nation can’t defend itself against a Russian invasion, calls for a massive boost in military spending. Are the Russians really coming? • A recent power outage crippled Waymo’s San Francisco fleet. Emergency vehicles would have been stuck behind them in an earthquake. Are UAVs ready for prime time? • Israel recognizes Somaliland. The EU is angry at Israel. • Trump slashes the US contribution to UN humanitarian aid.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.Special TWO-HOUR SHOW! Starting 10 AM EST, we're taking your voice calls. Tune in early for a full explanation for how to talk to Ted and John LIVE.Today we discuss:• The Trump Administration plans to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time. Migrants would be booked into processing sites for a few weeks before being funneled into one of 7 warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation.• The U.S. bombed an ISIS camp in northwest Nigeria to protect Nigerian Christians.• Zelensky and Trump about to meet. Also, Zelensky wishes for Putin to perish.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Poor staffing and conditions at American nursing homes is highlighted by an explosion that killed two people at a Bristol County PA facility that has repeatedly been cited for failure to comply with regulations. • Ukraine suggests a DMZ in the east. A 20-point US/Ukrainian plan includes NATO-style security guarantees and a road toward EU membership. Meanwhile, two Moscow cops are killed by a bomber near the site of the car bombing of a Russian general. • German lawmakers accuse far-right AfD lawmakers of spying for Russia. • Libyan general and 7 others die in a plane crash in Turkey.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Will the GOP Presidential Nomination Race for 2028 come down to a face-off between Ted Cruz and JD Vance? • 30 US ambassadors are being recalled abruptly, no reason given, with little notice. • Trump wants Greenland for Christmas. He’s appointed a special envoy, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, to the Danish territory. • ICE is targeting “at risk” unaccompanied minors as they check in for their 18th birthdays.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • In a classic late Friday “media dump,” DOJ has released the Epstein Files. Well, some of them. And those have been heavily redacted. Members of Congress are threatening Attorney General Pam Bondi with contempt of Congress. • The civil war in the MAGA movement broke wide open at the Turning Point confab. Is this a party pulling itself apart? Or healthy airing of disagreements? • Peace in Ukraine by Christmas? US-Ukraine meet in Miami. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov blown up by car bomb. Ukrainian intelligence services suspected. At the same time as war with Venezuela? • Did Bari Weiss censor a “60 Minutes” segment on CECOT?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Trump reacted to the news that the alleged shooter at Brown and MIT by suspending the Green Card Lottery the suspect used to enter the U.S. Meanwhile, Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of felony obstruction. • Lessons Unlearned: DNC Chairman Ken Martin quashes its 2024 election autopsy. • Trump reclassifies cannabis as a less dangerous Schedule III drug.• More than half of $18 billion in taxpayer funds spent on 14 Medicaid programs in Minnesota were probably stolen since 2018.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Orwellian, much? The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American citizen drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems “suspicious.” A secret network of cameras scans and records your vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags cars based on their route. Federal agents then flag local police. Cops cite speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. • Trump delivered a prime-time address to the nation and promised $1,776 checks to troops. The same day, the White House attached a predecessor-trolling Walk of Fame to the outside of the building. • Centrist Republicans revolt, join Democratic discharge petition on ACA subsidies. • Farmers block roads in Brussels to protest EU-Mercosur free-trade deal. The accord, which would eliminate tariffs on nearly all goods traded between the EU and five Mercosur nations — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia — over 15 years, faces mounting resistance.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Declaring the Venezuelan government a terrorist organization, Trump imposes a naval blockade of sanctioned oil tankers. • D.C. is talking about Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ candid assessments of her White House colleagues, including the president, in Vanity Fair. • WarSec Pete Hegseth is refusing to release that controversial double-tap killing by the US military of boat-bombing survivors. What’s he hiding? • Citizens of 35 countries are now restricted from travel to the U.S. 5 are banned entirely. Will they retaliate? • Who shot a prominent nuclear physics professor at MIT and why?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • A JetBlue pilot accuses the US military of recklessly flying over Venezuelan airspace without active transponders, endangering thousands of civilian air passengers and causing a near miss. • Running against crime and illegal immigration, rightist José Antonio Kast defeats a communist candidate for the Chilean presidency. Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are all governed by right-wingers. • Trump designates street fentanyl as a WMD. Meanwhile, the US military blows up three alleged drug boats in the Pacific, killing eight unknown civilians.• Blaise Metreweli, first female head of MI6, emphasizes threat from Russia and the war in Ukraine alongside high-tech/AI intelligence.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.Today we discuss:• Bloody weekend: Australia Bondi Beach massacre claims 15 at Hannukah event, gunman kills 2 Brown students and injures 9, director Rob and wife Michele Reiner killed at their L.A. home.• “Dewoked” coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of the US canceled Frederick Douglass and shackled and unshackled hands, women’s suffrage and a “Votes for Women” flag and the civil rights movement and desegregation. Instead, we’ll get the Mayflower Compact, Pilgrims, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and the Gettysburg Address with Lincoln.• A tale of two presidential libraries: Awash in donations, Trump will probably use a foundation to avoid National Archives scrutiny. Biden has raised enough money to purchase a modest home on the beach.• Dude, Where’s My Nuke? A CIA nuclear device loaded with plutonium has been missing in the Himalayas since 1965. Now the glacier where it was lost is melting. What could go wrong?

Got a question for CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and/or political cartoonist Ted Rall? Today's your chance to bend their ear about the news of the day or anything else you feel like! It's a Rumble-only exclusive where you can call in live. Be pithy, be quick, be brilliant on DeProgram!

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • The U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a dramatic escalation in President Trump’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela. Is this why we’re spending $900 million a year on defense? • The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday in a highly contentious decision. The split among policymakers suggested that the central bank may be done lowering borrowing costs for the time being unless there are clear signs that the labor market is weakening further. Meanwhile, President Trump is trying to persuade the public that the economy is strong. • The University of Alabama has suspended the publication of two student-run magazines — one primarily focused on Black students and another on women’s issues — citing recent federal guidance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses. • Australia’s landmark new social media age law is set to go into effect, barring anyone under 16 from holding an account as the government moves to enforce one of the world’s strictest online safety measures.Scott Stantis, cartoonist for The Chicago Tribune, is filling in for John.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • In a wide-ranging Politico interview, Trump said ideological divisions threaten to fracture Washington's alliances with Europe. “I think [their leaders are] weak, but I also think that they want to be so politically correct. I think they don't know what to do.” Ukraine—where Zelensky says he’s finally ready to hold elections—is the main point of contention. • Russia has long used Mexico as a base for espionage, earning it the nickname “the Vienna of Latin America” during the Cold War. American officials say those efforts scaled up after Russia invaded Ukraine. But the U.S. says Mexico is ignoring the issue. American officials who asked about a list of GRU spies were told the Mexican officials never got it, that it was too vague or that junior officials lost it. • Afghan fighters who served in “Zero Units” led by the CIA spiraled into despair because of inability to work, bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. government, driving at least 4 to suicide. One was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged with shooting National Guard soldiers in DC. • Another city goes blue: Miamians elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first Democrat in 28 years. Higgins, a former county commissioner, defeated Republican Emilio González, an ex-city manager who had the endorsement of Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 60% of the vote.• NYT reports that Trump Administration weighed sending survivors of U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats to CECOT prison in El Salvador, to keep them away from American courts. Lawyers say information disclosed in a court could undermine the legality of the attacks and the political rationale.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says, after Chinese jets aimed radar at Japanese aircraft. China has blamed Japan for sending aircraft to repeatedly approach and disrupt the Chinese navy. • Powerful Senate President Hun Sen vowed that Cambodia would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread combat drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas. Is full-scale war at hand? • 200,000 people have fled eastern Congo in recent days, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels march on the strategic lakeside town of Uvira on the border with Burundi, and battling with Congolese troops and local groups known as Wazalendo. Scores have been killed. Here, too, we’re on the watch for full-fledged war.• A bid by Paramount Skydance Corp. for Warner Bros. Discovery is backed by notable investors like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and a less known player, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co., founded recently and fully owned by the government. If TikTok is a matter of national security, how about this?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • WarSec Hegseth declares an age of American “utopian idealism” over under the new National Security Strategy, demanding that U.S. allies fend for themselves, and called for a more conciliatory approach to China. • Oral arguments in SCOTUS over Trump v. Slaughter, which will likely strip independence from agencies have regulated American monetary policy and stock trades, transportation systems and election campaigns, consumer product safety and broadcast licenses. • Thailand bombed Cambodia in what it claimed was retaliation, leaving a peace plan presided over by Trump in danger of collapse. • “I’ll be involved in that decision,” Trump says about Netflix buying Warner Bros for $82 billion. Will he scuttle this monopoly?

LIVE 9:00 am Eastern time, Streaming Anytime:Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • The death from exposure to a rare, military-grade nerve agent called a Novichok in Britain of Dawn Sturgess, 44 and a British mother of three, seven years ago, illustrates the consequences of letting spies run amok. A perfume bottle containing the poison had been discarded by a pair of Russian operatives after using it in an attempted assassination months earlier. A new report blames Putin. • Zelensky’s government systematically sabotages oversight, creating the perfect opportunity for corruption. Ukraine has stacked oversight boards with loyalists, leaves seats empty or stalled them from being set up at all. Leaders in Kyiv even rewrote company charters to limit oversight, allowing hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to be stolen. • Congress is focusing on two deaths in one boat strike. But 9 other people died in that same attack, and the United States has killed 87 in all. Were any of those killings legal? • 55% disapprove/42% approve of Trump’s job performance. Much of his loss is among political independents; 31% approve, down from 41% in July. The president has also lost support among men, particularly white, college-educated men. Can he right the ship?Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis fills in for John today.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Admiral Mitch Bradley tries to explain himself to Congress today. As Trump claims each boat bombing saves 25,000 American lives, the man Hegseth blames for the double-tap strike is on the hot seat. Meanwhile, Signalgate is blowing up. Will this weekend mark the end of the former Fox News Weekend host? • Israel is opening the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. Egypt says it doesn’t know anything about it. It will help sick and injured Gaza’s get medical care. But is this the beginning of Israel’s plot to ethnically cleanse and annex Gaza? • Vladimir Putin to visit Narenda Modi in India to boost trade.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Pressure is building against Pete Hegseth. The Defense Department claims it was trying to destroy the rest of the boat, not the crew, while Hegseth blames Admiral Bradley for murdering helpless seamen. Is this the end of the line for Hegseth, or do the new neocons win again? • Republicans are gambling that voters won’t resent them in next year’s elections for allowing Obamacare subsidies to expire, sending insurance prices to the stratosphere. Incumbents weigh the risk of a primary challenge for helping Democrats vs. the general election. • Belgium, which holds most of the Russian assets being targeted for seizure as reparations to Ukraine, says its requests to the EU to be indemnified against Russian lawsuits and legal losses, and that other EU nations also agree to participate, are being ignored.• Deep fake “Nudifying” software is out of control in schools around the world, where girls and female teachers are being humiliated by A.I.-generated phony nude images of themselves being passed around on smartphones by students. Schools are at a loss about how to handle it. Would cellphone bans solve the problem?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • Sudan’s military government has offered Russia what would be its first naval base in Africa and an unprecedented perch overlooking critical Red Sea trade routes, reports the WSJ. • Negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine focused on where the de facto border with Russia would be drawn under a peace deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin — who will meet with President Trump's envoy today — wants the entire Donbas region. • A lawsuit by an immigration judge fired by Trump has the potential to scramble the federal workforce and upend foundational civil rights laws. She says she was dismissed because of her gender, her status as a dual citizen of Lebanon and the fact that she once ran for municipal office in Ohio as a Democrat, all in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the First Amendment. The government has responded by arguing that the president's power to oversee the executive branch under Article II of the U.S. Constitution essentially overrides that core civil rights law.• A small, highly anticipated study shows a glimmer of hope in the long effort to control HIV without medication and search for a cure for a virus that attacks immune cells. In six participants, the virus rebounded slowly and stayed at a low level for months, and one person’s immune system kept the virus in check for more than a year and a half.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss: • WaPo reports that the Pentagon deliberately launched a “double tap” second bombing strike against the survivors of a boat blown up by the U.S. in the Caribbean. A bipartisan group of Congressmen wants the incident investigated as a serious war crime. Can you commit a war crime in a non-declared war against a fictional entity? • Trump issues ultimatum to Maduro: Leave Venezuela now. • A.I. data centers are driving up electricity rates in Red America. Will the rising price of kilowatt hours be as politically charged as the price of eggs?• Trump blames Biden for the Afghan ex-soldier who shot two National Guardmen in D.C., who was trained by the CIA, even though the suspect was granted asylum in April.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. Today we discuss:• The Pentagon Investigates Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for Democratic Video Telling Troops to Disobey “Illegal Order.” Is It Treason or Just the Law?• As Ukraine Gets Closer to a Deal with Russia and Russia Meets with the US in Abu Dhabi, European Nations Are Getting Skittish About Russia. France Calls for a Bigger Army as Chief Says the French Must Sacrifice Their Kids; Poland and Croatia Bring Back the Draft. Paranoia or Smart Planning?• Trump Had a HealthCare Idea. Republican Congressmen squished it.• Why Don’t Zoomers Protest? Things Aren’t OK, Boomer.JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.com/https://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.Today we discuss:Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from Congress. What's next for her and for MAGA?US, Ukraine and Europeans make progress in Geneva but doubts remain over security guarantees: Is this the beginning of the end for the Russo-Ukrainian War?Psst—eight months ahead of schedule, DOGE no longer exists!JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShowFOLLOW TED:https://rall.comhttps://x.com/tedrallFOLLOW JOHN:https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakouhttps://x.com/JohnKiriakouLISTEN ON SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8ZuLISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504

On the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, a high-level U.S. military delegation lands in turmoil-ridden Kyiv, pushing a 28-point peace plan coordinated with Moscow. Zelensky grapples with a $100 million energy sector corruption probe implicating allies. Meanwhile, a FBI whistleblower exposes the Internal Counterespionage Cell's "executive exemption," shielding Senior Executive Service brass from probes into fraud, retaliation, and espionage.Ukraine's Corruption Scandal and Political Turmoil: Anti-corruption watchdogs unravel a $100 million embezzlement scheme in the energy sector, fingering Zelensky ally Timur Mindich as the mastermind amid nationwide blackouts. Protests erupt in the Rada, toppling two ministers—Justice's German Galushchenko and Energy's Svitlana Hrynchuk—while opposition demands Yermak's ouster and a national unity coalition. Zelensky distances himself, imposing sanctions on Mindich yet dismissing graft as commonplace, fueling fears of deeper regime instability as investigations probe defense and banking ties.U.S. Military Delegation's Push for Peace: Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and Gen. Randy George spearhead the highest-ranking Trump-era visit, briefing on a 28-point U.S.-Moscow peace blueprint that mandates halving Ukraine's military and territorial concessions. Zelensky receives the plan, pledging talks with Trump while insisting on unbreakable security, as the delegation secures an "aggressive timeline" for framework signing amid Russian strikes killing 26 in Ternopil. Observers question the scandal's timing, suspecting deliberate pressure on a vulnerable Kyiv to accept capitulation-like terms.FBI Whistleblower's Counterespionage Exposé: An insider accuses the Internal Counterespionage Cell of shielding SES executives via an unwritten "executive exemption," blocking probes into fraud, retaliation, and espionage despite credible tips from other agencies. Retaliatory transfers punish reporters, with no SES clearances revoked since protocols began, allowing classified hoarding and evidence destruction—including a retired assistant director's untouched leaks. The disclosure highlights decades-long practices spanning directors, contrasting aggressive actions like the 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid while lamenting zero espionage busts post-2001 Hanssen case.

Uncover the shadows of history and the fractures of modern power on the DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou. Tune in as Ted and John dissect today's bombshell disclosures.CIA Cover-Up in JFK Assassination Probe: Former CIA historian, Thomas L. Pearcy, steps forward as a whistleblower for the first time, exposing a secret 50-page inspector general's report from 1978 in which the CIA brags about misleading Congress about Lee Harvey Oswald's Mexico City activities before Kennedy's slaying. Pearcy, now a professor at Slippery Rock University, stumbled upon the document in a secure CIA safe room in 2009 while researching Latin American policy; it details how officers handed over "sanitized" duplicates of files to House Select Committee chief counsel Robert Blakey, deleting key evidence and prompting a CIA memo mocking Blakey's "incurious" review after just 20-30 minutes per volume. As the 62nd anniversary of the stunning assassination approaches Saturday, Trump's pledge to release all JFK records under the 1992 Act comes under scrutiny, with the CIA claiming commitment to transparency despite withholding photos, films, and admissions of monitoring Oswald via agent George Joannides—fueling calls from experts like Jefferson Morley for immediate declassification of this blueprint for lying to the public.Ambassador Huckabee's Secret Meeting with Spy Pollard: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee hosts Jonathan J. Pollard, the convicted Cold War spy who served 30 years for leaking classified intel to Israel, in a clandestine July gathering at the Jerusalem Embassy that blindsides the White House and CIA. Pollard, 71 and now eyeing a right-wing Knesset run while pushing Gaza annexation, describes the off-schedule encounter as "friendly," marking his first U.S. government-hosted meeting since 2015 parole; Huckabee, courting Israel's right wing, thanks Pollard for past advocacy without detailing discussions that touch on Trump's Saudi arms deals. Critics like ex-Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer decry the breach of protocol, questioning rehabilitation of a traitor who embraces "Israel first" over America, especially after Huckabee's prior hosting of sanctioned far-right ministers—exposing deepening rifts in U.S.-Israel diplomacy.Trump-Mamdani Oval Office Showdown: Trump confirms a Friday sit-down in the Oval Office with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who surged from Queens lawmaker to victory on an affordability platform backed by over a million voters. After months of Trump's "communist" smears, deportation threats, and vows to slash federal funds, this customary-yet-charged meeting shifts toward shared rhetoric on economic security and public safety, following Republican election setbacks in key states. Mamdani, a naturalized Ugandan-American, pledges to "Trump-proof" the city while collaborating where it benefits New Yorkers, testing detente amid Trump's recent pivot to affordability as the "Party of Affordability!"—highlighting clashing visions for urban America.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you all about a bizarre scheme by the Ministry of State Security to ensnare UK lawmakers, staffers, consultants, economists, and think tank experts. Shifting to the U.S., the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll reveals Democrats surging 14 points ahead—55%-41%—on congressional ballots, independents favoring them 33 points, signaling a possible “blue wave” if Democrats don’t mess it up. Trump is greenlighting CIA covert ops in Venezuela—prepping sabotage, cyber, or psyops battlefields—as the State designation of “Cartel de los Soles terrorists” turns out to be a figment of the imagination. And Montreal's Allan Memorial Institute survivor leads a class-action lawsuit exposing CIA's MK-Ultra mind control via unwitting LSD dosing, electroshocks, "psychic driving" tapes, barbiturates, stimulants, nitrous oxide, sensory deprivation, and comas on thousands of Canadians across 100+ sites. Wanted in the UK: MSS Spies: MI5 unveils China's Ministry of State Security (their CIA) deploy China-based headhunters like Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen to covertly approach UK targets via LinkedIn and fake firms, posing freelance geopolitical gigs to harvest low-value intel pieces as a predecessor for broader efforts. Security Minister Dan Jarvis calls it a threat to democracy, just months after prosecutors dropped charges against accused spies. Beijing's embassy fires back, calling the allegations "malicious slander," as MI5's Ken McCallum last month decried Beijing's cyber thefts and public life intrusions.U.S. Midterm Poll Bad for Republicans: The November 10-13 NPR/PBS News/Marist survey of 1,443 adults shows Democrats commanding a 14-point edge—55%-41%—in congressional races, with independents swinging 33 points blue, evoking 2017's prelude to 40-seat gains amid Trump's 39% approval low and 48% strong disapproval peak. Voters blame Republicans or Trump for shutdowns hits 60%, while 57% prioritize price drops over immigration, eroding GOP momentum despite 90% base approval. Institutional distrust soars—80% hate Congress, 75% hate media—with 80%+ across aisles viewing opponents as "closed-minded," 70% "dishonest," independents harsher on Republicans, brewing volatility after the Dems’ recent wins.Trump Goes Covert Against Venezuela: President Trump authorizes CIA covert measures—potentially sabotage, cyber, psyops, coinciding with the USS Gerald R. Ford's weekend Caribbean arrival, 15,000 troops, and "Operation Southern Spear" buildup rivaling 1962's Cuba blockade, as planners map drug facility and Maduro-loyalist strikes. Back-channel parleys yield Maduro's rejected two-year delay on resignation for U.S. oil access, with State set to terrorist-label the fictional “Cartel de los Soles,” enabling escalation; Trump hints at ground forces, stressing drug/immigration curbs publicly while eyeing resources privately. 21 congressional-bypassing boat strikes killed 83, only hitting cocaine despite fentanyl talk, amid undecided endgame—diplomacy, voluntary exit, or forcible removal.MK-Ultra Lawsuit Advances in Canada: A Montreal judge rejects Royal Victoria Hospital's appeal, advancing class-action suit by Allan Memorial survivor Lana Ponting, age 16 in 1958, against CIA-backed MK-Ultra experiments involving unwitting LSD, electroshocks, "psychic driving" tape loops of conflicting messages, barbiturates, stimulants, nitrous oxide, deprivation, and comas on thousands via 100+ sites. Committed for "disobedient" teen antics post-move, Ponting uncovers files revealing Dr. Ewen Cameron's McGill horrors—unbeknownst CIA-funded till 1964—yielding lifelong meds, nightmares, memory loss; excluded from 1992's C$100,000 humanitarian payouts sans liability.

