Today's Liberal News

Elon Musk Isn’t Buying Twitter to Defend Free Speech

Conservatives on Twitter have greeted Elon Musk as a liberator. The mega-billionaire is in the process of purchasing the social-media platform and reorienting it toward what he calls “free speech.” The conservative columnist Ben Shapiro celebrated the news of the new free-speech era by insisting that Musk engage in politically motivated mass firings of Twitter workers based on their perceived political leanings.

What Should Twitter Forbid? Be Specific.

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Every Friday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekElon Musk bought Twitter. Anticipating that the deal will go through, many are advising him on how to improve the platform, with a focus on the tension between free speech and content moderation.

What the Fitness Industry Doesn’t Understand

If you tried to imagine the perfect gym teacher, you’d probably come up with someone a lot like Hampton Liu. He’s a gentle, friendly guy who spends most of his time trying to figure out how to make the basics of exercise more approachable, and he talks frequently about how he never wants anyone to feel shame for their ability or skill level.

Coachella Defeated My Cynicism About Music Festivals

In an ill-fated attempt to hype myself up for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, I went on YouTube to look at an inflatable blue gorilla—a stage prop for the hip-hop act Brockhampton, who had announced that Coachella would be the group’s last booking ever. The festival unfolds in two identical three-day lineups over consecutive weekends; I was attending the second weekend, and I wanted a taste of how the first one had gone.

Can Biden Undo Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy That Forced Asylum Seekers into Dangerous Conditions?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether to strike down the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced tens of thousands of non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases played out in U.S. courts, often in extremely dangerous conditions. Biden suspended the policy, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, shortly after taking office, but Texas and Missouri challenged the move.

Juan González: In Surprise Move, Gorsuch Challenges U.S. Colonialism in SCOTUS Ruling on Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican elected officials from both the island and the United States are on Capitol Hill today to support the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, which would establish a process for determining the status of the U.S. territory. This comes after the Supreme Court recently supported the Biden administration’s claim that Puerto Ricans are not entitled to claim full Supplemental Security Income benefits unless they move to the mainland.

Barrage of gunshots leaves kids, parents scrambling for cover at a youth baseball game, video shows

A chilling video of an incident in North Charleston, South Carolina, showing dozens of kids and adults scrambling for cover as a barrage of gunshots rings out has left a community traumatized.

In the video, as gunfire is heard, a frightening scene unfolds Monday night at the Dixie Youth league baseball game, leaving players, coaches, and parents running for safety. The video was taken by Lori Ferguson, a parent at the game, The Post and Courier reports.

Ukraine update: Balancing desperate needs and uncomfortable reality

Over the course of the now more than two-month-long invasion of Ukraine, kos has written several times about the difficulty of integrating unfamiliar weapons systems into an army—especially when that army is already engaged in a life-or-death struggle. Every single one of these systems comes with its own training requirements, not just for the person whose finger is on the trigger, but for all the mechanics, electricians, and support crews needed to keep it operating in the field.

Elon Musk Already Showed Us How He’ll Run Twitter

Last night, after Twitter accepted his $44 billion bid to buy the company, Elon Musk traveled to South Texas, where SpaceX is building prototypes for a rocket system designed to take people to Mars someday. Earlier, he had shared some of his to-do list for the social-media company he could soon own outright: “enhancing the product with new features,” “defeating the spam bots,” and making the platform’s algorithms public and available for anyone to see.