From New York, this is democracy now.

But the reason I'm here is because we've dragged it and they've never been about drag.

Right?

Because these are the same people they're coming for medically necessary gender requirement care.

Because these are the same people trying to kick our kids out of the sport.

And the same people trying to reject HIV funding for this state.

The nation's largest lesbian gay bisexual transgender and queer civil rights organization has declared national state of emergency in the United States due to an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ plus legislation.

We'll speak to the president of the Human Rights Campaign, Kelly Robinson.

Then to Cornell West, the famed public intellectual has just announced he's running for president to challenge both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In these big times, I have decided to run for truth and justice which takes the form of running for president of the United States as a candidate for the people's party.

I enter into quest for truth. I enter into quest for justice.

And the presidency is just one vehicle to pursue that truth and justice, what I've been trying to do all of my life.

All that and more coming up.

Welcome to DemocracyNow, democracynow.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman.

Air quality alerts were issued across multiple US states and cities Tuesday as well as today as thick, dark smoke from Canada's hundreds of blazing wildfires, blanket at the skies of the Northeast, Midwest, the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic.

The haze has triggered dangerous air pollution warnings impacting tens of millions of people with New York City reporting the worst air quality in any major city worldwide Tuesday.

There are over 400 blazes burning across nearly all of Canada's 10 provinces and territories forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

The province of Quebec is facing some of the worst fires many caused by lightning covering neighboring Ottawa and Toronto with an orange haze.

US and Canadian officials are urging people with hardened lung issues and other vulnerable groups to remain indoors as much as possible.

Record-breaking heat waves continue to plague much of the planet. The heat index in Puerto Rico reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit this week as the island is hit by the combined effects of a heat dome, El Nino and climate change.

Meanwhile, many Asian countries are sweltering under a prolonged heat wave, including Bangladesh, where elementary schools were shuttered this week and residents are dealing with frequent power cut outages as temperatures topped 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Many workers are still forced to spend hours outdoors with no relief.

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