Is Israel furtively indulging in slow-motion ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza to South Africa and other countries? South Africa suspects yes. Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou bring you up to speed on this shocking story as well as alleged prosecutorial screw-ups threatening the high-profile indictment of James Comey to global shifts in migration and education.Comey Indictment in Jeopardy: A federal magistrate judge drops a scathing 24-page ruling, slamming inexperienced prosecutor Lindsey Halligan for "fundamental and highly prejudicial" misstatements of law during her solo grand jury appearance seeking charges against former FBI Director James Comey for lying to Congress in his notorious 2020 testimony. Judge William E. Fitzpatrick orders immediate disclosure of incomplete grand jury materials to Comey's lawyers, raising "genuine issues of misconduct" that could force dismissal, while prosecutors scramble with an emergency halt request. The jurist’s extraordinary rebuke, amid doubts over Halligan's legitimacy, underscores unraveling Justice Department efforts, including Trump's ousting of her predecessor for insufficient evidence.US International Student Enrollment Plummets: New research finds a 17% drop in first-time international student enrollments at US universities this fall, driven by Trump administration visa delays, denials, and heightened scrutiny including mandatory social media checks following pro-Palestine campus protests. The Institute of International Education's survey across 828 institutions notes a modest 1% overall decline but warns of steeper losses in the future, as 84% of schools say they prioritize foreign recruitment amid $55 billion economic contributions. Universities respond with 39% more deferrals, countering factors like travel restrictions affecting 2% of students and growing perceptions of an unwelcoming environment, despite Trump's recent pledge to double Chinese student visas for business gains. South Africa Rejects Palestinian Charter Flights: South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola bans additional chartered flights carrying Palestinians, calling the recent arrival of 153 from Gaza a "clear agenda to cleanse Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank" in an orchestrated global resettlement push. The group, routed via Nairobi without prior coordination, endured over 10 hours stranded at OR Tambo Airport due to missing departure stamps before intervention by a charity allowed 130 to enter the RSA on compassionate grounds. This follows a similar flight two weeks prior, amid Israel's voluntary relocation rhetoric criticized internationally, as South Africa—long a Palestinian ally since Mandela's era—investigates amid its ICJ genocide case against Israel.UN Security Council OKs Trump Plan: Highlights include the deployment of an international peacekeeping force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state. The resolution, passed by a vote of 13-0 with abstentions by China and Russia, was the price the US paid for backing from the Arab and Islamic world, who are expected to provide peacekeepers. However, Netanyahu, restated his adamant opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state. Hamas rejected what it described as an imposed “international guardianship mechanism” and insisted it would not disarm. What now?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou catch you up from the weekend in news. Among the highlights: Trump’s Epstein flip-flop, Chile chooses between extreme left and right, Iran stops uranium enrichment, and the US plan for Gaza gets bogged down in the Security Counsel.Trump's Sudden Epstein Files Reversal: Trying to avoid a humiliating defeat in the House, President Trump now urges House Republicans to back a measure compelling the Justice Department to release Epstein files, marking a sharp pivot after his campaign to quash GOP dissent and halt the vote after the shutdown. He posts on social media, insisting Republicans vote yes "because we have nothing to hide," while dismissing the push as a "Democrat Hoax" to deflect from Republican victories like averting a shutdown. This turn follows intense White House pressure, including Situation Room meetings with his AG and FBI director, amid scrutiny over newly released emails where Epstein claims Trump spent hours at his home with a trafficking victim; tensions erupt with allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Chile's Presidential Runoff Pits Left Against Far-Right: Chile's election heads to a December 14 runoff between Communist Party's Jeannette Jara, who edges out the first round, and far-right José Antonio Kast, amid surging crime and immigration debates fueled by 1.9 million foreigners, including 330,000 undocumented Venezuelans. Jara pledges lithium production increases, minimum wage hikes, new prisons, and army border deployments to expel drug-trafficking foreigners, warning that democracy faces risks after costly recoveries. Kast vows Trump-style walls, ditches along Peru-Bolivia borders, mass deportations, and El Salvador-like maximum-security prisons, blaming migrants for crime despite studies showing lower offense rates; his Pinochet-linked family history and anti-abortion stance rally splintered right-wing votes from Evelyn Matthei and Johannes Kaiser, potentially tilting Chile rightward in Latin America's shifting tides.UN Security Council Clashes Over Gaza Resolution: The U.S. pushes a resolution annexing Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan for international mandate, seeking UN backing for stabilization forces and a vague Board of Peace, but Russia counters with its own 10-point resolution demanding Palestinian statehood and unity of West Bank-Gaza, omitting U.S.-favored structures. China aligns with Russia, while Algeria, France, and Europeans demand clearer Palestinian Authority roles and self-determination pathways; the U.S. finalizes minimal changes, adding six-month progress reports but deferring statehood to the plan, prompting accusations of rushing texts that sideline Council authority. Tensions peak as Russia decries U.S. discord-sowing, with joint U.S. statements from Qatar, Egypt, UAE, Indonesia, and Pakistan hailing the plan as a "viable path," yet veto threats loom in a deadlock echoing two years of Gaza stalemates.Iran Halts Uranium Enrichment: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declares that no uranium enrichment is taking place at any site, following June bombings by Israel and the U.S. on facilities now under IAEA safeguards and monitoring. He affirms Iran's "undeniable" right to peaceful nuclear tech, including enrichment, vowing never to relinquish it while hoping for U.S. recognition to resume talks. This statement emerges during an AP-hosted summit on "International Law Under Assault," where Iranian analysts critique the 12-day war, spotlighting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's praise for Israel's "dirty work." What’s Iran trying to do?

Battles over academic freedom and executive power today’s episode of “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou.” Texas A&M bans advocacy of “race or gender ideology,” an Indiana professor is suspended after a Trump-allied senator intervenes over a graphic labeling “Make America Great Again” as covert white supremacy, Senator John Fetterman is hospitalized again, a secret 40-page DOJ memo with odd reasoning justifies Trump’s lethal boat strikes, and new DNA analysis of Hitler blood reveals a rare genetic marker linked to delayed puberty, undescended testicles, and possible Kallmann syndrome.Texas A&M Censors Professors: Texas A&M System regents unanimously vote to prohibit courses from advocating “race or gender ideology” without presidential pre-approval and ban teaching anything inconsistent with the approved syllabus. This follows months of GOP accusations of liberal indoctrination and comes after a lecturer was fired in September for recognizing more than two genders. Faculty call it a direct assault on academic freedom; administrators insist it merely “clarifies” existing policy.Indiana University Censors Professors: Indiana University suspends social-work lecturer Jessica Adams from teaching after U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) complains about a pyramid graphic labeling “MAGA” as covert white supremacy. The complaint invokes Indiana’s new “intellectual diversity” law, prompting the dean to file the formal grievance against Adams. Adams says the 20-year-old graphic is standard in social-work education and warns of growing censorship driven by Trump-aligned politicians.Time To Resign?: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is hospitalized after falling during a morning walk, triggering a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that temporarily stops his heart from pumping correctly. Doctors keep him for observation and medication adjustments; the 56-year-old jokes about his bruised face. This marks another serious health episode following his 2022 stroke and 2023 light-headedness hospitalization. He’s already dodging constituents and behaving erratically. Is it time for Pennsylvania to get new representation?Secret DOJ Memo Uses Pretzel Logic to Justify Trump Boat Strikes: Echoing the Bush Adminstration’s “torture memo” by John Yoo, a classified 40-page Justice Department memo justifies Trump’s lethal naval strikes that have killed 80 suspected drug smugglers (and fishermen) by declaring the U.S. in armed conflict with “narco-terrorist” cartels—relying almost entirely on unverified White House claims. The memo treats drug boats as lawful military targets and provides immunity defenses against future murder charges. Critics call it legal cover for extrajudicial killings with no congressional authorization.Hitler DNA Reveals Rare Gene: New genetic analysis of verified Hitler blood from his 1945 bunker couch reveals a rare PROK2 mutation linked to Kallmann syndrome, delayed puberty, and possible undescended testicles/micropenis. The study definitively debunks Jewish ancestry rumors and finds extraordinarily high polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia, autism, and ADHD. Researchers stress the findings explain nothing about the Holocaust and warn against stigmatizing these conditions.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou examine the late child predator Jeffrey Epstein's claims that President Trump "spent hours" at his house with victim Virginia Giuffre and "knew about the girls," Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s belated condemnation of "shocking" settler attacks, and the Trump Organization files for a record 184 H-2A/H-2B foreign workers in 2025—up from 121 in 2021—for Mar-a-Lago servers. Is it really that hard to find good help here at home?Epstein-Trump Emails: House Democrats release explosive emails from Epstein's estate, asserting Trump "spent hours" with victim Virginia Giuffre at Epstein's home and "knew about the girls," including underage victims, in exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell and Michael Wolff dating back to 2011 and 2019. Republicans fire back by unveiling over 20,000 pages of documents, denouncing the selective Democratic picks as a "hoax" timed to overshadow the government shutdown's resolution. Bipartisan momentum builds for a full Epstein files vote next week, despite Trump's vehement denials and White House claims of a smear campaign. Also: what about the rest of the Epstein Files over at the DOJ?West Bank Settler Violence: Better decades late than never! Israeli President Herzog finally condemns "shocking and serious" attacks today, where masked settlers torch dairy trucks, farmland, and a mosque in Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, clashing with soldiers and wounding four Palestinians during olive harvests. Army chief Eyal Zamir echoes the rebuke, pledging to halt the "minority of criminals" diverting forces from counterterrorism, as UN reports October's 260+ incidents—the highest since 2006. Police arrest four Israelis, releasing three while probing arson and assaults, amid accusations of far-right government complicity. Meanwhile, the big question is: why do Israelis live in the West Bank?Trump Hires Hundreds of Foreign Workers: The Trump Organization requests a record 184 H-2A/H-2B visas for this year, staffing Mar-a-Lago, golf clubs, and Virginia estates with foreign servers, farmhands, and housekeepers—up from 121 in 2021, totaling 566 approvals. Trump justifies "talent" imports on Fox News, countering wage concerns, yet faces backlash from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's X criticism of worker replacement. This follows his September H-1B fee hike to $100,000, highlighting tensions in his deportation push. If the nation’s most prominent critic of immigration can’t find Americans, what’s really happening?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou cue up the long-awaited Epstein files vote; a Trump Administration investigation of UC Berkeley over a skirmish at a Turning Point protest; the torture of 252 Venezuelans in El Salvador at the behest of the US; JNIM's fuel blockade highlights the rise of Al Qaeda in the Sahel in the wake of French withdrawals. DOJ Investigates UC Berkeley Protest Incident: The Justice Department announces an investigation into UC Berkeley after protesters confront Turning Point USA event attendees, with civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon labeling demonstrators as Antifa operating with impunity. Protests outside Zellerbach Hall feature chants against Trump, a brief scatter from fireworks mistaken for gunshots, and four arrests including one violent off-campus incident. The probe may fold into ongoing UC system scrutiny over antisemitism and diversity practices, while the university condemns violence and cooperates with FBI. Will the White House babysit Turning Point everywhere they go?Epstein Files Discharge Petition Reaches 218 Signatures: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva affixes the final signature to the bipartisan discharge petition led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna immediately after her swearing-in last night, triggering a seven-legislative-day countdown for the bill forcing full DOJ Epstein files release to hit the House floor. Senior aides estimate a contentious December vote, despite Speaker Mike Johnson's pivot to opposing it and Trump downplaying the matter as a hoax. Three GOP women—Boebert, Greene, and Mace—remain supportive amid White House pressure, with Massie predicting passage and potential Johnson allowing vulnerable members to vote yes.Venezuelans Tortured in El Salvador Gulag: A Human Rights Watch and Cristosal report reveals over 252 Venezuelans deported under Trump's policy endure systematic torture, sexual assault, beatings, and inhumane conditions at CECOT mega-prison. Detainees face prolonged incommunicado detention, inadequate food, and abuses after visits by officials like Kristi Noem, with the US paying $4.7 million to El Salvador despite known abuse. Groups demand independent DOJ investigation and halt to third-country deportations, comparing it to Abu Ghraib and accusing Trump administration complicity.JNIM Blockade Paralyzes Bamako, Mali: Al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM seals highways since September, imposing fuel blockade on Mali's capital, causing soaring prices, power cuts, school closures, and resident desperation. Ambushs burn tankers, abandon vehicles clog streets, and Western nations evacuate staff as JNIM leverages discontent to pressure military government toward negotiations. Analysts see growing JNIM hold aiming for regime change in Mali and Burkina Faso, with local deals in regions allowing siege lifts for taxes and non-cooperation with forces.

Like you, political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou took note of the fact that Democrats won the elections—so why are they surrendering on the shutdown/healthcare tax credits showdown? Explore the exploding civil war within the Democratic Party.Democratic Traitors Join GOP: Eight Democrats, including Sens. Tim Kaine, Jeanne Shaheen, and Angus King, join Republicans in a 60-40 procedural victory late Sunday, overcoming 14 failed attempts to push a House-passed stopgap measure. This breakthrough, emerging from round-the-clock bipartisan talks, amends the bill to bundle three longer-term appropriations, extend funding through January 30, 2026, and guarantee retroactive pay for furloughed workers—which they would have received anyway—while restoring full SNAP and Veterans Affairs funding through September. Though hurdles like House votes loom, President Trump signals optimism upon returning to the White House, declaring the deal "very close" to ending the crisis as early as this week.What Next: The Senate adjourned around 11:15 p.m., reconvening at 11 a.m. this morning amid applause for the motion, with whip notices alerting House members to prepare for votes within 36 hours—their first since September 19. Defector Democrats defend the compromise in a presser, with Shaheen insisting "this was the only deal on the table" and Kaine highlighting secured SNAP relief plus a December vote on expiring ACA tax credits aiding 20 million users, despite holdouts like Sen. John Hickenlooper decrying it as yielding to "strongman" tactics without full healthcare restoration. Will a recalled House release the Epstein files?Election Defendants Receive Pardon: Trump issues "full, complete, and unconditional" federal pardons for 77 allies tied to 2020 election subversion, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, and fake electors from Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, as proclaimed by Pardon Attorney Ed Martin. This symbolic shield—covering federal charges only, excluding state cases like Georgia's—frames the acts as rectifying a "grave national injustice" to foster "national reconciliation," while also granting clemency to a retired NYPD officer convicted of stalking for China and MLB star Darryl Strawberry for 1995 tax evasion. Nord Stream Sabotage Probe: German investigators say they have a "clear picture" linking the 2022 Baltic Sea pipeline blasts—aimed at slashing Russia's oil revenues and Germany ties—to an elite Ukrainian military unit under then-commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and now ambassador to London, per a Wall Street Journal report. Tracking boat rentals, phones, plates, and a speed-camera photo identified via facial recognition, authorities issue warrants for three Ukrainian soldiers and four deep-sea divers, including unit leader Serhii K., a 46-year-old SBU veteran traced from Poland (via diplomatic BMW) to Italy, where extradition hearings loom by December. This three-year probe, threatening Ukraine's European support, exposes rifts as Zaluzhnyi denies involvement, potentially straining Berlin-Kyiv relations amid ongoing trials.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou updates you on the chilling US military base scare, a courtroom triumph for the nation’s most famous lunchmeat tosser, and a fierce congressional clash over war powers.Kazakhstan Joins Abraham Accords: President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signs up with Trump’s effort to bring together Muslim countries with Israel. This move reinvigorates the U.S.-led framework for Israel-Arab-Muslim cooperation, attempting to signal religious tolerance and regional integration—but there were no prior conflicts between the nations, so does this mean much? Trump is eyeing expansions to Saudi Arabia and beyond to repair Israel's Gaza-war isolation. Can he rehabilitate the Jewish state?Airline Chaos Begins: The FAA mandates airlines slashing thousands of flights starting today, grappling with air traffic controller shortages in the longest government shutdown ever. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA head Bryan Bedford enforce 10% cuts at 40 high-impact airports, with carriers waiving fees and prioritizing long-haul and international over regional and domestic routes. As of 4:25 a.m. Friday, 815 cancellations and 504 delays mount nationwide, per FlightAware, while analysis shows delays surging to 25% at major hubs. What will be the economic and political impact?Airbase Terror Attack: A suspicious package containing white powder forces the evacuation of a building at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, hospitalizing multiple personnel yesterday. First responders and Hazmat teams clear immediate threats, handing off to investigators probing “political propaganda” inside, as the Air National Guard Readiness Center remains sealed. Trump visited the VIP-transit base Wednesday, heightening scrutiny on this unexplained illness cluster amid ongoing probes. Who is behind this and what’s happening?Submarine Hero: Sean Dunn scores a not-guilty verdict for tossing a Subway sandwich at a federal officer during early Trump-era DC enforcement surges. Videos capture Dunn yelling distractions to shield a Latin LGBTQ nightclub from raids before fleeing, symbolizing jest-laced resistance via posters and jokes. Jurors dismiss assault claims after debating the wrapped footlong's harmlessness, and prosecutors receive a clear message about overcharging. Is it open season on ICE?Senate Abdicates War Powers on Venezuela: The Senate defeats a bipartisan bill 49-51 requiring a congressional nod for Trump strikes against Venezuela, amid secrecy over cartel boat raids killing nearly 70. Sponsors like Tim Kaine decry expansive presidential powers lacking constitutional backing, urging Congress to reclaim war authority. Only two Republicans defect, as White House briefings on legal rationales sway most, despite frustrations over covert CIA ops and Caribbean military buildup. Will the White House read this as a thumbs-up for war?

cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou catch you up on the one-two punch of Tuesday’s Democratic electoral sweep coupled with the understanding that voters blame Republicans for the shutdown, reduced SNAP benefits, the Obamacare benefits crisis and now, a looming crisis facing America’s aviation system.Supreme Court Seems Likely to Overturn Trump's Tariffs: The Supreme Court convenes intense oral arguments, probing Trump's invocation of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to slap sweeping tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, including China, Canada, and Mexico. Justices, including conservatives like Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, voice deep reservations about relying on declared emergencies for unchecked economic powers, questioning if such broad powers unconstitutionally delegate Congress's authority under the major-questions doctrine. As plaintiffs—ranging from toy importers in Illinois to Democratic-led states like Oregon—argue that erratic tariff announcements spike costs and sow uncertainty for businesses, the administration counters by citing historical precedents like Nixon's similar uses, framing a loss as "catastrophic" for U.S. economic health amid global trade wars. Markets rise on the SCOTUS news, signaling Wall Street’s displeasure with Trump’s trade policies.Crisis in the Skies: The FAA will reduce flights at dozens of major airports as early as tomorrow if no shutdown deal is reached, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. Ten percent of air traffic at 40 airports would be cut, though the details of which specific airports will be impacted was not revealed. “As we start to implement this draw down in service, it will be restricted to these 40 high volume traffic markets,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “We’re going to ask the airlines to work with us collaboratively to reduce their schedules.” The “draw down in service” at these busy airports comes as air traffic control staffing shortages during the shutdown of have caused delays. Controllers are considered essential employees and must work during the shutdown, but are not being paid. Duffy has said some are calling in sick to work other jobs or as protest for not getting paid.White House Blamed for High Prices: As Democrats celebrate the elections, Republican analysts say voters are sending Trump a message: get your eye back on the ball—here in the States. Americans, gripped by economic discontent, prioritize affordability over immigration or culture wars, citing persistent inflation, 22% electricity rate hikes in New Jersey, federal workforce cuts impacting Virginia, and the 36-day government shutdown eroding food assistance and health subsidies. Allies like James Blair and Steve Bannon urge Trump to refocus on pocketbook promises—lowering prices, implementing job-creating investments, and addressing "inherited disasters" from Biden—echoing warnings from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that neglecting economic populism invites electoral disaster heading into 2026 midterms.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you what the Democrats’ elections sweep means and what comes next for the future of their party and the country.Zohran Mamdani's Triumph: Once again, “DeProgram” called the election results on the nose, within 0.5 percent. Over two million New Yorkers cast votes, doubling 2021 turnout and electing 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York's 111th mayor, toppling Andrew Cuomo's dynasty-backed machine. Mamdani forges a bold coalition, rallying young gentrifiers in Bushwick alongside working-class South Asian immigrants in Queens, while flipping Bronx and Brooklyn's Black and Latino strongholds by double-digit margins despite $40 million in superPAC smears laced with Islamophobia. This upset signals a generational revolt, with Mamdani poised to tax the ultra-rich for affordability reforms amid Trump's shadow. Is progressivism the future of the Democratic Party?Exxon's Covert Climate-Denial Campaign in Latin America: Newly unearthed documents expose that Exxon funneled cash to the Atlas Network in the late 1990s and 2000s, bankrolling Spanish translations of denialist tracts like Fred Singer's anti-Kyoto Treaty screeds and flying U.S. skeptics to Buenos Aires seminars on COP4's eve to sway ministers and media. The strategy sowed doubt about global warming in the Global South, aiming to torpedo UN treaties by stoking economic fears, with $50,000 checks (equivalent to $100,000 today) fueling events that echo today's Amazon tipping points and irreversible coral die-offs. As Brazil gears up for COP30, this revelation underscores fossil fuel giants' enduring sabotage of planetary survival.Airspace Chaos Next Week?: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatens to shut down swaths of U.S. airspace next week if the 35-day shutdown persists, citing 3,000-controller shortages fueling "mass chaos" at hubs like JFK and Newark, where lines stretch hours amid fatigue-driven delays. Essential workers are still working without pay, with 393 FAA facilities hitting triggers—four times last year's rate—forcing reduced flight volumes and risking a Thanksgiving meltdown. This brinkmanship pressures Democrats, highlighting Trump's fiscal warfare's human toll on travel and safety.The War for the Democratic Party: Center-left Abigail Spanberger storms to Virginia's first female governorship with 57% against Winsome Earle-Sears, while center-left Mikie Sherrill secures New Jersey's helm by double digits, both hammering affordability and Trump cuts amid economic angst. California voters approve Prop 50, redrawing maps for five Democratic House seats, countering GOP gerrymanders as turnout surges in anti-Trump backlash. These wins—from Mamdani's populist fire to moderate surges—expose party fractures over ideology, fueling 2026 midterm battles and a progressive-centrist showdown.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explore the legacy of Dick Cheney, America's most powerful modern vice president and chief architect of the "war on terror,” Israel’s top army lawyer imprisoned after she exposed IDF’s sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee, the shakeup at the Heritage Foundation over Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, and Tanzania's sham elections and resulting street unrest.Dick Cheney’s Death: Complications from pneumonia and cardiac disease kill the influential VP at 84, surrounded by loved ones praising his legacy of national service and personal virtues like fly fishing. As the neoconservative architect of post-9/11 wars including the Iraq invasion based on lies, he leaves a polarizing mark, ending his political life by criticizing Trump and endorsing Harris. Recent tributes highlight his bunker directives on 9/11 and unyielding defense of torture, shaping two decades of brutal U.S. foreign policy.Israel’s Wrong Scandal: Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi's remains in jail on fraud and obstruction charges, following a frantic beach search sparked by her disappearance post-resignation. The whistleblower leaked a video revealing soldiers' knife sodomy assault on a Palestinian at Sde Teiman, causing severe rectal perforation and rib fractures. Weirdly, Israelis are mad at HER. The saga, also detaining ex-prosecutor Matan Solomesh, amplifies Israel's polarization, eclipsing abuse inquiries amid Netanyahu allies' insults like "resume the lynch."Heritage Shakeup: Chief Kevin Roberts announces reassignments amid uproar over defending Tucker Carlson's Nick Fuentes interview. Roberts' reaffirms anti-antisemitism efforts and anti-cancel culture stance, balancing Israel views while pushing Heritage 2.0 unity and moral conviction.Tanzania Election Violence: Africa’s crises spread. President Samia Suluhu Hassan takes office privately amid 98% "win" after banning Chadema, with leader Tundu Lissu in solitary on treason charges facing execution, as over 1,000 protesters reportedly die in crackdowns—bodies piling in streets, mass graves piling up under internet blackouts. Schools close, transport stops, hospitals overflow with bullet-riddled youth, despite 2021 reforms now reversed into worse repression than "Bulldozer" Magufuli. Pope Leo calls for dialogue, AU applauds, but opposition vows endurance against the "total sham," echoing African disputed polls in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explain why Wednesday's landmark hearing before the Supreme Court about President Trump's tariffs may be the most important constitutional case of our lives, how AI spending surges toward $400 billion this year on infrastructure may be a warning sign of a corporate bubble about to burst, how New York City’s big mayoral election tomorrow will widen the schism within the Democratic Party and handicaps the seriousness of Trump’s threats of "guns-a-blazing" military action against Nigeria over alleged Christian persecution.Supreme Court Tariff Showdown: The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on Trump's IEEPA tariffs, deciding if the 1970s law authorizes import taxes amid global trade reshaping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that Trump raised alarms on a trade crisis tipping point, justifying emergency leverage like a theoretical pre-2008 housing warning. A loss risks chaotic refunds, revenue dips brightening fiscal outlooks, and undermined deals, curbing the Oval Office's quick "tariff switch."AI Bubble Warnings: Tech firms project $400 billion in AI infrastructure spending this year, outpacing Apollo's moon mission costs every 10 months, yet U.S. consumers spend only $12 billion annually on services. Startup “Thinking Machines” secures $2 billion at $10 billion valuation without products, with Mira Murati dodging investor questions in absurd pitches. Hyperscalers use Special Purpose Vehicles and accounting gimmicks to hide high costs and low revenues, driving momentum in stocks detached from fundamentals as usage declines in enterprises.NYC Mayoral Frenzy: Candidates crisscross New York’s five boroughs, as early voting surges past 735,000 ballots under sunny skies with 50-minute waits. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani mobilizes 100,000 volunteers for 200,000 door knocks, eyeing record-breaking get-out-the-vote amid barbs accusing Andrew Cuomo of being Trump’s puppet. As Mamdani prepares for victory, the progressives-vs-corporatists schism in the Democratic Party will once again explode.Trump Thereatens to Invade Nigeria: Trump orders Pentagon planning for potential "guns-a-blazing" intervention in Nigeria, citing Christian persecution and halting aid. Spokesman Daniel Bwala counters that unilateral action is impossible in sovereign Nigeria, blaming misleading outdated Boko Haram reports. Violence impacts Christians and Muslims via insurgents and gangs; Tinubu rejects designation, vowing faith community protections.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou take you from nuclear brinkmanship to economic sabotage and humanitarian crises.Nuke Testing Is Back: Trump shocks the globe by ordering the Pentagon to immediately resume U.S. nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year moratorium, while en route to a high-stakes summit with China's Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. Citing Russia's recent trials of nuclear-capable Burevestnik missiles and Poseidon underwater drones—said by the Kremlin to be non-nuclear detonations—and China's arsenal doubling to 600 warheads since 2020, Trump insists on matching rivals "on an equal basis" despite huge U.S. stockpiles leading at around 5,177 warheads. This reversal of post-Cold War policy, issued just 100 days before New START's 2026 expiration, draws sharp rebukes from Beijing urging CTBT compliance and Moscow warning of reciprocal actions, heightening fears of a renewed arms race.Argentine Beef Are Not America First: American ranchers erupt in fury as Trump's administration quadruples low-tariff beef imports from Argentina to try to slash soaring steak and hamburger prices, advancing the plan despite fierce objections from farm-state Republicans like retiring Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who corner USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins in meetings. House Republicans, including Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), fire off a scathing letter decrying the move as a "betrayal of America First principles," arguing it undercuts domestic producers amid record-high U.S. cattle prices and Argentina's unbalanced trade surplus. While White House officials tout long-term industry boosts like expanded grazing and disaster relief, the policy—tied to bolstering ally President Javier Milei—exposes deepening GOP fractures.SNAP Benefits Crisis Threatens GOP: As Saturday looms, 42 million low-income Americans face a devastating SNAP freeze, with Democrats accusing the Trump administration of "weaponizing hunger" by illegally withholding $6 billion in contingency funds despite prior shutdown precedents. A coalition of 25 states and D.C. sues USDA, highlighting the program's historic first lapse and available pots of money—like those tapped for WIC earlier this month—while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasts Trump for turning children, seniors, and veterans into "political pawns." OMB defends reserving funds solely for disasters like Hurricane Melissa, but experts decry the stance as "blatantly lawless," amplifying shutdown pressures as federal paychecks miss Friday's cycle and anti-hunger rallies surge.Dutch Election: In a nail-biting upset, centrist D66 surges to a near-tie with Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom, each clinching 26 seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament as 99.6% of votes tally, marking D66's historic near-tripling from nine seats and PVV's sharp drop from 2023 highs. Wilders, who triggered the snap poll by torpedoing the 11-month coalition over migration disputes, vows to block D66-led talks despite exclusion by rivals, while leader Rob Jetten hails voters' pivot to "positive forces" amid housing crises and healthcare woes. This unprecedented deadlock delays coalition formation, with analysts eyeing a centrist bloc excluding populism even as PVV-lite JA21 gains nine seats, signaling Europe's shifting tides against hard-right dominance.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explain the battle between a federal judge and the Trump Administration over SNAP Benefits, Congressional skepticism over the DoD's Drug Boat Strikes and rumors that Pakistan Will Send Troops to Gaza.SNAP Benefits Battle Intensifies: A Boston federal judge signals that she will overturn the Trump administration's refusal to release $5.3 billion in emergency funds, threatening food-stamp aid for 42 million Americans amid the government shutdown. Judge Indira Talwani questions the White House’s logic in suspending SNAP entirely, emphasizing Congress's intent to protect families from hunger, while states like New Mexico pledge $30 million and New York fast-tracks $30 million more to bridge gaps. Lawsuits from 25 Democratic-led states argue that the Republican position violates federal law, as partial payments loom uncertain and food banks brace for surging demand.So Trump Calls for the “Nuclear Option”: Not that nuclear option, the Senate one. One month into the shutdown, with Democrats scoring a rare political win, the President is calling for a radical change to the Senate and representative democracy itself. Meanwhile, Gen Z voters are turning against Team Red in a big way: The latest YouGov/Economist poll, conducted from Oct. 24-27, found that 20% of adults under the age of 30 approved of Trump, a 30-point drop from February, when 50% of 18-to-29-year-olds approved of Trump and 42% disapproved. DoD Doesn’t Know Dick: Defense officials admit in a classified briefing they cannot identify the victims killed in 14 air strikes conducted in the Caribbean over the past two months, claiming at least 57 lives, frustrating bipartisan lawmakers demanding oversight. Rep. Sara Jacobs highlights the Trumps’ unsatisfactory answers on linking vessels to terrorist groups, while primarily cocaine-laden boats fuel doubts about curbing fentanyl flows amid 70% overdose links. A new Pacific strike kills four more—who?—escalating concerns over legality as the Senate eyes war powers restrictions.Pakistan Gaza Troop Rumors: Reports rare roiling the Muslim world that Pakistan is planning to deploy 20,000 troops to a International Stabilization Force in Gaza, brokered via alleged CIA-Mossad deals in order to neutralize Hamas and secure buffers under Trump's 20-point plan. Officials say the claims are fake news, stressing no troop commitments despite advanced internal talks, while economic incentives like World Bank relief dangle. Backlash brews from Iran, Turkey, and Qatar, threatening Pakistan's Muslim-world ties as the ISF eyes handover to Palestinian Authority.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you about the Pete Buttigieg surge, the last days of a fading Biden, covering up Israel’s murder of Abu Akleh, and how honeytraps are infiltrating the West. Team Democrat Is All About Pete: Confirming Ted’s prediction, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is the Democratic Party’s early presidential frontrunner in New Hampshire, topping Gavin Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Kamala Harris in a new University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll. Capturing 19%, Buttigieg leads Newsom by 4%, with Ocasio-Cortez at 14% and Harris at 11%, while Bernie Sanders garners 8% and IJB Pritzker secures 6%. New Hampshire highlights Buttigieg’s dominance with a +75% net-favorability rating (81% favorable, 6% unfavorable). On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance commands a massive lead in the same poll among 688 likely voters, securing 51% support and dwarfing former Nikki Haley (9%), Tulsi Gabbard (8%), and Marco Rubio (5%). Biden Report: A bombshell 91-page House Oversight Committee staff report, based on over a dozen interviews with Biden aides, declares that dozens of Joe Biden’s executive actions “cannot all be deemed his own” amid advisers propping up the president during his physical and cognitive decline. The document details Biden’s inner circle meticulously stage-managing appearances, lightening workloads, limiting steps walked, minimizing cabinet meetings, seeking Hollywood direction for events, and using teleprompters at intimate gatherings. Executive orders and pardons signed by autopen, including Hunter Biden’s sweeping clemency, face calls to be voided for lacking traceable presidential consent, with former chief of staff Jeff Zients admitting ignorance of autopen operators. Shireen Abu Akleh Shooting Cover-Up: U.S. officials are deeply divided over the 2022 fatal shooting of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank, with some convinced Israeli forces intentionally targeted her despite the State Department’s equivocal assessment blaming “tragic circumstances” without intent. Retired Col. Steve Gabavics, former chief of staff at the U.S. Security Coordinator office leading the review, publicly challenges the findings, asserting evidence like radio traffic awareness of journalists, clear visibility from a sniper vehicle, and precise shots indicate deliberate action. Gabavics clashes with boss Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, who sidelines him and stands by cautious conclusions to preserve Israeli cooperation, as internal drafts soften language on intent.Seductive Spying: Moscow and Beijing are unleashing seductive spies flooding U.S. tech heartlands, stealing secrets through lust and lies in a new “sex war” exploiting human weaknesses for psychological and economic warfare. Experts highlight China targeting startups, academia, and DoD projects with attractive operatives on LinkedIn and at conferences, while Russia revives figures like Anna Chapman and deploys honeytraps marrying targets for lifelong operations. Cases include Fang Fang seducing U.S. politicians, pitch competitions extracting IP, and thefts costing up to $600 billion annually, giving adversaries an asymmetric advantage as America avoids such tactics. Or do we?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tell you about Argentina’s midterm elections, where President Javier Milei’s party secures a landslide victory, the US-China trade deal framework forged at the ASEAN summit, arrests in the audacious $102 million Louvre crown jewel heist, and the US-China race for Pacific seabed minerals in the Cook Islands. Plus, we answer your questions about any topic you want while we’re live!Argentina’s Midterm Elections: Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party dominates Argentina’s midterm elections, scoring 41% of the vote, 13 Senate seats, and 64 lower-house seats. His radical right-wing austerity cuts and deregulatory agenda gain traction, though critics highlight job losses and strained public services as the economy tanks. President Trump’s $40 billion bailout underscores Milei’s MAGA ties, raising worries about American imperialism.US-China Trade Deal Framework: The US and China agree on a trade deal framework at the ASEAN summit, pausing 100% tariff threats for now and addressing TikTok’s US sale. China delays export controls on critical minerals for a year, while both sides aim to boost US soya bean exports. This truce eases global trade war fears ahead of Trump and Xi’s Thursday meeting. Can these tensions be resolved?Louvre Jewel Heist: French authorities arrest suspects linked to the $102 million Louvre jewel theft, with one caught at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The heist, executed in under eight minutes, targeted historic treasures like Empress Eugénie’s diadem. Investigators work to recover stolen items, as the museum reels from national humiliation and cultural loss.US-China Seabed Mineral Race: The US and China intensify exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands’ Pacific seabed, rich in cobalt and nickel. Environmental concerns clash with geopolitical ambitions, with 38 countries urging a mining moratorium. The Cook Islands balances scientific research with potential commercial development, navigating global pressures.

Tune in to the “DMZ America Podcast” as nationally-syndicated editorial cartoonists Ted Rall and Scott Stantis interview Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Matt Wuerker of “The Politico.” They’ll discuss their own cartoons about the news and issues of the week, as well as those of their peers. Don’t be surprised if the state of the media and cartooning come up as well.Matt Wuerker, born in 1956, is renowned for his incisive, visually rich commentary on the absurdities of power. A graduate of Lewis & Clark College with a BA in 1979, he honed his craft as chief editorial cartoonist for the student newspaper, The Pioneer Log, blending satire with masterful draftsmanship inspired by Saul Steinberg and 19th-century masters like A.B. Frost.Since 2006, Wuerker has been Politico's founding staff cartoonist, his watercolors, cross-hatching, and animated works appearing on front pages and gracing outlets like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Nation. A 2009 and 2010 Pulitzer finalist, he clinched the prize in 2012 for cartoons that "persuade rather than rant," alongside the 2010 Herblock Award for courageous editorial art. Based in D.C. near the National Zoo, Wuerker delights in the "political circus," wielding humor to illuminate truth with minimal supervision.

On DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: mysterious bodies washing ashore in Trinidad prompt questions about U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, Silicon Valley tech bros convince Trump to cancel a federal troop surge in San Francisco, and a U.S. official warns Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu that stunts like a bill to annex parts of the West Bank could cause the U.S. to cut off Israel entirely.Not So Fun in the Sun: Unidentified corpses with burn marks and missing limbs wash ashore in Trinidad, linked to U.S. military strikes targeting Venezuela’s supposed drug boats. Trinidad’s Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar supports the U.S. campaign, but locals question the lack of asking questions about the dead. The mystery deepens as two Trinidadians, Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, are reportedly killed in a recent strike, raising concerns about civilian casualties.Silicon Valley Tells Trump To Back Off SF: Tech bros Jensen Huang and Marc Benioff persuade President Trump to stop his planned federal troop invasion in San Francisco. Their influence, backed by millions in contributions, underscores a cozy relationship with the White House. Critics warn that unelected CEOs are shaping policies that impact millions, sidelining ordinary citizens.Israel-US Relations At Lowest Point Ever: Israel’s Knesset advances bills to annex parts of the West Bank, shocking U.S. Vice President JD Vance during his visit and angering Trump. A U.S. official warns that Netanyahu’s actions could end U.S. ties to Israel entirely.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, back from Mexico, tell you about the reaction to Donald Trump’s radical move to demolish the White House’s East Wing to replace it with a hulking a $250 million ballroom, San Francisco’s bold legal stance against immigration raids, with local officials warning that federal agents could face arrest, and the military’s lethal strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific.Trump’s Ballroom Blitz: A White House wrecking crew tears down the historic East Wing to build a massive $250 million ballroom, evoking Obama’s 2011 satirical vision of a garish Trump White House. Critics, including historians, condemn the project as a symbol of his disruptive presidency. The National Trust for Historic Preservation urges a pause, citing the ballroom’s overwhelming scale. San Francisco Threatens ICE: Nancy Pelosi and SF officials warn that federal agents conducting immigration raids in San Francisco could face arrest for breaking California law. DA Brooke Jenkins’ strategy focuses on prosecuting excessive force, though legal challenges loom. The plan sparks debate over state versus federal authority. U.S. Attacks Boats in the Pacific: The U.S. military launches lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific, killing five in two attacks this week—refusing to provide any details about the victims. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls the targets “narco-terrorists,” but Colombian President Petro denounces the strikes as “murder” of innocent people The escalation raises concerns over legal authority and transparency.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explore topics shaking the world stage. Trump-Putin Talks on Hold: The White House now says there are no immediate plans for President Trump to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite Trump’s earlier suggestion of a Budapest summit to end the Ukraine war. After a “productive call” between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, Trump’s pattern of pivoting from sanctions or aid to diplomacy raises eyebrows. Experts warn of a familiar cycle with little progress. Shutdown Gets Real: Democrats are about to get the fight they want on November 1, when ACA subscribers see their premiums skyrocket. Premiums nationwide are set to rise by 18 percent on average. Nationally, the average marketplace consumer will pay $1,904 in annual premiums next year, up from $888 in 2025. The situation is particularly acute in Georgia, which recorded the second-highest enrollment of any state-run marketplace this year and and where 96 percent of marketplace enrollees in Georgia received subsidies this year. Georgians browsing the state website are seeing estimated monthly costs double or even triple, depending on their incomes, as lower subsidy thresholds resume. Will Republicans blink?America’s Covert War Against Venezuela: The U.S. military’s secretive Southern Caribbean campaign escalates, with seven airstrikes killing 32 off Venezuela’s coast, targeting alleged “narco-terrorists.” Trump confirms CIA covert operations, while the abrupt exit of SouthCom Commander Adm. Alvin Holsey sparks questions about the strikes’ legality. Critics, including Sen. Rand Paul,

Political cartoonist Ted Rall, and producer Robby West filling in for CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, confront the fallout from federal overreach in Chicago's ICE raids and the violent U.S. military brinkmanship off Venezuela's shores, revealing how unchecked authority clashes with human rights and global stability.Pressure on Bibi: Advocates of Israel believe Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu isn’t serious about the ceasefire and peace deal he signed and is secretly planning to scuttle Trump’s achievement as soon as he sees a chance. Trump agrees, so he’s sending Vice President JD Vance, Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, who were instrumental in brokering the deal to illustrate the administration’s commitment to keeping the deal intact and to try to keep Mr. Netanyahu from resuming an all-out assault against Hamas. What can/will they do?Post-9/11 Jitters: American Airlines Flight 6569 from Omaha to Los Angeles returned to its origination airport after 36 minutes after the pilot heard banging on the locked cockpit door—a security precaution instituted after 9/11—and worried that terrorists were trying to break in. As it turns out, the radio link between the flight deck and the main cabin was down and the crew had no way to communicate with the pilot. What if there had been an emergency in the cabin? Just a reminder that every safety measure can cause a new set of problems.Chicago Immigration Crackdown Hearing: Federal officials confront Judge Sara L. Ellis in a courtroom showdown, defending tear gas deployments that defy her recent order amid Operation Midway Blitz. Agents clashed with protesters, journalists, and clergy in Albany Park, dispersing crowds after a routine stop escalated into chaos with minimal warnings, as captured on video. Two days later, on the South Side, federal vehicles crashed into civilians, prompting agents to unleash tear gas on gathered residents, fueling plaintiffs' claims of constitutional violations and Judge Ellis's deepening frustration—she demands body cameras be constantly activated despite government pushback, signaling a judicial hammer poised to strike harder. How bad will ICE’s war against Chicago get?U.S. Troops Face Venezuela: 10,000 U.S. troops now patrol Caribbean waters, interdicting drug boats under the shadow of Maduro's emergency declaration, activating an 8-million-strong militia armed with RPGs, anti-tank systems, and urban warfare tactics drilled in Caracas shantytowns. Russian-supplied Sukhoi Su-30 jets buzz the USS Jason Dunham with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles, while S-125, Buk-M2E, and Igla-S systems guard oil sites and coasts, jamming U.S. communications in a contested electromagnetic spectrum that renders helicopters vulnerable. Despite B-52 flyovers and F-35 readiness, the deployment—bolstered by USS Iwo Jima and Tomahawk subs—lacks ground logistics for a full invasion, exposing interdiction ops to provocative close passes and potential retaliation from a force in "shambles" yet lethally asymmetric. Would this be the Western Hemisphere’s version of Bush’s disastrous Iraq War?

