Today's Liberal News
Former Trump statistics chief slams Friday firing of Erika McEntarfer
Bill Beach said the president’s suggestions that the jobs report was rigged betrayed a misunderstanding in how those numbers are assembled.
Trump fires statistics chief after soft jobs report
The monthly jobs report showed just 73,000 jobs in July, with big reductions to May’s and June’s numbers
Smithsonian Head Lonnie Bunch in 2020 on Telling “Unvarnished” History, Meeting Trump & More
President Trump said Tuesday the Smithsonian Institution was too narrowly focused on negative aspects of U.S. history, including “how bad slavery was.” Trump’s social media post minimizing the horrors of chattel slavery came after the White House ordered a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions in order to ensure they align with Trump’s interpretation of U.S. history.
The Bolton Raid Feels Like a Warning
FBI directors don’t customarily announce raids in progress. But early this morning, Kash Patel celebrated the search of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s home as agents were rolling into his suburban-Maryland driveway: “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission,” Patel wrote on X. Agents also executed a search warrant at Bolton’s office in Washington, D.C.
Nobody Likes John Bolton
This morning, Donald Trump claimed he knew nothing about the raid on the Maryland home of his former National Security Adviser John Bolton. “I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” Trump said, calling him a “lowlife.” In that respect he agrees with many Democrats: After Trump fired Bolton, in 2019, Representative Adam Schiff of California (now a senator) said that one “should question John Bolton’s patriotism,” and Representative Nancy Pelosi called him a “disgrace.
Four Perfect Airplane Movies
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Long flights can be tedious, but they also present a chance to watch movies both new and familiar.
YouTube’s Sneaky AI ‘Experiment’
Something strange has been happening on YouTube over the past few weeks. After being uploaded, some videos have been subtly augmented, their appearance changing without their creators doing anything. Viewers have noticed “extra punchy shadows,” “weirdly sharp edges,” and a smoothed-out look to footage that makes it look “like plastic.” Many people have come to the same conclusion: YouTube is using AI to tweak videos on its platform, without creators’ knowledge.
In Search of an 11th-Century Novelist in Kyoto
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
One of the more common clichés of modern travel is calling any trip—even a subway ride to an Instagram-famous coffee shop—a pilgrimage. The word originally applied to journeys made to holy places by people so devout that they were willing to endanger their lives to get there.
Day Laborer Dies Fleeing ICE: Family Mourns, Community Demands Answers
Family and community members are mourning 52-year-old Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a father and grandfather from Guatemala who died while attempting to escape an anti-immigrant raid at a Home Depot in California last week. Montoya, a day laborer who had lived and worked in the United States for about three years, was struck and killed by a car while fleeing across a nearby freeway.
EXCLUSIVE: Fired State Dept. Official Speaks Out, Suggested Condolences for Killed Gaza Journalists
Shahed Ghoreishi was fired from his position as a press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs at the U.S. State Department earlier this week. While no official explanation was given, Ghoreishi was involved in multiple departmental disputes over how to characterize U.S. positions on Israel’s forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and the killings of Palestinian journalists.
“Commander-in-Cheat”: After Texas, Trump’s Redistricting Push Goes National
Democrats and Republicans are locked in a historic battle over congressional representation as Texas Republicans gerrymander the state’s district maps to flip five Democratic seats, at the request of President Trump. California Governor Gavin Newsom says he is fighting “fire with fire,” signing legislation to hold special elections for the public to approve a new gerrymandered map of their own.
Getting a Covid shot this fall could be a lot more complicated
Some healthy people may have to prove they have an underlying condition, or get a prescription.
Money Talks: Rethinking The Quantity of Money
Elizabeth Spiers is joined by Matt Sekerke and Steve H. Hanke to discuss their book Making Money Work.
Money Travels: Monetizing Not Waiting in Line
From TSA Clear to seat selection, the airlines are trying to monetize giving you more time.
The Rise of Crypto-Based Wrench Attacks
Wealthy crypto holders are being targeted for their digital funds with IRL violence.
RFK Jr. attacks pediatricians’ group over vaccine recommendations
The American Academy of Pediatrics had earlier urged parents to get young children vaccinated against Covid — pushing back against the health secretary’s stance.
Looming Medicaid cuts could hurt Black children, advocates warn
Nearly 2 in 3 Black children are enrolled in the program.
Congress is lukewarm on RFK Jr.’s plans. In the states, they’re catching fire.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement is taking off in red — and blue — states, even as health experts condemn some of his actions.
Wiles intervened to save RFK Jr.’s top vaccine aide
A well-connected drug company and Laura Loomer wanted Kennedy ally Vinay Prasad gone. Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles got his job back.
Proponent of Medicaid cuts set to brief House Republicans as they plot another megabill
Brian Blase has pushed the GOP to make deeper cuts to the safety-net health program.
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Former Trump statistics chief slams Friday firing of Erika McEntarfer
Bill Beach said the president’s suggestions that the jobs report was rigged betrayed a misunderstanding in how those numbers are assembled.
Trump fires statistics chief after soft jobs report
The monthly jobs report showed just 73,000 jobs in July, with big reductions to May’s and June’s numbers
“Unprecedented and Not Normal”: ACLU Sues over Legal Black Hole at “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE Jail
We speak with ACLU lawyer Eunice Cho about a new federal lawsuit brought on behalf of immigrants held at the detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The detainees allege being routinely subjected to human rights abuses, denied due process and access to legal counsel, while families have complained of being unable to find their loved ones “disappeared” into the facility.
A MAHA Progress Report
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the past six months working fast to embed his Make America Healthy Again creed into American life.