Inside the Americas

French retail giant Carrefour is accused of deforestation in the Amazon. According to global advocacy group Mighty Earth, the group sources ingredients from meat and soy traders with shocking practices. Carrefour controls roughly a quarter of the food distribution market in Brazil. For more, we speak to Alex Wijeratna, Senior Director of Mighty Earth.

Progressive US lawmaker Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez was arrested on Tuesday at an abortion rights protest. Donning bandanas reading "We won't back down", she along with other prominent Democratic lawmakers marched from the Capitol building to the Supreme Court, denouncing the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In total, 35 people were arrested, including 17 - exclusively Democratic - members of Congress.

This week, NASA unveiled the first astounding images of the distant cosmos taken by its James Webb Space Telescope. In this image, we can see a star-forming region in the Carina Nebula, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. These high-resolution images are the most detailed ever seen of this little-known corner of our universe, revealing nebulas, galaxy clusters and stars from billions of years ago.

It was supposed to be a festive celebration marking the 246th anniversary of the independence of the United States. Instead, it was yet another reminder of rampant gun violence in the country as a gunman disguised in women's clothing opened fire on a parade in a Chicago suburb, killing several people. The 21-year-old assailant has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.  FRANCE 24's Alison Sargent has been looking at reactions to this latest mass shooting.

This week, the House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol heard new bombshell testimony. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, said that Donald Trump knew crowds gathered to hear him on January 6, 2021 were armed. She testified that he even tried to grab the steering wheel of his presidential limo when his security team refused to take him to the Capitol.

Colombians have elected a new president. Gustavo Petro, 62, is set to become the first leftist in the country's top job. The former rebel of the now defunct M-19 movement beat millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernandez in Sunday's election. Petro will take the oath of office in August, replacing the deeply unpopular Ivan Duque. For analysis, we speak to Gerard Martin, a political sociologist based in Medellin, Colombia.

The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. More than 800 homicides have been recorded there since January, making it Mexico's most violent state. Criminal groups are waging war to control territory, while the state's residents have become hostages and victims of the violence. Our correspondents Quentin Duval, Laurence Cuvillier and Juan José Estrada Serafín report.

This week, the US pledged close to $2 billion in private sector funds to help fight migration, adding to another billion already promised in December. US Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement on day one of the Summit of the Americas, which is taking place in Los Angeles. The move is supposed to help control migration from Central America, one of the major themes of the talks. But there were some key players missing from the US-hosted summit. We take a closer look.

The US town of Uvalde, Texas began to bury its dead this week after the country's worst school shooting in a decade. Nineteen students and two teachers were shot dead by an 18-year-old gunman. When President Joe Biden went to console grieving families, he was greeted with protesters shouting "Do something!". But can he actually do anything? FRANCE 24's international affairs commentator Douglas Herbert gives us his analysis.

Over two thirds of young Colombians say their lives have got worse over the past year, which saw a fierce crackdown on anti-government protests in a country still recovering from five decades of conflict. Six years after the peace deal with the FARC rebels, many young people are backing the former mayor of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, in the May 29 presidential election. If he wins, Petro would become Colombia's first-ever leftist leader. In this special edition of Inside the Americas, we meet several young Colombians who are hoping for change.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden visited the site of a deadly attack motivated by racial hatred. On May 14, an 18-year-old went on a shooting rampage in the city of Buffalo, killing 10 and injuring three, with the express purpose of targeting Black people. In an emotional speech, the US president spoke out against White supremacy, saying it was a "poison in our body politic".

The US has pledged tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine. With time of the essence, President Joe Biden signed legislation that was last used during World War II. We take a closer look at the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 and get analysis from FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator, Douglas Herbert.

In this week's show, we take a look at why the constitutional right to abortion in the United States appears to be in the crosshairs of the Supreme Court. This happened after a leaked draft showed the Court may be ready to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which ruled that the constitution protected a woman's right to legal termination. Our international commentator Douglas Herbert will break down the implications of this event.

After buying Twitter for $44 billion, Elon Musk is promising to protect free speech and bring about much-needed changes, including taking on bots and introducing an edit button to the platform. We take a closer look at the billionaire Tesla founder. For more analysis on what changes the latter might bring to Twitter, we speak to Chris Bail, Director of the Polarization Lab at Duke University.

Although El Salvador has seen a fall in the number of homicides, the country suffers from another type of crime that the government avoids talking about. Gangs are stepping up kidnappings and forced disappearances, terrorising the most vulnerable, who increasingly end up dead. Faced with the authorities' silence, who keep no official register, victims' loved ones are speaking out. Our regional correspondents Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin report.

Brazil has more than three million "ghost citizens": people who don't have a birth certificate or ID card. In administrative terms they do not exist and have no access to public health care or education. They also can't vote. But in the run-up to October's elections, these people could constitute a potential political force. Our correspondents Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery take a closer look at the legal and social workers who are trying to help "ghost citizens".

Ukraine's president spoke to the UN Security Council by video link on Tuesday. In his first speech to the body since Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for accountability. His plea followed the discoveries of civilian victims in the town of Bucha, killings that Zelensky says are tantamount to attempted genocide and war crimes committed by Russia. We take a closer look.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for young students. Opponents, who fear for the impact on youngsters, refer to the measure as the "Don't say gay" bill. We take a closer look at the controversial legislation, which will impact children between the ages of five and nine.

As the war in Ukraine continues, US President Joe Biden is heading to Europe to meet EU leaders and attend an emergency NATO summit. His trip will also take him to Poland, which has taken in a vast majority of the 3.6 million Ukrainians who have escaped the conflict.

As Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky made a landmark virtual address to the US Congress this week. US lawmakers gave him a standing ovation the moment he showed up on screen. Speaking almost three weeks after the Russian invasion first began, Zelensky showed a graphic video of victims of the war and referred to the September 2001 terror attacks in the US, saying Ukraine has been experiencing a 9/11 every day for three weeks.