In this pulse-pounding episode of Deprogrammed, hosted by political cartoonist Ted Rall and whistleblower John Kiriakou, CNN anchor Jake Tapper joins for a riveting interview unpacking his new book, Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War, released on October 7, 2025. The conversation thrusts listeners into the heart of a real-life thriller: the unprecedented international pursuit and federal trial of Spin Ghul (real name: Ibrahim Harun), a high-ranking Al Qaeda operative who boasted of killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan before bizarrely surrendering to Italian authorities amid the 2011 Arab Spring chaos. Tapper, drawing from exhaustive reporting—including interviews with prosecutors, intelligence operatives, and even Ghul’s defense team—details the book’s explosive core: a high-stakes “police procedural” spanning refugee boats in the Mediterranean, Afghan battlefields, Brooklyn courtrooms, and Oval Office briefings. Ghul, a dark-skinned Pashtun fighter derisively nicknamed “White Rose” by his Arab Al Qaeda comrades amid the group’s internal racism, emerges as a bumbling yet deadly jihadist. Radicalized in the post-9/11 “Forever War” era, he ambushed U.S. convoys, racking up American casualties, only to flee Libya’s uprising and demand extradition while flashing bullet-scarred proof of his exploits. The narrative races through the frantic efforts of two relentless Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Brooklyn—racing against deportation deadlines and legal precedents—to secure the first-ever conviction of a foreign terrorist for battlefield murders in a civilian court, blurring lines between warfare, criminal justice, and counterterrorism. Kiriakou, with his CIA whistleblower lens, intensely questions Tapper on the blurred ethics of renditions, interrogations, and intel-sharing that snared Ghul, drawing eerie parallels to his own post-9/11 exposure of waterboarding horrors and warning of how such hunts eroded civil liberties. A masterclass in true-crime geopolitics laced with unfiltered edge, this Deprogram episode is unmissable for fans of high-stakes history. Stream on major platforms, and dive into Race Against Terror for the full, meticulously sourced saga of pursuit, prejudice, and precarious justice.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou analyze the Supreme Court’s probable gutting of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Trump eyeing covert strikes and land airstrikes against Venezuela, the decline of the power of the U.S. passport, and archivists race a looming "digital dark age.” House Gerrymandering by the Supreme Court: Republicans redraw districts, targeting Southern Democrats, but Democrats hold a House path—unless Louisiana v. Callais strikes Section 2. This would gut majority-minority mandates, enabling elimination of 7-8 Black-majority districts in Alabama through Florida by 2028. Democrats would face +5-point popular vote hurdles for competitiveness, turning all midterms into GOP locks.Trump's Venezuela Escalation: Trump has drawn a bead against the government of President Nicolás Maduro after five boat strikes killing 26. Now he’s considering U.S. military land strikes to halt Venezuelan drug flows and authorized the CIA with a “finding” that allows the agency to conduct covert operations there. Is this regime change?U.S. Passport Downgrade: Henley Index of “powerful passports” drops U.S. passport to 12th—first time outside top 10 in 20 years, tied with Malaysia, down from 7th last year. Trump's immigration crackdowns trigger reciprocity losses from Brazil, China, Vietnam, stagnating access to 180 destinations. Experts warn of fading soft power in an openness-driven world.Rescuing Floppy Disks: Cambridge archivists tackle 113 boxes of Stephen Hawking's papers, extracting data from degrading 1970s-90s floppy disks via the Future Nostalgia project. They battle magnetism loss, mould, and obsolete formats to save physics insights and personal notes. This combats a "digital dark age," preserving 50 years of computered history.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou unpack the fragile Gaza ceasefire teetering on the brink.Gaza Hostage Remains Crisis: Hamas returns the remains of four additional deceased hostages on Tuesday, including Guy Illouz and Bipin Joshi, through the Red Cross after Israel's threats to block Rafah and halve Gaza aid trucks for non-compliance with the U.S.-brokered deal. This dispute over the 28 promised bodies marks the peace process's inaugural crisis, with 24 still unrecovered—including Americans Itay Chen and Omer Neutra—trapped under rubble, as mediators press Hamas for maximum recovery efforts amid Netanyahu's unyielding demands. Trump's Truth Social post blasts the delay, insisting Phase Two—Hamas disarming—starts immediately, while officials note Hamas now grasps Israel's superior intelligence on body locations.U.S. Military Boat Strike off Venezuela: The U.S. military kills six men aboard a boat in international waters just off Venezuela's coast on Tuesday, marking the fifth such strike since September and totaling 27 deaths treated as wartime kills rather than arrests of criminal suspects. Trump posts a 33-second aerial video of the missile explosion on social media, asserting unproven intelligence links the vessel to narcoterrorist smuggling routes, as the administration builds naval presence with warships and submarines in the Caribbean. Legal experts slam the premeditated extrajudicial actions as illegal under laws barring civilian targeting without imminent threats, with nominees citing undisclosed Justice memos but no public analysis justifying war-like tactics over Coast Guard interdictions.Madagascar Military Power Seizure: The army in Madagascar seizes control on Tuesday, Colonel Michael Randrianirina from the elite CAPSAT unit announcing a joint military-police committee to swiftly install a civilian government after parliament impeaches President Andry Rajoelina, who flees into hiding fearing for his life amid weeks of Gen Z protests. Demonstrators in Antananarivo rage over six years without tap water despite payments, crippling electricity outages, and corruption in the nation of 31 million, with over 20 killed by authorities' deadly force as CAPSAT refuses to quash "brothers and sisters." Rajoelina, who rose via a 2009 CAPSAT-backed coup, dissolves parliament in a failed block, denouncing the takeover as a "coup d'etat" while protesters hail it as a supported popular revolution, waving anime pirate flags in global youth solidarity.Young Republicans Telegram Scandal: Leaked seven-month Telegram chats among Young Republican leaders from New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont overflow with racial slurs like "n--ga" used over a dozen times by Kansas vice chair William Hendrix, references to Black people as "monkeys" and "watermelon people," and fantasies of gassing opponents in chambers unfit for the "Hitler aesthetic." New York vice chair Bobby Walker calls rape "epic," while chair Peter Giunta threatens "physiological torture" for non-believers during a federation vote, with members like Joe Maligno and Annie Kaykaty joking about showers masking gas and watching people burn. The exposure prompts job firings, rescinded offers, and condemnations from Rep. Elise Stefanik and GOP chair Ed Cox, igniting intraparty recriminations of character assassination and extortion as the group frets over leaks dooming their "true believers."

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou catch you up after the long weekend, beginning with a L.A. story with a personal connection to “Deprogram.”Is Los Angeles for Sale?: Austin Beutner, scandal-plagued billionaire and widely reviled ex-LA schools superintendent, plans to run against Mayor Karen Bass, criticizing her over homelessness and living costs. As ex-publisher of the LA Times, Beutner secretly conspired with corrupt ex-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to fire and smear Ted because his cartoons criticized the police, and got fired due to the subscriber backlash and his boardroom plots. As Ted later learned, Beutner was a dollar-for-dollar match donor to the LAPD pension fund. Will Angelenos get conned by a grifter who makes Eric Adams look honest?Iran’s Trans Medical Tourism: Iran promotes gender transition surgeries to attract LGBTQ foreigners, offering low-cost procedures alongside luxury travel packages. Despite Iran’s reputation for affordable care, the policy stems from a history of coerced gender-affirming surgical operations.Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Clash: The Taliban confirms attacks on Pakistani troops, saying they are retaliation for airspace violations, with 58 reported deaths. Pakistan disputes the toll, and closes border crossings. Tensions soar as both sides trade accusations of harboring terrorists. Are Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a long complicated relationship, at the brink of war?Madagascar Crisis: About to be impeached, President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar has dissolved his country’s National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, hours after saying that he had gone into hiding at an undisclosed location out of fear for his safety over weeks of Gen-Z anti-government protests over lack of water and power that have killed 22 people.Federal Workers’ Mass Retirements: A massive wave of federal retirements and buyouts is straining agencies amid the shutdown. Over 154,000 employees leave, overwhelming HR offices. But isn’t a workforce reduction what DOGE and Trump wanted?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou bring you up to date on the ceasefire deal seeking to end the Gaza War. President Trump delivers ironclad guarantees preventing Israel from abandoning the ceasefire, with U.S. officials revealing a pivotal U.S.-led military task force monitoring violations—exposing the moral bankruptcy of those who claimed the U.S. could not control Israel. Similarly, food aid will now flow into Gaza, belying Israelis who kept claiming they were not keeping it out.Also: New York AG Letitia James faces bank fraud charges, judges shield Chicago journalists and protesters from DHS riot weapons, New York City's mayoral race tightens post-Adams' exit, and Peru's Congress impeaches President Dina Boluarte.How Trump Leaned on Israel: President Trump issued personal guarantees securing the Gaza deal, establishing a 200-soldier U.S.-led task force with Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and UAE officers to monitor compliance. IDF withdrawal begins at noon local time and Hamas' hostage release—20 alive—will occur Monday, as eyes turn to two questions. Who will rule Gaza? How low will Israel’s reputation sink when the world gets to see the full scope of its genocide? Indictment Letitia James: A Virginia grand jury charges NY AG James with bank fraud and false statements for claiming her $137,000 Norfolk home as a secondary residence, actually an investment yielding $19,000 in interest savings. This second high-profile foe indictment in weeks follows Comey's charges, with probes into Schiff and Cook amid Trump's retribution push. Judge Tells ICE To Stop Brutalizing Journalists: Judge Ellis temporarily bans DHS agents from targeting journalists or protesters with riot weapons at ICE sites, requiring two audible warnings and visible IDs unless undercover. Force, arrests, or dispersal apply only with probable cause unrelated to orders, protecting First Amendment amid "extreme brutality" claims.Cuomo Losing By Less: Quinnipiac's October 3-7 survey shows Mamdani leading 46-33% over Cuomo, gaining no new ground but sustaining enthusiasm post-Adams' September dropout. Cuomo absorbs most ex-Mayor Adams support, up 10 points in four-way race with Sliwa at 15%, margins at ±3.9%. Mamdani, sole favorably viewed, eyes debates without hitting 50%.Peru President's Impeached: Congress ousts Dina Boluarte 122-0, citing moral incapacity after Wednesday's Lima cumbia concert machine-gun attack wounds four band members. Extortion explodes to 2,000 monthly cases, killing bus drivers and bombing businesses, dooming her 2-4% approval despite emergency decrees. Protesters rally outside Ecuador embassy on asylum rumors; Congress president assumes interim role until April elections.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, dissect the shocking new deal for Gaza, which appears to hand Hamas a major win over Israel, as well as other stories you need to know about.Gaza Deal: Brokered by a Trump increasingly disgusted by Netanyahu, Israel and Hamas negotiate a hostage-prisoner swap that seems to favor the Palestinians, exchanging 20 Israeli captives for 250 life-sentence Palestinians and 1,700 jailed Gazans,. Netanyahu convenes his cabinet today to ratify the deal, risking his fragile coalition. Israel is required to withdraw and finally allow aid—an admission the Jewish state was blocking it—while Hamas still hasn’t agreed to disarm. Palestinians cling to fragile hope, awakening to news of potential truce, even as Trump makes clear Israel’s attack against Qatar pushed Trump to pressure the Israelis to make peace.Americans Like Deportations, But Not These Deportations: It’s not what, it’s how. Trump's mass deportation campaign deploys agents to snag immigrants at courthouses and streets, flying them to unfamiliar nations and stripping humanitarian shields, sparking clashes with activists—and angering American voters. A New York Times/Siena poll finds 54% of voters support removals of undocumented arrivals, but 53% decry the process as unfair, ensnaring U.S. citizens, parents of American kids, and vendors in a spectacle of force across Chicago and D.C. Corrupt Homan Gets to Keep His Bribe: Echoing Wreckless Eric’s old song, “Take the Kash,” border czar Tom Homan is being allowed to keep $50,000 he collected from FBI undercover agents in a corruption probe—delivered in a Cava bag during a 2024 taped meet—leaving the "buy money" untraced and undeclared. AG Pam Bondi dodges Senate queries, as experts warn commingled funds evade forfeiture, complicating IRS tax pursuits or ethics probes in a Justice Department shielding insiders. Sortor Spins His Portland Arrest: Fox News regular Nick Sortor, with 1 million X followers, faces disorderly conduct charges after police swarm a brawl outside Portland's ICE building Thursday night, cuffing him alongside two others amid Antifa clashes. Released Friday, a wildly spinning Sortor blasts Portland PD as "corrupt" puppets of "violent Antifa thugs" on X, vowing the incident spotlights street terror instead of the far more likely possibility that the cops abuse protesters. Pentagon Kirk Purge: The Defense Department opens investigations into nearly 300 personnel for online insults about Charlie Kirk, under SecDef Pete Hegseth's edict branding Kirk critics as unfit for service. Disciplinary ripples spread, echoing Hegseth's purge threats against generals opposing Trump's "regressive" military overhauls, while Trumps decries mockery as "domestic terrorism" celebration. This loyalty litmus test subverts constitutional norms.Kirk Statue Frenzy: Republicans rally to put up Charlie Kirk monuments all over the place, from Capitol statues to state university mandates in Oklahoma and Texas, with New College of Florida unveiling an AI-rendered effigy amid artist bids. This push—reminiscent of Lincoln!—revives clashes over who merits commemoration in public spaces.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou look at the Trump administration's plan to mint a $1 coin with the president's image, his messaging to furloughed government workers that they may forfeit back pay, Colorado's conversion therapy ban, and CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis demotion of the acting general counsel—a career lawyer—and assuming the role himself.Trump $1 Coin Controversy: The Treasury Department defends minting a $1 commemorative coin bearing President Trump's image for the nation's 250th birthday, citing the 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act to override a 1866 law prohibiting living portraits on currency and quelling monarchic vibes. Draft designs show Trump's profile dominating the obverse, with the reverse side showcasing him fist-pumping before the American flag under "Fight, Fight, Fight.” This echoes Trump's past currency clashes, like delaying Harriet Tubman's $20 bill.Back Pay Dispute: President Trump says that furloughed federal workers—nearly 750,000 affected—might not receive back pay post-shutdown, contradicting the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act he signed and the Office of Personnel Management's explicit guidance promising retroactive compensation. A circulating White House memo argues that only essential employees like military and air traffic controllers qualify outright, requiring congressional approval for others, fueling union leaders' cries of legal misinterpretation and threats of lawsuits as the impasse hits day seven. Conversion Therapy: The Supreme Court's conservative majority signals opposition to Colorado's 2019 ban on conversion therapy for minors, viewing it as viewpoint-discriminating speech regulation during oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, where therapist Kaley Chiles claims First Amendment violations in her faith-based talk therapy. Justices like Alito and Roberts probe the state's conduct-versus-speech distinction, drawing parallels to 2018 anti-abortion center rulings and recent gender care bans, potentially invalidating similar prohibitions in over 20 states while liberals like Jackson question inconsistent deference. ProCIA Deputy Director's Power Grab: Michael Ellis abruptly demotes the acting general counsel—an unnamed career lawyer serving since January—and installs himself in the role, retaining his No. 2 position and prompting ethics red flags over inherent conflicts in self-advising on agency actions. This "bizarre" arrangement, approved by Director John Ratcliffe, unfolds amid Trump's nomination of Joshua Simmons for permanent counsel, whose Senate hearing looms Wednesday, while Ellis— a 40-year-old Yale Law alum and Trump loyalist—navigates past scandals like Nunes' surveillance briefings and Bolton memoir battles. Current and former officials voice alarms at the consolidation, violating professional conduct rules against self-interest judgments, as the demoted lawyer takes brief vacation.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou get into the second anniversary of the Oct. 7th raid by Hamas, Supreme Court’s decision to decline Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, France’s political crisis, and Trump refusing to negotiate with Democrats despite the government shutdown.Gaza War Enters Year 3: It’s been three years since Hamas launched its attack on Israel. John and Ted break down the current state of the conflict.Ghislaine Maxwell: The Supreme Court rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, upholding her 20-year sentence. Maxwell’s argument that a 2008 Florida non-prosecution deal should protect her fails, as prosecutors assert it doesn’t apply to federal charges based in New York. Her only hope now lies in potential clemency from Trump. Will he come through?France’s Political Crisis: President Macron assigns deposed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to leading talks to resolve the mess. With markets reeling and opposition parties rejecting compromise, Macron faces pressure to call snap elections and/or resign. The turmoil threatens France’s economy and the EU’s stability, with no clear path forward. U.S. Government Shutdown: President Trump refuses talks with Democrats, who demand Obamacare subsidy extensions for 20 million Americans to save the ACA. The Senate’s vote on a Republican funding proposal stalls, with the administration warning of mass federal layoffs. Meanwhile, air traffic control towers are short staffed.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou start your week with a federally-driven crisis in Portland, where 300 California National Guard troops were federalized over that state’s governor’s objections, and were due to be sent to Oregon because Oregon's governor refuses mobilization. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek complains about "breathtaking abuse," saying there is no insurrection or national security threat. But a federal judge has blocked the invasion of Portland…for now.As predicted on DeProgram, militant moderate Sébastian Lecornu is out as French prime minister after 26 days. President Emmanuel Macron has three options now. He can appoint another prime minister. He can once again dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections that either the far Right or the far Left would win. Or he can resign himself.Financial expert Aquilles Larrea joins to discuss the effect of the government shutdown on working Americans.A shocking development in the Middle East, where Trump's Gaza deal is being shoved down Netanyahu’s throat—and Bibi says he likes it, at least according to Trump. Israel will be forced into phased withdrawals and Gaza City bombings will stop at once in exchange for the remaining hostages. Hamas hasn’t agreed to disarm or give up control, but Trump tells Jake Tapper they face “complete obliteration” if they refuse. Is he referring to a nuclear option?In the Pacific, Fiji confronts a "national crisis" with HIV cases exploding 11x to 5,900 in a decade, fueled by meth-fueled "bluetoothing" blood-sharing and needle shortages amid conservative rule. Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa warns of 3,000+ new infections by year’s end, with 41 pediatric cases under 15 last year and experts fearing an "avalanche" from underreporting and resource gaps, as UNAIDS urges stigma-free testing.Finally, a wild situation roils the Philippines as a disinformation storm rages, with Duterte loyalists spreading rumors of fake CIA-backed coup plots and military defections on social media to distract from corruption scandals, eroding trust in Marcos's regime.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou dissects the Trump administration's dramatic, legally unfounded escalation against drug cartels, declaring a formal armed conflict in order to unlock powers for indefinite detentions and lethal strikes—challenging international law amid last month's Caribbean boat attacks that claimed 17 Venezuelans. Trump's War on Cartels: The administration notifies Congress that it is formally designating cartels as “terrorist nonstate armed groups,” framing boat strikes as lawful warfare under international law. This determination allows the president to kill enemy fighters. Retired judge advocate Geoffrey S. Corn condemns this as an abuse of the law, arguing that drug smuggling are not armed attacks.Government Shutdown and Cuts: Trump meets budget director Russell Vought to slash "Democrat Agencies" amid the shutdown, freezing funds for Democratic-leaning states and accelerating 300,000 federal worker layoffs by year's end. Inspired by Project 2025, this inflicts partisan pain, with unions suing but courts allowing firings to proceed. Senator Patty Murray blasts treating workers as pawns, warning it deepens the $1.7 trillion funding freeze halting research and data reports.Tennessee Executions: The Supreme Court schedules dates for four inmates, including Christa Pike, the state's sole woman on death row for her 1995 torture slaying of fellow student Colleen Slemmer. Pike's team appeals for commutation citing her abusive childhood, undiagnosed bipolar and PTSD at age 18. This follows a lethal injection scandal revealing untested drugs in prior executions.Madagascar Protests: President Andry Rajoelina fires his cabinet to try to quell youth-led street protests in Antananarivo over crippling water cuts and power outages hindering studies and meals, yet demands for his resignation surge. Gen Z Madagascar mobilizes strikes using global youth symbols, amid clashes killing at least 22 per U.N. reports, exacerbated by poverty and Trump's new tariffs. Hamas Eyes Gaza Deal: Hamas prepares its demands for revisions to Trump's 20-point plan. Facing a three-to-four-day deadline or "pay in hell" threats, leaders in Istanbul, Doha, and Gaza navigate divisions. Analysts frame it as choosing between bad and worse.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou cut through the bias, deprogramming you from corporate media narratives.Government Shutdown Escalates: Congress adjourns without resolving the funding deadlock. The White House ratchets up the pressure by freezing $26 billion in funds for Democratic-leaning states, while Trump's budget chief warns of imminent mass layoffs. Democratic leaders, including Hakeem Jeffries, stand firm, demand Obamacare subsidies restored. This impasse will last.Political Violence: An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that 30% of Americans view violence as potentially necessary to fix the country, up 11 points since April 2024 and driven by Democrats jumping from 12% to 28%. Republicans edge higher at 31%, up 3 points, and independents rising to 25%, following last month's assassination of Charlie Kirk. 77% say political violence a major worry.SCOTUS Backs the Fed: Justices reject Trump's immediate removal of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. This decision averts economic turmoil, preserving Fed autonomy. The ruling signals limits on presidential power, as the court gears up for broader challenges to Trump's tariffs and FTC firings.Why Women Live Longer: Researchers publish the largest analysis across 1,000+ mammal and bird species, bolstering evidence that women's dual X chromosomes buffer harmful mutations, explaining persistent female longevity. In mammals, females outlive males globally; in birds, ZZ males endure longer under reversed systems, supporting the heterogametic sex vulnerability hypothesis. Evolutionary demographers hail the findings as remarkable, saying genetic redundancy is a core protector.

CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and political cartoonist Ted Rall interview whistleblower Reality Winner. Reality Leigh Winner is a former U.S. Air Force veteran, linguist, and NSA contractor whose life took a dramatic turn in 2017. Raised by a politically engaged family—her father, a brilliant but unstable philosopher, ignited her passion for ancient languages like Pashto and Farsi—she enlisted post-9/11, driven by unyielding patriotism. Deployed to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan, she honed her skills as a translator, facilitating intelligence missions. At 25, working for the NSA in Augusta, Georgia, Winner stumbled upon a classified report detailing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election via cyberattacks on voting systems. She leaked the document to The Intercept, believing it vital for democracy. Instead, journalistic misconduct led the FBI straight to her door. Arrested and charged under the Espionage Act, she pleaded guilty, receiving the longest sentence ever for a single leak: five years and three months in federal prison, plus three years' supervised release. Released in 2021, Winner endured house arrest and ankle monitoring while rebuilding, now a CrossFit coach and aspiring veterinary technologist in Texas. Her story inspired plays, films like Reality (2023), and documentaries. In her poignant 2025 memoir, "I Am Not Your Enemy," she chronicles her childhood, the leak's moral calculus, prison's dehumanizing toll, and resilient quest for truth—affirming she's no foe, but a hero who paid dearly for conscience.

Investigators comb through the charred remnants of a Michigan church, White House unveils President Trump's bizarre 21-point blueprint for halting the Gaza War, Trump racing the midnight funding cliff, Eric Adams bows out his quixotic reelection campaign, a torrent of pressure on Republican Curtis Sliwa to abandon ship • Michigan Church Attack: Investigators sift through fiery debris at the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, uncovering improvised explosive devices amid the wreckage from Thomas Jacob Sanford's assault, which killed four people and wounded eight. The 40-year-old ex-Marine was killed in a police shootout after ramming his flag-festooned pickup into the building and unleashing gunfire during worship. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reveals the assailant's apparent Mormon hatred, with probes intensifying into premeditation, notes, and his Iraq vehicle recovery scars from IEDs and enemy fire. • An Odd Gaza Peace Plan: The White House drops Trump's 21-point plan for Gaza, which seems to miss that Israel has become an international pariah state in no position to make demands. The plan would mandate immediate hostage releases within 72 hours and Israeli withdrawal to pre-agreed lines acceptance. The blueprint promises Gaza's redevelopment for residents, amnesty for disarming Hamas fighters, and safe exodus for others. Netanyahu warns that will Israel "finish the job" if refused. • Government Shutdown: Trump convenes congressional leaders in a frantic White House attempt to dodge Wednesday's shutdown, clashing over a stopgap bill funding through November 21 that sidesteps Democrats' health benefit extensions while Republicans try to decouple issues. Senate Leader John Thune eyes Tuesday's revote needing seven Democratic crossovers, as failure looms to furlough federal workers, halt courts, delay small-business grants, and disrupt parks from NASA to Yosemite. • NYC Mayoral Race: Eric Adams terminates his reelection campaign, thrusting Andrew Cuomo into a tighter showdown with leading Zohran Mamdani as operatives besiege Republican Curtis Sliwa via social media. Billionaire Bill Ackman and PLACE NYC cofounder Chien Kwok implore Sliwa to exit, to forge a unified Cuomo front against Mamdani. A Siena poll pegs Mamdani at 48% to Cuomo's 44% in a head-to-head, narrowing from double-digits.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou cover the startling spectacle of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s addressing a mostly-empty UN, the shocking indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, Russia’s military aid to China and its link to Taiwan, the Manhattan mass shooting linked to C.T.E., and the death of Black revolutionary Assata Shakur in Cuba.A Pariah Addresses the UN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a tone-deaf, combative speech at the UN, rejecting Palestinian statehood as “national suicide.” Speaking to a near-empty hall, Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation as nations like Britain and France recognize Palestine is no longer a threat but a fact. Comey Indictment: An inexperienced Trump-appointed prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, files charges against former FBI Director James Comey for false statements and obstruction. The indictment, driven by Trump’s orders, sparks fears of politically motivated prosecutions. Why him and not fellow Russia-hoax liar Brennan?Russia-China Military Cooperation: Russia agrees to train a Chinese airborne battalion and share airdrop expertise, potentially assisting China’s capacity to seize Taiwan. Manhattan Shooting and C.T.E.: Shane Tamura, a former football player with C.T.E., killed four in a Manhattan office targeting the NFL, blaming it for hiding the disease’s dangers. The medical examiner confirms low-stage C.T.E. in his brain. Should football be banned?Assata Shakur: Black revolutionary Assata Shakur, a fugitive since her 1979 prison escape, dies in Havana at 78. Supporters praise her fight against oppression and critics condemn her as a cop killer. One thing is for sure: she is one of a dying breed of Leftist radicals.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou dissect the undercurrents of power and injustice. Luigi Mangione's legal team accuses Presient Trump of jeopardizing the accused killer's right to a fair trial through inflammatory Fox News remarks labeling him a "pure assassin" who "shot someone in the back," with links to "left-wing extremists" as false narratives, alongside social media reposts by DOJ officials. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett rebukes the DOJ, citing violations of her April order prohibiting prejudicial statements, and warns of potential sanctions including contempt findings or financial penalties. Anonymous artists from The Secret Handshake erect a 12-foot statue on the National Mall depicting Trump and Epstein joyfully holding hands, complete with a plaque hailing their "long-lasting bond" for Friendship Month, only for the National Park Service to remove it within a day citing permit noncompliance. Artist "Patrick" says the piece honors Trump's "one and only true friend.”NORAD scrambles U.S. fighter jets, including four F-16s and an E-3 aircraft, to intercept two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, marking the ninth such incursion this year amid routine but provocative Russian probing of NATO readiness. The flight, in international airspace abutting U.S. and Canadian borders, follows similar August incidents and coincides with European alerts over unattributed drones disrupting Danish airports and Russian jets breaching Polish and Estonian airspace. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summons hundreds of generals and admirals from global posts to an unprecedented, short-notice meeting at Quantico, Virginia, next week, leaving attendees puzzled over its undisclosed purpose amid his aggressive overhaul slashing 20% of four-star positions. Trump demands a Secret Service probe into "triple sabotage" at the U.N. General Assembly, alleging deliberate failures of an escalator halting mid-ride with Melania Trump, a 15-minute teleprompter blackout forcing ad-libbed remarks, and faulty audio muffling his nearly hour-long address decrying immigration and global warming as a hoax. U.N. officials attribute the escalator stop to a U.S. videographer triggering a safety mechanism and the teleprompter to White House operation. The uproar, dubbed "Escalatorgate," underscores Trump's narrative of institutional dysfunction undermining his global stage.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou analyze the deadly sniper attack on a Dallas ICE facility, where two detainees lie dead and a third fights for life, YouTube's reinstatement pathway for creators banned under defunct COVID-19 and 2020 election misinformation policies, visa revocations for foreigners celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination, Ben Carson spearheading the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, and Trump promises to Arab and Muslim leaders at the UN that he will block West Bank annexationDallas ICE Sniper Attack: A gunman unleashes chaos from a nearby rooftop, firing indiscriminately at the Dallas ICE field office and a van, leaving two detainees dead and another critically injured. FBI Director Kash Patel reveals unused ammunition etched with "ANTI-ICE," signaling ideological fury in an attack probed as targeted violence, the third against Texas ICE sites this year following an August bomb hoax and July's officer shooting. Texas Senator Ted Cruz condemns divisive rhetoric that paints opponents as Nazis, urging an end to demonization.YouTube Reinstatements: Alphabet submits a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, unveiling a pilot program allowing creators banned for COVID-19 and 2020 election misinformation to apply for reinstatement, prioritizing conservative voices. Channels linked to Dan Bongino, now deputy FBI director, Steve Bannon, and RFK Jr.'s group eye return, bolstering monetization for influencers.Visa Denials Over Charlie Kirk: State Department officials scour social media for foreigners praising or joking about Charlie Kirk's assassination, revoking visas and deporting visa holders, with dozens queued including a Brazilian congressman and Mexican commentator.Ben Carson Joins USDA for MAHA: Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson sworn in as USDA's national adviser on nutrition, rural healthcare, and housing, leading efforts to implement Trump's Make America Healthy Again initiative through state SNAP junk food prohibitions and overdue Dietary Guidelines revisions.West Bank Annexation: At a closed UN General Assembly huddle with eight Arab and Muslim nations, Trump vows firmly to prevent Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Turkish President Erdogan labels the talks "fruitful" on Fox News, setting up Thursday's White House follow-up, while echoing 2020 Abraham Accords' anti-annexation roots amid far-right Israeli pressures.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou update you on the big clash over free speech as ABC battles station giants Nexstar and Sinclair over Jimmy Kimmel's return tonight, Trump’s bizarre hourlong UN General Assembly address, the massive SIM farm threat 35 miles from UN headquarters, the State Department’s clampdown on Iranian UN delegates, Trump’s war on Tylenol, and ICC charges against ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity.Jimmy Kimmel Standoff: ABC reinstates "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" tonight. But Nexstar continues to boycott the show, while Sinclair still demands an apology and donation to right-wing Turning Point. If a TV show airs but no one sees it, who wins the free speech fight?Trump's UN Tirade: Trump lambasts the UN in a near-hour speech, touting U.S. resurgence while attacking Biden, migration policies, and Ukraine war enablers like Europe's Russian oil purchasers, threatening more tariffs. Is he OK?Secret Service SIM Bust: Agents dismantle a sprawling SIM farm network, uncovering 300 servers and 100,000 cards across five abandoned New York sites—poised to create DDoS chaos, tower shutdowns, and 30 million texts per minute targeting UN events. Forensics reveal foreign-state ties to cartels and traffickers, plus cocaine and arms; the Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit neutralizes the plot 35 miles from headquarters, but warns of additional duplicates nationwide.Iranian Shopping Ban: State Department blocks Iranian UN diplomats from Costco.Trump's Tylenol Autism Claim: Trump tells pregnant women not to take Tylenol, booming warnings despite inconclusive studies linking prenatal acetaminophen to autism, as FDA tweaks labels for caution despite a lack of causation proof. Duterte ICC Charges: Prosecutors charge Duterte with crimes against humanity for 76 drug-war murders, alleging his indirect role via Davao Death Squad hits from 2013-2018, rewarding assassins $875-$17,000 per target.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explain a cornered Israel’s bizarre threats to get “even” for its increasing isolation following its genocide in Gaza, America’s escalating war against international justice, the Tom Honan bribery scandal, and Trump’s attempt to rein in the H1B visa program.Palestinian Statehood: At the UN General Assembly, Britain, Canada, and Australia formally recognize Palestinian statehood, coordinating with Portugal, San Marino, Luxembourg and other countries to try to pressure Israel into stopping the brutal humanitarian catastrophe it has created in Gaza, now joined by France. Leaders like Keir Starmer invoke the two-state solution, while a manic Netanyahu shouts that no such state will ever be created. Israel Threatens to Annex the West Bank: Netanyahu's far-right allies, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, urge West Bank annexation as “retaliation” for Palestinian recognition. Coalition hardliners demand sovereignty over "Judea and Samaria," eyeing 22% of the territory—90% in Area C—despite UAE warnings of downgraded ties and Arab backlash threatening the Abraham Accords. Israeli officials consider expulsions of diplomats and full absorption.U.S. Sanctions on the ICC: The United States considers blanket sanctions against the International Criminal Court as soon as this week, jeopardizing its operations in retaliation for its investigations into Israeli war crimes. Court officials convene emergency meetings to brace for disruptions, including halted staff payments and frozen bank access, prompting advance salary disbursements for the rest of 2025 and hunts for alternative banking providers.Tom Homan Bribery Scandal: Trump's border czar faces scrutiny after undercover FBI agents recorded him accepting $50,000 in cash in Texas last September, allegedly for promising immigration contract favors post-election. The Biden-era Justice Department launched a bribery investigation, weighing charges like conspiracy and fraud, but the Trump administration abruptly shuts it down, dismissing findings as a "political witch hunt" lacking credible evidence. The sting originated from a separate counterintelligence probe, underscoring tensions over Homan's role in mass deportations amid outsourcing to private firms.Trump's H-1B Visa Fee Hike: The Trump administration shocks employers by slapping a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, targeting skilled workers in tech and beyond to curb "artificially low labor costs" undercutting Americans. Companies like Amazon and Microsoft scramble, advising H-1B holders abroad to rush returns amid confusion, though the White House clarifies exemptions for current holders and no travel bans.

On Friday’s episode of DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou, where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou discuss MI6’s launch of a dark-web portal to recruit spies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) massive expansion plans, Trump’s polls showing disapproval of his crime and immigration policies, Israeli airstrikes on a media complex that killed 31 journalists, and a judge dismisses Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.MI6: MI6 launches a dedicated dark web portal today to recruit spies globally, targeting Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as announced by outgoing chief Sir Richard Moore in Istanbul. The secure messaging platform Silent Courier aims to bolster security by facilitating anonymous contact, with instructions available on MI6’s YouTube channel. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasizes the portal’s role in keeping the UK ahead of adversaries. ICE Expansion: ICE is seeking 300 new office spaces nationwide to support hiring over 10,000 immigration officers and lawyers, with the General Services Administration forming special teams to expedite the “ICE Surge.” The expansion targets red states and cities, though no leases are signed yet. Trump’s Not-Good Polls: A Washington Post-Ipsos poll today reveals public disapproval of Trump’s plans to deploy the National Guard to cities beyond Washington, with a 10-point margin opposing his crime policies. Americans disapprove of his handling of immigration, economy, and foreign wars by double-digit margins. Despite this, Republicans hold a 2-to-1 edge on crime trust over Democrats. What’s going on?Israel Kills Dozens of Journalists: Israeli airstrikes on a Yemeni media complex on September 10 killed 31 journalists, the deadliest attack on media since 2009, per a Committee to Protect Journalists report. The strikes targeted Houthi-connected outlets in Sanaa, also killing a child. The IDF claims the site was a Houthi propaganda hub.Trump’s Lawsuit Tossed: A federal judge in Tampa today dismisses President Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, calling the 85-page complaint “impermissible.” Judge Steven Merryday criticizes the filing’s structure and intent. Russia Violates Estonia’s Airspace: Three Russian military jets breached Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes today in a “brazen” act, per Estonian officials. This follows Russian drones entering Polish airspace last week, heightening NATO tensions.

Live 5 pm Eastern and Streaming 24-7:On Thursday’s episode of DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou, where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou dissect the news, the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the No Political Enemies Act, U.S. efforts to reclaim Bagram Air Base from the Taliban, hundreds of thousands strike in France.Jimmy Kimmel: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr states that Kimmel misled the public by linking Charlie Kirk's killer to MAGA, prompting ABC—with a merger pending before the Administration—to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely. Carr warns of ongoing shifts in the media ecosystem post-Trump's election. House Democrats are accusing him of abusing power to coerce ABC and Disney, as Trump calls for more media cancellations.Shield Act for Critics?: Democrats unveil their No Political Enemies Act, creating legal defenses for those targeted for political speech and allowing attorney fee recovery from government harassment. Sponsors like Senators Murphy and Schumer decry the Trump administration's exploitation of Kirk's assassination to silence critics, labeling it a path to autocracy and the worst free speech crisis since McCarthyism. Bagram Air Base Back? Trump announces that the U.S. is working to regain Bagram Air Base from the Taliban, describing it as one of the world's largest bases and strategically located an hour from China's nuclear facilities. Trump pushes national security officials for months to negotiate its return, leveraging Taliban needs amid their push for sanctions relief and recognition. Will we normalize relations?French Strikes and Protests: Hundreds of thousands join strikes against budget cuts, with unions estimating one million participants while officials report 500,000, deploying 80,000 police amid clashes in Paris, Lyon, and Nantes. Disruptions halt metro lines, block roads, and close 98% of pharmacies, as teachers and students protest reduced public services under new Prime Minister Lecornu. Over 140 arrests occur after protesters damage businesses.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou read the tea leaves behind the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate cut, the FBI director’s testimony on the Epstein files, a new age-verification system for ChatGPT raises questions, men who spike drinks with abortion pills, and a widow’s claim that Alexei Navalny was poisoned.Is the Rate Cut a Warning?: The Fed approves a quarter-point rate cut, setting the overnight funds rate at 4.00%-4.25%, with two more cuts signaled for 2025 amid labor market concerns. Governor Stephen Miran dissents, pushing for a half-point reduction, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell notes rising downside risks to employment. Is a midterm-election recession imminent?FBI Director Denies on Epstein Files: Kash Patel testifies he never discussed the Jeffrey Epstein files with Trump. Is he credible?OpenAI’s Age-Prediction System: A new AI-driven age-prediction system will restrict ChatGPT access for users under 18, prioritizing teen safety. The move follows a lawsuit tied to a teen’s suicide after harmful chatbot interactions. Will it work? Is it smart?Abortion Pill Spiking: Men face charges for secretly slipping abortion pills to pregnant partners, exploiting relaxed FDA rules on mifepristone. Cases highlight coerced abortions, prompting states like Texas to tighten regulations. Advocates warn of rising risks to women and unborn children.Navalny Poisoned?: Yulia Navalnaya claims Alexei Navalny was poisoned in an Arctic prison, based on smuggled samples analyzed by two labs. She is accusing Putin of murder.

On “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou, where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou bring you behind the scenes of today’s most pressing news with razor-sharp insight, we cover the dismissal of terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, U.S. military officials observing Russia-Belarus war games for the first time in years, the loss of Robert Redford, Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, the looming government shutdown threat, and Russia’s alleged program re-educating Ukrainian children.Luigi Gets a Win: A New York judge throws out terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, rejecting claims the act aimed to “evoke terror.” The second-degree murder charge remains, carrying 15 years to life, while Mangione faces a federal death penalty case. To Russia with Half-Hearted Love: U.S. military officials observe joint Russia-Belarus “Zapad-2025” drills, the first such visit since the Ukraine invasion. Belarus, a key Russian ally, hosted the exercises. The Pentagon confirms the observation, signaling heightened U.S. attention to regional dynamics. What’s going on?Robert Redford: The Hollywood legend dies at 89, leaving a legacy of iconic films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. His Sundance Festival revolutionized independent cinema, launching directors like Quentin Tarantino. Redford’s minimalist acting and activism reshaped the industry.Trump’s Lawsuit Against NYT: The President sues The New York Times and four reporters for $15 billion, claiming defamatory articles and a book timed to damage his 2024 campaign. The lawsuit alleges “actual malice” in reports questioning his business success and military remarks. Will Democrats Finally Resist?: House Republicans unveil a stopgap bill to fund the government through November 21. Democrats demand bipartisan talks, citing expiring healthcare subsidies, as a shutdown looms by September 30. Schumer warns of a “Trump shutdown.” Is the Democratic “resistance” about to make its first appearance?Is Russia Indoctrinating Ukrainian Kids?: Yale investigators accuse Russia of a re-education program for Ukrainian children is twice as large as estimated, with 210 sites training them for Russian military service. The program, likened to Nazi-era kidnappings, would violate Geneva Conventions. But evidence is thin.

Start your week with DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou, where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, where we catch you up on the news of the weekend and prepare you for the week ahead and what it all means.Bullet Points for Each TopicIsrael Lied to Qatar: Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, approved by Netanyahu, kills five Hamas members and one Qatari officer. New reports claim Trump was in fact informed beforehand—exposing his statements that he learned after the bomb blasts in Doha began and immediately notified his ally, as lies. Israel is covering up for The Donald. But who will ever believe him again?If a Tree Burns in the Woods, Will the EPA Report It?: Trump already gutted the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now he seems to be trying to stop everyone from getting access to reliable information about the environment. His EPA will stop thousands of coal plants, oil refineries, and steel mills from reporting greenhouse gas emissions, a practice in place since 2010. This undermines climate policy by hiding emission sources, while the EPA claims it saves $2.4 billion in compliance costs. The move follows Trump’s efforts to erase climate change references and cut related funding.If a Company’s Q3 Blows, Will Stock Analysts Ever Know?: Trump suggests public companies reduce financial reports from four to two annually, aiming to save costs and shift focus to business operations. Critics warn this reduces transparency for investors and regulators, potentially hiding financial crimes. The SEC must approve the change.Right-Wing Cancel Culture: The assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University leads to firings of employees, including a sports reporter and a Secret Service agent, for public comments. Private employers cite reputational harm, with legal experts noting limited First Amendment protections. Should your boss be allowed to can you for what you say away from work?Poland Want Ukraine No-Fly Zone: Poland’s foreign minister, after Russian drones entered Polish airspace last week, proposes a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect against debris and drones. The idea, floated to German media, would need NATO approval and revisits no-fly zones of the past. Will it escalate tensions with Russia.

