NYC Mayor Mamdani Seeks to Arrest Israel’s Netanyahu: “He’s a War Criminal”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he’s still looking into arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits New York for the U.N. General Assembly in September. Mamdani spoke with The New York Times’s “The Interview” podcast. Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years. I’ve also said that I will follow the laws that we have here in New York City, because I believe that there is an importance in following the law as a leader who presides over our city. And that’s something that I plan to do.” Lulu Garcia-Navarro: “Meaning? I’m sorry, I don’t understand what that means.” Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “Meaning that whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.” www.democracynow.org

Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs as Millions Suffer from Hazardous Wildfire Smoke

Millions of people across North America face another day of hazardous air pollution as nearly 1,000 active wildfires continue to rage in Canada. “Hazardous” air quality alerts are once again in effect today for major cities including Chicago, Detroit, Columbus and Minneapolis. Here in New York, air quality has improved — at least for now — following what officials are calling the second-worst smoke event in the city’s modern history. On Friday, President Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Canada over the record levels of hazardous air. www.democracynow.org

ICE Agent Responsible for Fatal Shooting of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero Once Told Court of Head Injury

Meanwhile, records show the ICE agent behind the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero once told a court a head injury had left him with impaired cognitive functioning and memory. David Brouillette filed a lawsuit against the Maine Community College System in late 2023, alleging post-concussive injuries after a steel beam fell on his head during a firefighting training course. Just two years later, Brouillette went to work as an ICE officer — despite his injury and his documented history of domestic violence against two previous wives and his daughters. www.democracynow.org

Colorado Prison Guard Faces Multiple Charges After Shooting Protesters Outside ICE Jail

A Colorado prison guard faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, after he allegedly shot a protester outside the for-profit ICE jail where he works. Witnesses say 42-year-old Brandon Booth responded to demonstrations last Thursday outside the GEO Group’s Aurora ICE Processing Center by firing a single shot at protesters, then fleeing the scene. The bullet struck 21-year-old Emma Landis in the heel, sending her to the hospital. In the wake of the shooting, Booth’s former sister-in-law told The Denver Post that Booth was “not a good person at all.” She said he’d previously slammed her into a wall, giving her a concussion, adding, “This is not a person who does the right thing or respects boundaries, especially of women and kids.” www.democracynow.org

Israel Strips Crocodiles of Protected Status to Pave Way for Crocodile-Infested Moat

Israel has revoked the protected status of Nile crocodiles to pave the way for a new prison modeled after the Trump administration’s “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE jail in the Florida Everglades. The proposal by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir would see Palestinians held in a prison surrounded by a crocodile-infested moat. Israeli researcher and political commentator Shaiel Ben-Ephraim said on X, “The fact that Israel is trying to surround a prison with [crocodiles] tells you all you need to know about these camps, which are designed to torture, rape, and murder Palestinians, often held as hostages without charges.” www.democracynow.org

Dozens of Israeli Settlers Storm Palestinian Village in Occupied West Bank

In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village near the southern town of Yatta on Sunday, setting fire to a mosque and buildings. Footage obtained by Reuters showed the settlers attacking a Palestinian home, starting fires near the property and spraying graffiti on its walls. Eyewitnesses called it a coordinated attack. Juma Ribee: “It was an attack on the entire village. The settlers came from the nearby settlement of Havat Ma’on. They were around 40 settlers. Six were attacking here. They directly attacked this house to prevent anyone from getting out of the house. And the others went toward the mosque, and they tried to set fire to the mosque.” Elsewhere, Israeli settlers deliberately set fire to Palestinian farmland and olive groves in the village of Tel, south of Nablus. In June, Amnesty International accused Israel’s government of carrying out a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank amid a steep rise of state-backed violence and forced displacements by Israeli settlers. www.democracynow.org

Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Several Palestinians Over the Weekend

In Gaza, Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Saturday killed at least nine Palestinians, including three children, according to local health officials. Separately, an Israeli attack on a tent sheltering displaced families in southern Gaza killed at least one Palestinian and wounded several others on Sunday night. This is Huda al-Lahham, whose building was destroyed in an Israeli strike. Huda al-Lahham: “Our message to the world is to stop this war on us. We can’t stand it. We don’t have anything. We can’t find food to eat. Why are they doing this? We haven’t done anything. We were staying safely in our homes. We want to eat. We want to live like everyone else.” Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians in Gaza since October, when Israel agreed to a U.S.-brokered so-called ceasefire. www.democracynow.org