Today's Liberal News

Mississippi: Images of the Magnolia State

Mississippi ranks 32nd in area and 34th in population among the states, with more than 2.9 million residents. From the Mississippi Delta, through Jackson, to the Gulf Coast, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Mississippi, and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

I Wouldn’t Have My Son Without the Help of a Trump Superfan

Updated at 6:45 p.m. ET on November 1, 2020There was a hint of his Trumpism in our very first conversation. In August 2019, Reg responded via email to our online ad seeking a baby to adopt, and a few hours later he and I were on the phone. His pregnant 20-year-old niece had recently left home after a period of family strife and come to live with him. He wanted to help her get her life together, by providing room and board while she got a job and maybe an education.

Anthem

The end of the world was a song most of us found
too painful to sing. The chorus cut through us
every time we tried. But—just a few breaths before
she died—the oldest woman in America decided
her body could carry the highest note, one last time,
for the rest of us. Something about the nature of Black
lungs breathing through 116 years and 311 days.
Something about what being born in Alabama in 1899
and making it to 2016 in Brooklyn does to the throat.

How to Tell If the Election Will Get Violent

It was a tense and angry October. The United States had never felt more divided. Young people were marching in the streets and being met with heavily armed troops. People were seeking meaning in their lives, and finding it in ideology.It wasn’t 2020. It was 1967.Within a couple years, a group called the Weather Underground had decided to try to overthrow the U.S. government. According to Bryan Burrough, the author of Days of Rage, the group believed the racism and imperialism of the U.S.

“Let the People Pick the President”: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College

As Donald Trump and Joe Biden make their final campaign pushes in battleground states that could decide the election, we speak with author and journalist Jesse Wegmen about the case for abolishing the Electoral College system altogether and moving toward a national popular vote for electing the president. Two of the last three presidents — George W. Bush and Donald Trump — came to office after losing the popular vote.

Native American Voters Could Decide Key Senate Races While Battling Intense Voter Suppression

Native American voters could sway key Senate races in next week’s election in Montana, North Carolina, Arizona and Maine. Investigative journalist Jenni Monet says that for many tribal citizens, the contest is not just about Democrats and Republicans. These voters “support those who understand their sovereignty,” says Monet, who writes the newsletter “Indigenously.” She is a tribal citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna.

Pandemic Poverty: The CARES Act Kept Millions from Going Hungry. Why Won’t the Senate Renew It?

The massive $2 trillion CARES Act — which sent households one-time payments and boosted unemployment checks with an additional $600 a week through July — helped keep millions afloat, but more than 8 million people have been forced into poverty since the aid ended. “The relief was temporary, and much of it has now expired, so now we’re seeing poverty rise again,” says Megan Curran, a researcher at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.