On the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, we dissect the news with unflinching insight and a unique pair of journalistic backgrounds. Today we confront escalating tensions between ICE and city residents, the capture of a suspect and calls for retribution in the Charlie Kirk killing, and California's defiant stand against the federal government.ICE Kills Immigrant in Chicago: Federal ICE agents encounter Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a routine stop near Grand Avenue and Elder Lane in suburban Chicago, part of ICE's Operation Midway Blitz targeting undocumented individuals with criminal histories like reckless driving. Villegas-Gonzalez refuses commands, accelerates his vehicle, striking an officer and dragging him, prompting the agent to fire in self-defense, killing the driver while sustaining injuries himself. Community leaders decry the incident as a stark example of militarized enforcement endangering neighborhoods.Capture of Charlie Kirk's Alleged Shooter: Authorities apprehend 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Washington City, Utah, accusing him of fatally shooting conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Robinson, a high-achieving former student at Utah State University with no prior criminal record, emerges from a tight-knit Mormon family, his capture facilitated by relatives and a friend after he confesses or implies involvement. Discord messages, surveillance video, and family interviews reveal his recent anti-Kirk sentiments expressed at dinner. Investigators recover a Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle in .30-06 caliber from a wooded area, along with casings inscribed with taunting memes, antifascist references like "Bella Ciao," and gaming allusions such as Helldivers 2 airstrike codes, underscoring a politically motivated act prepared with practice.Trump Invades Memphis: The President plans to deploy federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee, inspired by concerns raised by a FedEx board member about the city's crime rates. Despite Memphis Police reporting overall crime at a 25-year low, with murders and assaults declining, Trump extends similar rhetoric to New Orleans, vowing military involvement if needed, while the city's sanctuary status limits ICE cooperation. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee welcomes the support.California's Mask Ban for ICE Agents: Lawmakers advance legislation banning federal immigration agents from wearing masks like balaclavas during raids across California, alongside requirements for visible badges or name tags to safeguard public trust and democratic norms. Assemblymember Juan Carrillo frames the bill as essential to prevent "secret police" tactics in an authoritarian vein.

The DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou gives you the dope on what’s happening across the nation and around the world—deprogramming you from political and corporate media spin.FBI Manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s Killer: The FBI shares images of a college-aged “person of interest,” seen in a stairwell wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, linked to Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting at Utah Valley University. A $100,000 reward is in effect, while Trump World frames Kirk as a fallen martyr for their political movement. Authorities recover a towel-wrapped Mauser rifle, its cartridges bearing “transgender and anti-fascist” inscriptions, now under forensic scrutiny. Was Luigi Mangione an inspiration?Bolsonaro Convicted: Brazil’s Supreme Court panel votes to convict Jair Bolsonaro on five counts, including plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election. Prosecutors say his scheme involved plans to assassinate President Lula da Silva, Vice President Alckmin, and a Supreme Court justice. Evidence shows Bolsonaro’s “full knowledge” of efforts to pressure the military and create a parallel crisis office.U.S. Mass Slaughter on “Venezuela” Boat Was Baseless: Senate Armed Services Committee’s Sen. Jack Reed reports Tuesday’s Defense Department briefing lacked evidence proving a Caribbean boat’s crew were Tren de Aragua members or that the boat was from Venezuela. Briefers note it turned around after spotting a military aircraft. No intelligence confirms the targets were armed or posed an imminent threat. Ted and John discuss this shocking violation of international and U.S. law.• Iran-Contra Coda: Oliver North, a decorated former Marine and onetime national security aide in the Reagan administration, and Fawn Hall, his former secretary, were married in Virginia last month, four decades after they became central figures in the arms-for-cash scandal known as the Iran-Contra affair. Mr. North, 81, and Ms. Hall, 65, were married on Aug. 27 in a civil ceremony in Arlington County. Ms. North, Mr. North’s wife of 56 years and the mother of their four children, died in November at age 80. Ms. Hall had previously been married to Danny Sugerman, a manager of the rock band the Doors, who died of lung cancer in 2005 at age 50.

Incendiary conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, 31, has been shot in the throat at Utah Valley University, where he was gunned down as he spoke during a “prove me wrong” debate event. Kirk, a Trump ally and Turning Point USA co-founder, was rushed away by security, with a suspect in custody. Former President Trump calls for prayers, highlighting Kirk’s role as a vocal MAGA supporter. Ted and John discuss this shocking act of political violence and what comes next.Also:Kamala Harris Comes Clean: In her book 107 Days, the former veep admits she knew Biden was diminished and unable to run again. She also criticizes Biden’s team for fueling negative narratives about her. Is this the beginning of a reckoning among Democrats in denial?France’s “Block Everything” Riots: Protesters in France disrupt cities, blocking roads and clashing with police amid outrage over Macron’s center-right policies and budget cuts. Over 450 arrests occur as the “Block Everything” movement challenges new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Canada Rethinking Israel: Even more of a pariah…Canada evaluates its relationship with Israel following a deadly Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, killing a Qatari security officer. Foreign Minister Anita Anand calls the attack unacceptable, as Canada considers severing financial ties. Quantum Cryptography: Cryptographers Dakshita Khurana and Kabir Tomer develop quantum one-way puzzles, offering a robust alternative to classical encryption. Their work bypasses vulnerabilities, potentially revolutionizing secure communications. The matrix permanent problem anchors this new quantum cryptography framework.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou analyze a day of escalation and bloodshed in the Middle East crisis.Israel Attacks Qatar: Israel tries and fails to assassinate Hamas ceasefire negotiators leaders in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatar condemns the “cowardly” attack as a violation of sovereignty and international law, demanding a high-level UN investigation. The strike kills six other people, including a Qatari security officer, escalating regional tensions.US Angry at Israel: The White House says Trump promised Qatar, the mediator for many of the talks between Hamas and Israel, that more strikes won’t happen again. Press Secretary Leavitt says the bombing does not serve US or Israeli interests. Trump says he sees the incident as a potential “opportunity for peace.” But escalation seems likely to make things even worse.Nepal in Turmoil: Nepal’s army intervenes after protesters burn government buildings and politicians’ homes, killing 19 plus severe burn injuries to a former PM’s wife, following a reversed social media ban. Prime Minister Oli resigns amid chaos in Kathmandu. The crisis reflects public outrage over corruption and inequality.New York City Mayoral Race: Zohran Mamdani leads NYC’s mayoral race with 46% support, driven by his affordability platform, per a Times/Siena poll. Andrew Cuomo trails at 24%, backed by elites, while Eric Adams lags at 9%. The race tightens if Adams and Sliwa drop out but Mamdani still wins.Aegean Airlines Kitten Incident: A British couple reports the carrier lost three rescue kittens on a Crete-to-Paris flight, left in the hold. The traumatized cats were returned after two days, with no apology. This marks the airline’s second such incident in 2024.France’s Political Crisis: President Macron appoints Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister after François Bayrou’s resignation amid a budget crisis. But the public doesn’t believe there’s a crisis. Facing a divided parliament, Lecornu must navigate “Block Everything” protests set for Wednesday. France’s political instability stems from Macron’s 2024 snap election gamble.

France teeters on the brink of chaos as Prime Minister François Bayrou's government collapses after just nine months, signaling chronic political instability amid a ballooning debt crisis. Across the pond, the Supreme Court signs off on Trump administration ethnic-profiling arrests in Los Angeles, enabling ICE to target based on broad criteria like speaking Spanish or congregating at day labor spots. Join us on the DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou for this vital dissection of two powerful nations fighting over their identities.French Government Collapse: What is France? A nation of cherished rights and privileges? Or a lean, mean American-style place where life keeps getting harsher? The National Assembly answers that question with a crushing 364-194 no-confidence vote, rejecting Bayrou’s ask for $51 billion in savings amid a $198 billion deficit at 5.8% of GDP and 114% debt-to-output ratio. Far-right and left alliances oppose austerity measures, pressuring lame-duck Macron (15% approval rating) to call elections or appoint one of their own.SCOTUS OKs LA Raids: The Supreme Court dumps a district judge's order limiting Trump administration ICE raids in Los Angeles, allowing ethnic profiling criteria like Spanish-speaking or day labor. Critics highlight unconstitutional "roving" patrols targeting stereotypes at car washes and Home Depot lots, risking sweeps of citizens in a half-Hispanic city. Dissenting justices decry racial profiling, while the 6-3 ruling backs "common sense" questioning amid 3,000-arrest quotas.Trump Told To Pay Up: A federal appeals court upholds E. Jean Carroll's $83 million defamation verdict against Trump, now growing with 9% interest for calling her assault claims a hoax. The panel finds his five-year malice "unprecedented," rejecting presidential immunity and affirming punitive damages for reputational and emotional harm. Trump denies wrongdoing and appeals to the Supreme Court.Jerusalem Bus Stop Attack: Two West Bank Palestinians kill six Israelis in a Ramot Junction shooting, injuring others before responders kill them. European leaders like Macron condemn the violence, linking it to Gaza war and pushing a Palestinian state. Trump Pushes School Prayer Guidelines: Trump rolls out Department of Education guidelines promoting prayer in public schools, countering "anti-religious propaganda". Echoing campaign promises, he builds on prior allowances for student expressions during non-instructional time, defying 1962 bans on state-sponsored prayer. He stresses reviving Judeo-Christian principles to strengthen the nation.

Tune in for hard-hitting analysis on the DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou as they dig into today’s big stories.Department of War: Trump signs an executive order, renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War, reverting to its pre-1947 title to emphasize military strength. Trump wants to project an even more aggressive image, citing U.S. victories in World Wars I and II. Pacifists have wanted this change for years—are they happy?Eric Adams Offered the Biggest Bribe of All: Advisers to President Trump, including Steve Witkoff, push to nominate NYC Mayor Eric Adams as ambassador to Saudi Arabia to derail his struggling re-election bid and clear the field for Andrew Cuomo. The plan remains fluid, with Adams weighing options amid a federal indictment and rock-bottom poll numbers (10.6%). Could this reshape the race, potentially boosting Andrew Cuomo’s third-party candidacy (23.2%) against Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani (38.2%)? Sliwa is at 16.6%.Sanctions on Palestinians for Opposing Genocide: The U.S. imposes sanctions against three Palestinian groups—Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights—for asking for an ICC probe into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The sanctions, led by Rubio, cite their ICC engagement without Israel’s “consent.” Trump Sides with Airlines Against Passengers: Trump administration withdraws a Biden-era plan that would have required airlines to pay $200-$775 for delays caused by carriers, screwing beleaguered travelers—who wanted this. Will he pay a political price for opposing the American people?

Today on “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” look for hard-hitting analysis of cyber espionage, AI warfare, child sabotage, and the intrigue surrounding John Bolton. China’s Cyberattack: The Salt Typhoon cyberattack, uncovered last year, targets over 80 countries, infiltrating telecoms and stealing data from nearly every American, per a joint statement by Western allies. Described as “unrestrained,” Salt Typhoon tries to track politicians and activists globally. Experts see it as China’s boldest move yet, rivaling U.S. cyber capabilities.Doomsday AI: War games show AI models like GPT-4 tend to escalate conflicts aggressively, even favoring nuclear options, alarming experts. Why this bias? The Pentagon’s rush to deploy AI-driven defenses risks warmongering autonomy without human oversight. DARPA’s $25M program seeks to ensure AI reliability.Hybrid Warfare with Teen Saboteurs: Russia and Ukraine exploit teens via Telegram for sabotage, from arson to bombings, with cases like a Russian teen jailed for targeting a warplane. Both nations use blackmail and deception, ruining young lives. Over 175 Ukrainian child dupes face charges.John Bolton: Federal agents raided Bolton’s home on August 22, seizing computers, iPhones, and documents over alleged Espionage Act violations. The probe, reopened by FBI Director Kash Patel, questions Biden’s inaction. Bolton faces potential 25-year imprisonment.

Anxiety over the economy is the focus on “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou are joined by guest Aquiles Larrea. Aquiles Larrea Jr. is a prominent financial advisor and founder of Larrea Wealth Management, specializing in wealth strategies for Latino executives. A bestselling author and media commentator, he empowers clients with tailored financial planning and economic insights.Economic Warning Signs: Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, warns that the U.S. economy teeters on the brink of recession, with job growth at a “virtual standstill” and tariffs driving up consumer prices. August’s jobs report looms and states like California and New York signal economic weakness.A Tale of Two Economies: McDonald’s expands its value menu as CEO Chris Kempczinski notes a “two-tier economy,” in which middle- and lower-income consumers are struggling. Inflation and stagnant job growth hit low-income households hardest.Are Cartels “Terrorism”?: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals on DeProgram orders a deadly U.S. strike targeting Venezuelan cartel boats in the Caribbean as part of Trump’s aggressive anti-fentanyl campaign.Metropolitan Opera’s Saudi Scheme: The Met’s $100 million agreement with Saudi Arabia aims to stabilize the Met’s finances but raises ethical questions amid Saudi’s human rights record.Trump’s Deportations Blocked: A federal appeals court rejects Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations. Fifth Circuit ruling halts plans targeting Venezuelan immigrants, setting the stage for a Supreme Court battle.

We all die. But Trump isn’t dead yet—and he wants you to know it. Get the latest Trump-still-alive news on today’s episode of “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” where we’ll catch you up on:Trump’s Space Case: President Trump announces U.S. Space Command’s move from Colorado to Alabama, reversing Biden’s decision. His weeklong media absence sparked “Trump is Dead” rumors, amplified by photos resembling 2019 images. Conspiracy theories about digitally altered photos or a body double make us ask: why were we so open to these bizarre theories? (Spoiler: Biden.)The Secret US/Israeli Ethnic Cleansing Plan for Gaza (GREAT Trust): A 38-page Gaza plan envisions a U.S.-led trusteeship, relocating 2 million Palestinians for a decade to build AI-powered “smart cities” and resorts. It offers $5,000 payments for voluntary departures, validating war crimes. The plan, tied to Trump’s “Riviera” vision, promises investor profits.Eric Trump for President: Speaking at Bitcoin Asia, the First Son hints at a White House run, saying he’s not ruling it out. Promoting World Liberty Financial, he claims ethical conduct despite family ties. Operation Midnight Climax: Revelations about the CIA’s 1950s-70s Operation Midnight Climax, part of MKULTRA, resurface. Prostitutes dosed unsuspecting brothel patrons with LSD in San Francisco, observed through two-way mirrors. Senate hearings in 1977 confirmed the unethical program’s details.China’s WWII Revisionism: President Xi’s meeting with Putin and Kim marks WWII’s end, bizarrely claiming Communist victory over Imperial Japan. Taiwan’s KMT begs to differ.

Today’s episode of the “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou confronts everything from the Trump administration's visa denials targeting Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members planning to attend the UN General Assembly, where numerous countries will recognize Palestine, to the catastrophic event that probably brought life to earth. Visa Denials for PA and PLO Officials: The Trump administration is denying and revoking visas for Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members ahead of the September UN General Assembly. The State Department cites the PA's failure to repudiate October 7, end incitement in education, and cease ICC/ICJ appeals over Israeli genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. France, the UK, Canada, and Australia prepare state recognition.Trump Rescinds Foreign Aid: The White House is invoking a pocket rescission to cancel $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, targeting State Department and USAID programs like $445 million in UN peacekeeping and $132 million from the Democracy Fund. This untested maneuver, last used in 1977, withholds funds until fiscal year-end on September 30, bypassing a 45-day review to ensure lapse, amid USAID's dismantling and prior $9 billion cuts. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins condemns it as illegal under the Impoundment Control Act, while Democrats like Patty Murray and Chuck Schumer decry the power grab, warning it jeopardizes bipartisan shutdown avoidance and global soft power.No More Kamala Secret Service Protection: Trump is revoking Kamala Harris's extended Secret Service detail effective September 1, ending Biden's undisclosed 18-month extension beyond the standard six months that expired July 21. This decision, amid Harris's heightened threats as the first woman and Black VP during her 2024 campaign, precedes her "107 Days" book tour, following similar revocations for Bolton, Pompeo, and Biden's children. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounce it as retaliatory endangerment, pledging local safeguards.Theia Impact Delivered Life to Earth: A University of Bern study is revealing that proto-Earth formed as a dry, rocky wasteland incapable of supporting life until a Mars-sized protoplanet Theia collided over 4 billion years ago, delivering essential volatiles like hydrogen, carbon, and sulfur from outer solar system regions. Analyzing meteorite isotopes and manganese-to-chromium decay timelines from the first 15 million years of Earth's formation, researchers confirm Theia's volatile-rich origin beyond the inner planets' high temperatures, enabling habitability. Co-author Klaus Mezger emphasizes this chance event's role, suggesting life-friendliness in the universe is rare, with implications for exoplanets and ongoing mantle water puzzles.

The IDF wants to finish off Gaza. But they have a problem: refuseniks! Some Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve in Gaza because they’re exhausted or they refuse to help with genocide. Meanwhile, Western media outlets are already covering the war as an after-action report and accepting Israel’s pariah status as a given. How serious is this? That’s today’s main topic on “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” airing today at 5 pm ET LIVE and streaming 24/7! Israel’s Gaza City Offensive and Reservist Challenges: The Jewish state prepares to mobilize 60,000 reservists to smash what’s left of Gaza City offensive, but many soldiers are not reporting, citing exhaustion and disillusionment. Military faces strain as reservists struggle with prolonged service, with some units reporting 40-50% no-shows, threatening Netanyahu’s ongoing conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. Biden Created the Famine: As NPR shows, famine in Gaza emerged from Israel's blockade, which slashed Gaza’s pre-war 3000 daily aid trucks to a trickle, forcing reliance on animal feed and weeds by February 2024. The Biden administration faced internal rifts: some urged leveraging arms aid to enforce humanitarian access, but Biden prioritized military support, providing $17.9 billion in 2024. Efforts like a $230M pier and airdrops failed. Negotiations yielded modest gains, like 400 trucks daily in April 2024, but Israel’s restrictions persisted. By August 2025, Trump’s blockade and $30M Gaza Humanitarian Foundation worsened starvation, with 2,000+ killed seeking aid. Over 60,000 died from hunger, mostly children, creating an epic, preventable U.S. policy failure.Walmart Roku TV Privacy Breach: A Walmart customer discovered live footage from a stranger’s home on a resold Roku TV, linked to the original owner’s account. The incident highlights risks of reselling electronics without factory resets. Walmart advised a reset, but privacy concerns persist. Tulsi Gabbard Burns CIA Officer: The DNI posted a memo revealing an undercover CIA officer’s name, prompting backlash. The move, tied to Trump’s security clearance revocations, raised legal concerns over privacy violations. Critics argue Gabbard’s actions endangered CIA operations and cover procedures. Russian Surveillance Drones Over Germany: Russian drones fly over eastern Germany, spying on U.S. and allied military supply routes for Ukraine. The flights, possibly launched from Baltic Sea ships, aim to bolster Russia’s sabotage campaign. German defenses struggle to counter these espionage efforts, despite new interception techniques.

On today’s “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, we guide you through a barrage of developments, from yet another mass school shooting to political maneuvers and corporate deception. Joining us is Yale Privacy Lab's Sean O’Brien, exposing the hidden dangers in a collapsed scam. Minnesota Shooting: A gunman unleashes horror at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, firing a rifle, shotgun, and pistol through church windows during an all-school Mass marking the first week of classes. Two children, aged eight and ten, die in the pews, while 17 others—including 14 children—suffer injuries, with two in critical condition. The suspect, 23-year-old Robin Westman, who legally changed their name from Robert in 2020 indicating transgender identity, dies from suicide; authorities investigating motives amid reports of racist, antisemitic writings on weapons and a possible hate crime targeting Catholics, fueling debates on access to assault weapons and gun control.DNC Calendar: The Democratic National Committee sits down to decide its 2028 presidential nominating calendar. Emphasizing diversity, regional balance, and battleground status, DNC Chair Ken Martin says he wants a rigorous, fair process extending through spring, potentially restoring Iowa's caucuses or elevating states like New Hampshire. Is the party moving past Joe Biden? States lobby aggressively at the Minneapolis meeting, aiming to shape a lineup that battle-tests candidates while avoiding the 2024 chaos of unsanctioned primaries.Border Patrol Arrests: U.S. Border Patrol agents conduct targeted enforcement at a Playa Vista Home Depot, detaining two individuals amid bystander outrage and leading to the arrest of a 27-year-old U.S. citizen for assaulting officers. Operations highlight collaboration with local law enforcement, focusing on smuggling networks while navigating a court injunction against warrantless stops in southern California. Arrests surge in interior zones, with ICE reporting over 1.6 million removals this year.Lightning Shared Scooter Company Scam: For over a year, Lightning Shared Scooter Company lured thousands of Americans via storefronts, apps, and endorsements from mayors, police, and ex-White House press secretary Sean Spicer, masquerading as a legitimate scooter-sharing startup. Unmasking as a vast multi-level marketing scheme, it recruited communities with crypto payments, apps harboring privacy breaches, and overseas ties—spanning eight U.S. cities and amassing millions before crumbling this summer, stranding families in recovery battles. Sean O’Brien of Yale Privacy Lab joins as a guest, detailing app examinations uncovering severe security flaws and data streams to Chinese servers, urging scrutiny of deceptive tech ventures.

Fresh off taking control of 10% of Intel, Donald Trump is expanding his takeover of the economy by going after the Fed. On the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou,” we’ll deprogram you from the day’s news coverage and tell you the truth about the top stories.Trump Fires Federal Governor: The President fires Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven mortgage fraud allegations by FHFA Director Bill Pulte. The move intensifies pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates. Cook denies wrongdoing, as the Justice Department investigates. Australia Accuses Iran of Arson Attacks: Australia accuses Iran of directing arson attacks on a Jewish business and synagogue, leading to severed diplomatic ties. Prime Minister Albanese calls these acts attempts to sow discord. Intelligence links the attacks to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, now designated a terrorist group.France’s Political Crisis and Antisemitism: Prime Minister Francois Bayrou gambles on a confidence vote for his debt-cutting plan, likely leading to his government’s collapse and potential snap elections, as opposition parties vow to vote against it. Markets tumble with the CAC 40 index down nearly 2%, reflecting fears of destabilization and higher bond yields. Rising antisemitism, including vandalism and assaults on Jewish sites, draws criticism from U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner, who accuses Macron's government of insufficient action, escalating diplomatic tensions.DNC Covers Harris: The Democratic National Committee covers $20.5 million in outstanding bills from Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign through a handshake deal, using funds from donor solicitations. Harris's operation raised money earmarked for these debts without full disclosure to small donors, who received nearly 100 emails promoting contributions for future elections. The arrangement, legal but opaque, helps obscure the campaign's financial shortfall while bolstering DNC infrastructure, though party cash reserves dwindle compared to Republicans.Man Arrested for Flag Burnin

Trump was a no-show for his police ride-along. The National Guardsmen occupying Washington start carrying loaded military weapons this weekend. What could go wrong? And those aren’t even the main topics on today’s “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou airing today LIVE at 5 pm ET! Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou unpack the urgent stories at the end of the week: • FBI Raid at Chateau John Bolton: The Feds burst into the Maryland home and D.C. office of the notorious neocon warmonger. They’re looking for classified documents, not his judgement—that’s long gone. JD Vance denies its retribution for Bolton’s criticism of Trump, but his denials are less than convincing. • Erik Menendez Snubbed: The patricidal brother’s parole application was rejected after a 10-hour hearing, supposedly due to prison misconduct like using a cellphone. Despite family support and credible claims he was raped, he was dubbed a public safety risk. • ICE Kidnaps Army Vet: US Army veteran Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry showed up to his citizenship interview in Tukwila, Washington only to be disappeared into an ICE gulag. His wife, Melissa, says he faces deportation despite 25 years in the US and military service. • Visa Dragnet: The US is reviewing 55 million visa holders for violations like overstays and links to terrorism, enforcing “continuous vetting.” They’re scanning social media feeds for “anti-American” sentiments, reflecting Trump’s anti-immigration and hatred of Palestinians. • ICE Spying on Wire Transfers: ICE uses wire transfer data to track immigrants, as seen in Gregorio Cordova Murrieta’s deportation case. The Transaction Record Analysis Center’s database violates your privacy for immigration enforcement. • Secret Space Mission: The X-37B mini shuttle launched again for classified space experiments, testing laser communications and GPS-free navigation. The Space Force mission’s duration is undisclosed, with past flights lasting up to a year. Boeing’s reusable craft continues to push secretive aerospace boundaries. What are they up to?

When the going gets strange, the “DeProgram” Show is there to help. President Trump is hitting the streets tonight, joining D.C. police and National Guardsmen on a ride-along following his federal takeover of the city’s police force. This odd, unprecedented stunt raises alarms about overreach and its chilling impact on minority communities. Meanwhile, a disturbing trend emerges: delivery drivers, many from Central and South America, are getting detained by ICE agents during routine moped stops.Plus:• Menendez Brothers’ Parole Hearings: The Menendez brothers face their first parole hearings this week—Erik on Thursday and Lyle on Friday—following a reduction of their life sentences without parole. Their case highlights debates about second chances, with legal teams arguing for a new trial based on new evidence of past abuse. The hearings occur as California reconsiders sentencing for long-term inmates, amplifying public interest.• Raphaël Graven’s Livestream Death: Internet personality Raphaël Graven, known as Jean Pormanove, dies during a livestream on the Kick platform, sparking investigations into online harassment. French authorities note bruises but attribute his death to possible medical or toxicological causes, interviewing those present at the scene. The incident reignites calls for stricter regulation of livestreaming platforms amid reports of viewer-encouraged abuse.• Michael Boulos’ Business Deals: Michael Boulos, engaged to Tiffany Trump, secures financial benefits through a yacht sale to Jared Kushner and a payment from a Saudi businessman linked to Trump family access. His cousin’s brokerage allegedly overcharged Kushner by $2.5 million, while plans to leverage the Boulos-Trump wedding for Saudi influence falter. These dealings raise questions about the intersection of family ties and business opportunities.• Trump’s New York Fraud Case Ruling: A New York appeals court overturns a half-billion-dollar judgment against Trump, easing a financial burden while upholding the fraud case finding. The ruling, marked by judicial discord, allows Trump to appeal to the state’s highest court, challenging his liability. This decision represents a partial victory amid ongoing legal battles with Attorney General Letitia James.

Join the “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, now Monday-Friday 5 pm LIVE and streaming anytime! Technology keeps devastating news publishing, from Craigslist killing classifieds to AI like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overview slashing news site traffic by nearly 50%. Generative AI like ChatGPT, trained on vast internet data, faces accusations of stealing publishers’ intellectual property, prompting lawsuits from the New York Times and Disney against firms like OpenAI. Big Tech defends with “fair use” claims, but publishers argue AI undermines their business. Hollywood joins the fight, suing AI companies for similar violations. Publishers fight back with lawsuits and lobbying against Big Tech’s data theft. Publishers face plummeting traffic and revenue as AI delivers content directly on search platforms. Is it too late to save a vital industry that’s long been on the ropes? Plus: • Democrats in Deep Doodoo: Democrats lost 4.5 million registered voters to Republicans across 30 states from 2020 to 2024, with sharp declines in battlegrounds like Pennsylvania. The party’s fading appeal among men, younger voters, and Latinos signals a brand crisis. Strategists warn of a “reckoning” by 2028. • Fox News Hosts Caught Shilling for Trump: It’s an ugly look. Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, filed in 2021, exposes hosts like Jeanine Pirro pushing pro-Trump election fraud narratives despite deep internal skepticism. Unredacted texts reveal Pirro’s motives, including seeking a pardon for her ex-husband. • Oklahoma’s Teacher Screening: The state’s new teacher screening test, developed by Prager University, targets applicants from blue states to block “woke indoctrinators,” requiring perfect scores on a 50-question exam. Critics label it a political stunt amid a teacher shortage. Unions argue it violates state law. • Israel Reinvades Gaza: The IDF mobilizes 60,000 reservists for an additional Gaza City offensive, approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz, prompting evacuation orders. Allies like France warn of humanitarian disaster, and the UN worries about ethnic cleansing. Israel stalls a ceasefire proposal in which Hamas has already agreed to a full hostage release. • Israel Declares Death of Two-State Solution: Israel’s E1 settlement project will build 3,400 housing units on stolen land in the West Bank, further slicing and dicing Palestinian communities. The plan, condemned by allies like Germany, is an attempt to finally kill off any possibility of a two-state solution.

On the “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, we interview Francisco Rodríguez, a distinguished economist and senior research fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Rodríguez, a Venezuelan opposition economist and Rice Family Professor at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School, brings unparalleled expertise from his roles as head of the Venezuelan National Assembly’s economic advisory (2000–2004), chief Andean economist at Bank of America (2011–2016), and research team leader for UN Human Development Reports (2008–2011). His frequent contributions to outlets like the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and The New York Times cement his authority on global economic policy. We dive into Rodríguez’s groundbreaking Financial Times op-ed, coauthored with CEPR’s Mark Weisbrot, based on their Lancet Global Health study estimating that U.S.-led sanctions cause 564,000 excess deaths annually, particularly among children under five, with an 8% mortality spike in affected nations. Rodríguez calls these sanctions an “economic weapon of mass destruction,” a view echoed by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s fiery denouncement at the Pan American Congress in Mexico City last week, where she condemned their humanitarian toll. Weisbrot’s Los Angeles Times op-ed underscores the “invisible” devastation, arguing sanctions’ political unsustainability once exposed. Also: • No U.S. Troops to Ukraine: Trump assures Fox News that U.S. troops won’t join an Ukraine peacekeeping force, saying Europeans will take point. Trump wants Zelensky to meet Putin summit, and is offering to mediate. Zelensky seeks U.S. weapons and intelligence. • Will Israel Step Up?: Israel faces a Friday deadline for a Hamas-accepted ceasefire, which would release all 20 remaining hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners in a 60-day truce. Starvation is getting even worse under Israel’s aid blockade, as protests and international pressure mount. Qatar and Egypt broker demilitarization talks. • Eric Lendrum’s “Hate Speech”: Trump DHS aide Eric Lendrum’s 2023 X posts and podcast endorse the “great replacement” theory and anti-LGBTQ+ slurs, comparing conservatives to enslaved people and Holocaust victims. His call for violence against Gaza protesters draws condemnation. • Andrew Cuomo Asks Trump For Help: At a Hamptons fundraiser, a shameless Cuomo courts Trump’s support to defeat democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, asking the prez to sideline the GOP’s Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani’s campaign accuses Cuomo of election-rigging. Eric Adams slams Cuomo’s tactics, citing his primary loss. • New Zealand Soldier Convicted of Espionage: A New Zealand soldier, convicted for offering military secrets and possessing Christchurch mosque shooting material, faces sentencing. Linked to extremist groups, he was caught by an undercover officer. The case marks New Zealand’s first spying conviction.

Same gold chair, different tone—Zelensky is better dressed and gets a friendly reception at the White House and JD Vance remains silent. Zelensky and Trump express hope that today’s talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Vladimir Putin to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. On the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou,” we bring you up to date on the latest developments and what they really mean. • Russo-Ukrainian War: Trump tells Ukraine to give up on Crimea, but says Putin has agreed to NATO-like security guarantees from the US and Europe for Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Is Russia saving face? Trump says no to ceasefire—he wants a full deal. What would one look like? Meanwhile, Russian strikes Sumy, injuring 74. • Democrats Return to Texas: Rep. Yassamin Ansari and young Democrats push for a 2026 Texas flip. Republicans and Democrats are now fighting to redraw the maps mid-decade, either to help or block Trump's agenda. California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Maryland are among the Democrat-led states prepared to launch countermeasures to the Texas plan. • Trump Targets Voting Systems: Trump threatens to ban voting machines and mail-in ballots, citing fraud, alarms election officials. Critics warn of suppressed turnout, especially among minorities. His push for paper ballots faces logistical and legal hurdles as 2026 nears. • Newsmax’s $67M Settlement: Newsmax settles a $67M defamation suit over 2020 election falsehoods, signaling media accountability. The payout follows Dominion’s legal wins, but Newsmax’s financial stability remains under scrutiny. • MSNBC’s Name Change: MSNBC rebrands to MS Now to counter declining viewership and compete with streaming platforms. Insiders suggest a shift toward centrism to appeal to younger audiences. The potential name change sparks debate over its progressive legacy. • Paris Braces for Extreme Heat: Paris prepares for 122-degree heatwaves, prompting water rationing and cooling centers. Climate models warn of worsening urban heat islands throughout Europe. Infrastructure upgrades lag, raising fears of widespread disruption. • Iran’s Mass Arrests: Iran detains over 20,000 for alleged espionage for Israel. Human rights groups slam the arrests as a pretext for political purges. • Israel Isolated: Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City draws global condemnation, with Netanyahu vowing to “finish Hamas” even after Hamas agrees to a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has denied intervening to ensure the release of Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a senior Israeli cyber security official who was arrested earlier this month in Nevada as part of an undercover law enforcement operation targeting “child sex predators”.

It’s a key moment on “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou” as the presidents of Russian and the U.S. meet in Alaska to try to normalize relations and end the Russo-Ukrainian War. Trump-Putin Summit: Now underway at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where Trump is pushing for a ceasefire as Zelenskyy’s exclusion echoes 20th century imperialism and warnings of possible failure. Land swaps are on the table. Is there hope for an end to the bloodshed? 59% of Americans don’t trust Trump on Russia—should the president care?Kristi Noem’s Rent Grift: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living rent-free in Quarters 1, a spacious waterfront home at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling typically reserved for the Coast Guard commandant, raising concerns within the agency and among Democrats as a waste of military resources. Noem’s tenancy, prompted by safety concerns after the Daily Mail published photos of her Navy Yard residence, is “temporary,” though no duration is specified, and contrasts with other Cabinet secretaries who pay for their housing. Noem’s spending as South Dakota governor—$68,000 on mansion upgrades and $150,000 on campaign travel—indicates she’s not new to the Kato Kaelin lifestyle.Democrats Move Against D.C. Police Takeover: House and Senate Democrats introduced resolutions to end Trump’s control of the D.C. police, targeting the state of emergency declared Monday federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department. Lawsuits argue it breaks the 1973 Home Rule Act. Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Chris Van Hollen lead the effort, citing low violent crime rates and Trump’s absence during the January 6 Capitol riot, though Republican control impedes progress.ICE Running Wild: Monrovia CA’s city manager reports a man hit and killed on the 210 Freeway while fleeing an ICE raid at Home Depot, though DHS denies chasing him. And a Louisiana lawsuit, JLV v Acuna, says ICE illegally deported two moms, Rosario and Julia, and their four U.S. citizen children—including five-year-old Romeo with stage 4 kidney cancer—to Honduras in April, denying due process and medical care. ICE ignored the moms’ wishes to leave children in the U.S., with one forced to consent under threat of foster care.Israel Running Wild: The U.S. responds to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s plan for 3,401 housing units in Ma’aleh Adumim,, which the UN and UK deem illegal, threatening a two-state solution by splitting the West Bank. The UN says Smotrich’s plan is a war crime.CIA ‘Kryptos’ Sculpture Solution for Sale: Sculptor Jim Sanborn will auction the solution to Kryptos’s unsolved K4 panel on November 20, estimated at $300,000-$500,000, including original text and a proof-of-concept copper plate, with the money going to support disability programs.Illegal Bitcoin Mining in Central Asia: Tajikistan reports $3.52 million in damages from illegal mining using stolen electricity in Q1 2025, with 190 cases involving 3,988 individuals, while Kazakhstan uncovers a $16.5 million scheme using 50 MWh, linked to Russian and Chinese miners exploiting weak oversight.Russia and Central Asia Embrace the Taliban: Russia became the first country to give diplomatic recognition to the Taliban in July, followed by Kazakhstan recognizing a Talib as Chargé of Affairs in August, while Tajikistan seeks improved ties. Russia maintained its embassy post-2021, signed an economic deal for wheat, oil, and gas, and delisted the Taliban from its terrorist list, while Kazakhstan wants to boost trade to $3 billion and also delisted them, driven by stability and drug trafficking concerns.

Is the Russo-Ukrainian War about to come to an end? The “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou handicaps the odds of tomorrow’s Alaska summit between Trump and Putin and the other major issues of the day. Join Ted and John as they explore: • Putin-Trump Summit: As the leaders of the US and Russia prepare to meet in person, Vladimir Putin is reportedly offering financial incentives and 2 million tons of aluminum/mineral rights from the occupied Donbas region of Ukraine to Donald Trump. This move aims to counter a previous U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal. Who will win the mineral bidding war for Trump? • Ethnic Cleansing Plan: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician, has been a vocal advocate for the E1 settlement project in the West Bank. Smotrich announced plans for 3,401 housing units, stating, “Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state.” About Gaza: Israel is negotiating with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, UAE, and Qatar to relocate Gazans for ethnic cleansing and genocide. Meanwhile, airdrop-related deaths mount. • CIA and Sue Mi Terry: Former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry faces charges for acting as a South Korean agent, raising alarms about intelligence oversight and CIA transparency. What really happened and what are the security implications? • More Troops to DC?: Speculation grows about Trump deploying more troops to Washington, DC, supposedly to fight crime. Is this really an attempt to control crime and, if so, can it work? Or is it a way to get us accustomed to the militarization of civilian life?• Q&A with Ted Rall: John had a train to catch! So Ted answered your questions about the Los Angeles Times, Ayn Rand, the effect of the media overseas, and how to break into politics when you’re 16.

Is fascism coming to the streets of D.C.? That’s the big question on the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou today. • Trump Nationalizes D.C. Police, Sends Troops to City Streets: What hath “Big Balls” wrought? President Trump activates Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, federalizing D.C.’s civilian police and deploying 500 National Guard troops to stop crime and expel the homeless. Trump says the city is out of control but there has been a 26% drop in violent crime this year. Will Congress rubber-stamp this terrifying move? • Epstein-Maxwell Records: A federal judge rejects unsealing grand jury documents in the Epstein and Maxwell cases. Public frustration increases. Will we ever learn the truth? • Israel Assassinates 5 Al Jazeera Journalists: Israel bombs reporter Anas al-Sharif and 4 Al Jazeera journalist colleagues in Gaza, accusing him of leading a Hamas cell. There is no evidence. Press freedom groups say Israel is trying to stop the truth from coming out of Gaza. • Australia Recognizes Palestine: Australia joins the ranks of the civilized world, formally recognizing Palestine as a state. This move, joining the UK, France and Canada, redraws Middle East alliances. Fence-sitters like Germany watch as Canberra weighs backlash and support. • MTG Cashes In: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s net worth soars to $22 million, up from $700,000 pre-Congress, tied to her many stock trades before Trump’s tariff pause. Her spicy defense prompts ethics investigations. • Trump-Putin Summit: Trump will meet Putin in Alaska to reset U.S.-Russia relations, amid Trump’s public frustration with Putin over Ukraine and speculation about carving up Ukraine. Zelensky may or may not be invited.

It’s the end of the week but there’s no end to the drama on “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from the noise and deflection used by the establishment to keep you in the dark. Ted and John answer your questions in the Rumble and YouTube feeds, but here’s the docket: • Israel Goes for the Whole Schmear: Israel’s war cabinet votes for the IDF to invade and hold ALL of Gaza, including Gaza City, ignoring military generals who say it will be a disaster. The escalation threatens even more civilian deaths and will kill most if the remaining hostages. Global condemnation grows as famine worsens with no end in sight. • Germany Starts to Ditch Israel: An incredibly reliable ally, Germany is cutting off weapons to Israel. Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticizes Israel’s Gaza genocide, hinting at recognizing Palestine. Germany’s concern over civilian suffering potentially alters regional alliances. What next in Europe? • A $50M Bounty on a President: Trump offers $50 million for information leading to the arrest of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, twice as much as for Osama bin Laden. It’s regime change by another name. Is it also a risky diplomatic gamble? • Trump Meets Putin: Trump has a high-stakes meeting with Putin soon. He’ll ask the CIA for insights about Russia’s leader. Can U.S.-Russia relations get a reset? Any chance for a peace deal in Ukraine? What will the CIA tell him? John may have ideas. • The Migrants Who Aren’t Here: Trump wants to omit illegal immigrants from the U.S. census, potentially slashing representation and funding in the blue states and depriving agencies of information about the population. Critics say it is unconstitutional. • JD Vance Has the Lake His Way: Reminding us of Chris Christie during N.J. beach closures, Vice President JD Vance, on vacay with the fam, arranges with local authorities to adjust SW Ohio lake levels more to his liking. It’s good to be king apparent! But remember what happened to Christie. • Apple’s iOS Update Swipes Left on Democracy: Apple’s latest iOS update raises alarms that pollsters and electioneers will no longer be able to access voters. Tech’s role in civic integrity faces scrutiny.

On the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, we dissect the most urgent global and domestic issues with incisive clarity and de-program you from propaganda. • Trump Takes DC: Rumors of a Trump-driven federal takeover of Washington, DC could end “home rule.” Congress may impose sweeping control, citing crime, governance—and “Big Balls.” • Lone Star Chaos: Texas faces intensifying political clashes, as Democratic state leaders resist federal overreach on voting rights. Recent gerrymandering efforts by both parties threaten electoral fairness. • Trump Robs the Banks: First the colleges. Then the law firms. In his latest shakedown, Trump accuses banks of discriminatory practices against him personally (of course) and conservatives in general. • Japan Wants to Re-Arm: At this 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s bombings, the Japanese increasingly believe the post-World War II constitution, which guarantees a peaceful Japan, is obsolete. • Trump Takes Over Gaza Aid: Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, says the US wants to take over control of Gaza humanitarian aid, raising fears of sidelining Palestinian autonomy, exposing Israeli genocide and putting US troops in harm’s way. • Israel-Palestinian Statehood (some exceptions apply): Recent recognitions by France, the UK and Canada give hope to Palestine, but two of those carry some big conditions. • Bennett’s Warning: Former PM Naftali Bennett calls Israel a “leper state” in the US, citing growing isolation. • Israel Censors Bomb Damage: Iran’s 12-day strikes on Israel face heavy censorship, obscuring the conflict’s real toll. Reports suggest

The “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou brings you up-to-date at the start of a busy summer week in the news and deprograms you from corporate news propaganda! • Texas Democrats Dip Out Over Gerrymandering: Over 50 Texas House Democrats flee to Illinois and New York to deny a quorum for a Trump-backed redistricting plan that could add five national House GOP seats for give them a dose of their own medicine. Governor Greg Abbott threatens to annul their elections and to throw them into prison. • Politicizing Unemployment Stats: President Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a weak July jobs report threatens the credibility of economic statistics. Senators like Rand Paul warn against undermining objective data. Are securities markets and capitalism at risk? • Gaza’s “All or Nothing” Deal: Humanitarian groups say Gazans are still starving due to insufficient aid. Hamas’s hostage video terrifies Israeli families. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff assesses the crisis amid stalled negotiations, calling for a return of all hostages—but what comes if/after the fighting? • MTG Says GOP Hates Women: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses GOP leadership of betraying conservative values and women, citing a “neocon” movement. Will party divisions tear apart the Trump coalition? She stops short of criticizing Trump—is that next? • California Post: Murdoch’s new California Post challenges “print is dead” with a new print product. Clearly NewsCorp smells blood in the water as Dr. Pat prepares to scuttle the Los Angeles Times in a doomed IPO. Does the CP stand a chance? • $15,000 Visa Bond: A proposed $15,000 bond for visa applicants from high-overstay countries slams legal tourists and workers with prohibitively high fees. Will anyone come to the US under Trump? • Everyone Can See Your “Private” ChatGPT Chats: Private ChatGPT conversations are indexed by Google, raising privacy alarms. Users, especially lawyers and their clients, demand stronger data protections from OpenAI. Ted, unreasoned, is still safe! • CIA Director Accuses Hillary: Hillary Clinton’s alleged plan to frame Trump as Russian stooge—is it true? If so, is it a major political scandal? If so, will Democrats ever hear about it?

On “DeProgram” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, the world’s focus is on the ongoing crisis in Gaza: • Ground Offensive: Israel’s relentless military campaign escalates against Gaza, where 111 Palestinians have been killed in 24 hours, including 91 trying to get food. Civilian deaths are fueling international condemnation. • Famine: Famine ravages Gaza, with 147 starvation deaths and 60,000 total fatalities. Israel’s aid blockade from March to May worsened the crisis, reflecting Israel’s deliberate weaponization of starvation. Rall and Kiriakou explore the humanitarian disaster. • Witkoff’s Visit: US envoy Steve Witkoff’s Gaza trip to inspect sites of the GHF’s troubled food sites sparks Palestinian outrage. They call it a cheap “media stunt” and an attempt to dodge US complicity in the crisis. We look at the diplomatic implications. • Will Germany Step Up?: Germany resists recognizing Palestine, with Foreign Minister Wadephul advocating a two-state solution. Allies like France and Canada ratchet up the pressure as Israel and its shrinking number of allies are increasingly isolated. • IDF Barred at Birkenau: An IDF delegation was denied entry to the Birkenau death camp for carrying Israeli flags, per The Times of Israel. Is Israel losing the war over historical memory? • Microplastics: You breathe 68,000 lung-penetrating microplastics daily in your home, posing severe health risks, linked to respiratory and systemic diseases. This environmental crisis demands urgent action. • Democratic Senators: 27 Democratic senators voted to suspend US weapons to Israel, citing Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. What’s up with the growing schism? • Sanctions and Tariffs: Trump threatens sanctions and tariffs on allies like Canada for recognizing Palestineo. His shifting Gaza stance complicates diplomacy. Join the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou for “de-programming.”

Get insider CIA dish on a pair of stories on today’s “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou,” streaming live at M-W-F 5 pm ET and available 24-7. Chime in with your questions and comments for John and Ted! • UK to Recognize Palestine: Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK will formally recognize Palestine at the UN this September—unless Israel halts its Gaza genocide and manmade famine. Which countries are next? Can Israel stop this move and should they care? • Iran’s GPS Switcher: Iran plans to abandon U.S.-run GPS, possibly in favor of China, after U.S.-Israeli nuclear site strikes. Tech sovereignty is spreading. What are the global tech fallout risks as distrust of the U.S. spreads? • Is Israel Losing the Right? U.S. evangelical and conservative support for Israel, previously reliable, is on the wane. GOP stalwarts like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are criticizing its Gaza war as genocide. US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, visits a West Bank town attacked by settlers. Joe Rogan is boycotting Bibi. Can Israel get its right-wing groove back? • Tom Sylvester’s CIA Exit: CIA’s Deputy Director of Operations retires after losing a prestigious London post due to controversial book quotes. His exit sparks leadership concerns. What’s next at the CIA? • Sandy Grimes’ Legacy: The CIA mole hunter at 80, famous for exposing Aldrich Ames. Her counterintelligence work reshaped the agency. What’s her legacy?

Tune in to the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, delivering unfiltered analysis of the top global and domestic stories. We tackle critical topics with insider expertise and fearless commentary, exposing the raw truths behind the headlines. Join Ted and John as we talk about: • Gaza’s Starvation Crisis: The UN reports over 120 deaths, mostly children, from malnutrition in Gaza due to Israel’s aid blockade. Trump urged Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into Gaza today, acknowledging the “real starvation” crisis. Urgent action is needed to avert further famine. • Russia Sanctions Tighten: Trump shortened his 50-day deadline for Russia to end the Ukraine war, threatening severe sanctions after Russia’s latest drone attacks. The Kremlin remains defiant, escalating global tensions. Diplomacy hangs by a thread. • Trump’s Scotland Trip: Trump’s Scotland visit, hosted at his Turnberry resort, sparked protests over his Epstein ties. Demonstrators demand Epstein File transparency as Trump denies briefing on his involvement. The controversy deepens. • Maxwell Pardon Rumors: Ghislaine Maxwell’s DOJ interviews fuel speculation of a Trump pardon. Her attorney hints at clemency, while Trump claims he hasn’t considered it but notes his authority to do so. Critics fear a justice system betrayal. • ICE Raids in NYC: ICE’s intensified NYC operations, including deporting a former IRA member, have communities on edge. Mayor Adams faces lawsuits over sanctuary city policies. Fear grips immigrant neighborhoods as protesters mobilize. • Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire: Trump demanded an immediate ceasefire as Thailand-Cambodia border clashes displace thousands. Malaysia reports both nations agreed to halt hostilities. Peace remains fragile.

On “DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou,” where fearless political cartoonist Ted Rall and courageous CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou dissect the world’s most urgent controversies, it’s another busy news day where there’s much to be unspun. France’s groundbreaking decision to recognize Palestine at the UN takes center stage. President Macron says the move is designed to support Gaza’s civilians amid famine hitting civilians, aid workers and journalists because Israel refuses to allow food into the Occupied Territory. Israeli and U.S. leaders, including Trump and Rubio, have condemned it as reckless, arguing it bolsters Hamas and undermines peace efforts. Netanyahu says Gaza is “too close” to Tel Aviv. France, however, sees it as a step toward a two-state solution, potentially inspiring other G7 nations. Democratic lawmakers, including Robert Garcia and Summer Lee, raise rhetorical alarm over masked ICE agents using unmarked vehicles, citing constitutional concerns and public fear, as reported by The Guardian. DHS defends the practice, claiming masks protect agents from gang threats, while critics argue it enables impersonation and erodes accountability under the Fourth Amendment. Next, let’s look into Ghislaine Maxwell’s recent DOJ interviews, where her attorney confirmed she answered all questions honestly, fueling speculation what exactly she shared in terms of Epstein-related testimony. No clemency offers have been made yet, but a House subpoena signals growing pressure to uncover more about Epstein’s network. Trump has deflected questions about a pardon, calling it something he “hasn’t thought about,” while critics question the timing of the meetings. Finally, Trump’s provocative plan to forcibly hospitalize mentally ill and the homeless sparks debate, with Democrats decrying it as a civil liberties violation. Trump says it’s about public safety but faces backlash for its authoritarian overtones.

On the “DeProgram show” with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, we’re dissecting urgent global crises with unflinching clarity. We confront the escalating starvation crisis in Gaza, where over 100 aid groups, including Save the Children, blame Israel’s blockade for mass hunger. Gaza’s health ministry reporting 43 deaths from malnutrition in just days. We probe the horrific state of Gaza’s doctors, who are too malnourished to remain standing, much less treat patients effectively. The Guardian reports medical staff fainting from hunger, with 21 children dying in three days due to starvation, as hospitals buckle under the crisis. In the U.S., we examine the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, where lawyers demand the Trump administration and Kristi Noem cease inflammatory rhetoric labeling him a “monster,” raising free speech concerns after a judge barred his ICE detention. In Ukraine, we analyze President Zelensky’s response to domestic protests over entrenched corruption, as public unrest grows amid wartime struggles, with Zelensky proposing renewed talks with Russia to end the conflict. We also tackle congressional calls for more Jeffrey Epstein files, amid Trump’s past ties to the financier, fueling debates over transparency and accountability as Congress goes home early to dodge the heat. Finally, Iran. Why are fires breaking out all over?

Is “DeProgram” on ICE’s s-list? If today’s news is a guide: probably. Join the resistance by listening and watching political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from corporate-media propaganda about today’s biggest stories. On the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou,” the guys examine the role of Donald Trump as Bully in Chief, from his bizarre push to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” stoking nationalist fervor and offending Mexico, to his war against Harvard over $2.6 billion in research funds, with a court hearing today over free speech violations targeting pro-Palestinian protests on campus. John and Ted also address Trump’s demand that the Washington Commanders revive the “Redskins” name, fueling debates about cultural sensitivity. We’ll look at ICE’s terrifying expansion of surveillance against law-abiding American citizens, with plans to hire contractors to monitor “negative” posts about the agency, claiming threats to agents but also censoring free speech and quieting dissidents. We’ll confront the human cost of Trump’s deportations, including 82-year-old Luis Leon, a Chilean torture victim and asylee hospitalized with pneumonia in Guatemala after an unlawful ICE deportation that nearly killed him—ICE thought so. Miami’s ICE jails are rife abuses like medical neglect. The story of Pat Tillman’s brother, Richard, will unpack the politicization of military legacy and revisit a painful and controversial episode for Ted, as a cartoonist. We’ll catch you up on the Israel-Gaza conflict, with 23 countries urging an immediate cessation of hostilities. Catch DeProgram live at 5 pm ET or stream 24-7 for fearless insights into power, policy, and justice.

It’s time for “DeProgram,” where political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou tackle today’s most urgent stories. Ted and John bring you up-to-date on the Jeffrey Epstein case Trump wishes would just go away, where the WSJ reveals a bromance between the president and the disgraced financier in a bound birthday book, and the White House orders the release of some court documents but not all. Next, we dissect the Senate’s vote to cut $9 billion from NPR and PBS, threatening public media and perhaps even the lives in media deserts in places like Alaska and the Great Plains. The focus then shifts to Iran’s nuclear program, bombed by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, with conflicting reports on damage—Trump claims “obliteration,” while intelligence suggests a mere months-long setback, raising the stakes for diplomacy, European sanctions or renewed war with Israel. Finally, they address the NYPD’s use of FDNY’s Clearview AI access to bypass a facial recognition ban to illegally identify a pro-Palestinian Columbia protester, Zuhdi Ahmed, in a case dismissed due to this privacy violation, sparking outrage over free speech.

The “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou” is now three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5 pm Eastern! Let’s dig into the civil war within MAGA over Jeffrey Epstein, where the Justice Department’s denial that a “client list” exists is only sparking more cover-up allegations. Trump loyalists are urging the rank-and-file to move on lest they play into Democratic hands. Will they? Next, John and Ted break down the chaos within the FBI. The FBI is mired in a deepening crisis, with a whistleblower alleging a leadership scandal involving Director Christopher Wray and senior officials who are accused of suppressing internal dissent and mismanaging high-profile investigations, undermining the agency’s credibility. Leaked memos reveal bitter factionalism, allegations of political interference in cases like January 6th, and a culture of retaliation against agents who raise concerns, prompting bipartisan calls for congressional oversight and radical reforms to restore public trust. In a New York Times interview, Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen for signing clemency decisions, insisting that he personally authorized each pardon and commutation. But his denials confirm the accusations. Biden admitted to not individually approving each name for categorical pardons but claimed he set the criteria. And his answers were meandering and inarticulate. Seven senators, including four Democrats (Gary Peters, Tina Smith, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin) and three Republicans (Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Tommy Tuberville), have announced retirements ahead of the 2026 midterms, creating competitive open seats. These exits, driven by age, political pressures, and personal decisions, could reshape the Senate’s balance of power, with North Carolina and New Hampshire emerging as key battlegrounds. Turning to the Middle East, Israel is openly discussing its plan to indefinitely displace Palestinians, risking derailment of fragile Gaza truce talks, risking “ethnic cleansing” charges under international law, and fueling regional unrest. A leaked ICE memo from Acting Director Todd Lyons allows deportations of migrants to countries where they lack citizenship, often with just six hours’ notice, even without assurances that they won’t be murdered, risking thousands being sent to unfamiliar nations, including war zones. It could uproot longtime U.S. residents with work permits and families, sending them to places where they face death, persecution or torture.

The “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou” is now three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5 pm Eastern! Let’s dig into the civil war within MAGA over Jeffrey Epstein, where the Justice Department’s denial that a “client list” exists is only sparking more cover-up allegations. Trump loyalists are urging the rank-and-file to move on lest they play into Democratic hands. Will they? Next, John and Ted break down the chaos within the FBI. The FBI is mired in a deepening crisis, with a whistleblower alleging a leadership scandal involving Director Christopher Wray and senior officials who are accused of suppressing internal dissent and mismanaging high-profile investigations, undermining the agency’s credibility. Leaked memos reveal bitter factionalism, allegations of political interference in cases like January 6th, and a culture of retaliation against agents who raise concerns, prompting bipartisan calls for congressional oversight and radical reforms to restore public trust. In a New York Times interview, Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen for signing clemency decisions, insisting that he personally authorized each pardon and commutation. But his denials confirm the accusations. Biden admitted to not individually approving each name for categorical pardons but claimed he set the criteria. And his answers were meandering and inarticulate. Seven senators, including four Democrats (Gary Peters, Tina Smith, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin) and three Republicans (Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Tommy Tuberville), have announced retirements ahead of the 2026 midterms, creating competitive open seats. These exits, driven by age, political pressures, and personal decisions, could reshape the Senate’s balance of power, with North Carolina and New Hampshire emerging as key battlegrounds. Turning to the Middle East, Israel is openly discussing its plan to indefinitely displace Palestinians, risking derailment of fragile Gaza truce talks, risking “ethnic cleansing” charges under international law, and fueling regional unrest. A leaked ICE memo from Acting Director Todd Lyons allows deportations of migrants to countries where they lack citizenship, often with just six hours’ notice, even without assurances that they won’t be murdered, risking thousands being sent to unfamiliar nations, including war zones. It could uproot longtime U.S. residents with work permits and families, sending them to places where they face death, persecution or torture.

Never a dull moment on the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, deprogramming you about the news that matters. RussiaGate Revisited: The Justice Department finally launches criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey over their roles in the Trump-Russia investigation. A “lessons learned” review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that alleged Russia tried to influence the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Trump found that the process of the ICA’s creation was rushed with “procedural anomalies,” and that officials diverted from intelligence standards. It also determined that the “decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” Whoopsie! Will the media stop pushing RussiaGate now? The Epstein Circular File: Controversy surrounds Attorney General Pam Bondi as she claims there’s nothing to see and no one to prosecute in the Jeffrey Epstein case. A DOJ memo that denies the existence of a “client list” fails the smell test as Team Trump seems to be indulging in a cover-up. ICE at War: Democratic senators are about to propose a bill to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, prompted by reports of impersonators committing crimes. Examples include Carl Thomas Bennett, 37, arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina, for impersonating an ICE officer and sexually assaulting a woman at a Motel 6. Bennett allegedly displayed a business card with a badge and threatened to deport the victim if she didn’t comply. A man in Philadelphia, wearing a tactical vest labeled “Security Enforcement Agent,” robbed an auto repair shop while posing as an ICE agent. He detained a 50-year-old Dominican woman using zip-ties and stole $1,000. A man in Texas posed as an ICE agent to rob a couple, blocking their car and demanding cash. The couple fought back, with the wife and husband firing weapons, hitting the suspect, who fled and was later hospitalized. Meanwhile, 11 people allegedly used fireworks and vandalism to lure ICE agents before ambushing them with 20-30 rounds, injuring a police officer in the neck at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. AI Officials: Speaking of fakery, an AI-generated imposter used a fake Signal account to mimic Secretary of State Marco Rubio, contacting three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a congressmember. This scam followed a similar AI-driven impersonation of Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Ted’s 2020 graphic novel “The Stringer” envisioned a world in which a bad actor would start wars using AI deep fakes. Could it happen now? Zohran Zooming: Zohran Mamdani leads the general election race in a new poll. Mamdani gets 35%, followed by Cuomo with 25%, Sliwa with 14%, Adams—the corporate establishment favorite—at 11% and attorney Jim Walden at 1%. Never has the Democratic establishment been so out of touch. Don’t miss the unfiltered truth on these pivotal stories.

As we wrap up the holiday weekend, catch up on the smartest takes on the big news—tune into the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.” John and Ted analyze the political and personal fallout of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax-and-spending package signed July 4th, sparking numerous debates. Will the MAGA base see the massive increase in deficits as a betrayal? Can this latest attempt at Reaganite “trickle down economics” succeed in stimulating the economy? What of the millions of Medicaid recipients, mostly Republican voters, who will lose their healthcare? Is James Carville right to call this a “mass extinction event” for Republicans? Elon Musk says he’s going to make good on his new “America Party,” as revenge for the Big Beautiful Bill. He wants to disrupt duopoly politics but can he attract new voters and overcome legal and institutional barriers? Alligator Alcatraz, a Florida Everglades detention gulag that opened to imprisoned migrants last week, is being criticized for inhumane conditions like flooding and mosquito infestations, as well as its $450 million annual cost. Israel rejected Hamas' proposed changes to the latest Gaza hostage and ceasefire proposal, but will send negotiators to Qatar today. Is a breakthrough possible? Finally, we look at the catastrophic Texas Hill Country floods, where over 10 inches of rain killed at least 50 people, including 15 children, with 27 missing from a girls’ camp. Did National Weather Service staff cuts of 600 by Trump’s DOGE lead to inadequate flood warnings, despite meteorologists’ claims that their forecasts were accurate?

We’re pleased to announce a special episode of the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou”! One year ago today, President Joe Biden shocked the world with a disastrous presidential debate appearance that marked the beginning of the end of his reelection campaign and withdrawal a few weeks later. In the room where it happened was moderator Jake Tapper. Today join us for a LIVE interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, diving into his explosive book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” The book, co-authored with Axios’ Alex Thompson, documents a damning account of President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline during his presidency, based on over 200 interviews. It details how Biden’s inner circle, including aides and family, allegedly concealed his cognitive struggles—such as forgetting the names of longtime aides, failing to recognize famous friends like George Clooney, and confusing key officials—as well as physical challenges, including internal White House discussions about potential wheelchair use due to Biden’s spinal degeneration. “Original Sin” exposes a tightly controlled Administration that closed off access to Biden, scripted Cabinet meetings, and bullied those who asked about his fitness as enemies and partisan hacks. This is no less than one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. Don’t miss Ted and John’s hard-hitting exploration of these revelations and their impact on the 2024 election. Join us live on YouTube and Rumble to ask Jake Tapper your questions and engage with this critical look at the unraveling of the Biden presidency. Tune in for the unfiltered truth on the “DeProgram show”—where bold insights meet fearless dialogue!

As we wrap up the holiday weekend, catch up on the smartest takes on the big news—tune into the “DeProgram show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.” John and Ted analyze the political and personal fallout of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax-and-spending package signed July 4th, sparking numerous debates. Will the MAGA base see the massive increase in deficits as a betrayal? Can this latest attempt at Reaganite “trickle down economics” succeed in stimulating the economy? What of the millions of Medicaid recipients, mostly Republican voters, who will lose their healthcare? Is James Carville right to call this a “mass extinction event” for Republicans? Elon Musk says he’s going to make good on his new “America Party,” as revenge for the Big Beautiful Bill. He wants to disrupt duopoly politics but can he attract new voters and overcome legal and institutional barriers? Alligator Alcatraz, a Florida Everglades detention gulag that opened to imprisoned migrants last week, is being criticized for inhumane conditions like flooding and mosquito infestations, as well as its $450 million annual cost. Israel rejected Hamas' proposed changes to the latest Gaza hostage and ceasefire proposal, but will send negotiators to Qatar today. Is a breakthrough possible? Finally, we look at the catastrophic Texas Hill Country floods, where over 10 inches of rain killed at least 50 people, including 15 children, with 27 missing from a girls’ camp. Did National Weather Service staff cuts of 600 by Trump’s DOGE lead to inadequate flood warnings, despite meteorologists’ claims that their forecasts were accurate?