Today's Liberal News

“All the Walls Came Down”: L.A. Fire Survivors Fight Foreclosure & Demand Justice in Altadena

We look at All the Walls Came Down, a new short documentary directed by filmmaker Ondi Timoner that looks back at the devastating 2025 fires in Los Angeles, which destroyed Timoner’s home and left the historically Black community of Altadena in ruins. The film, which has been shortlisted for an Academy Award, follows community organizer Heavenly Hughes as residents confront the aftermath of the fires and organize to rebuild their town.

Trump goons find new heinous way to attack Somali communities

The Trump administration’s all-out war on Somali people continues. 

In the latest move, the brittle and ghoulish White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on X that President Donald Trump is ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis.

“Somali migrants with TPS will be required to leave the country by March 17,” she wrote.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt

The U.S.

Elon Musk Cannot Get Away With This

Will Elon Musk face any consequences for his despicable sexual-harassment bot?
For more than a week, beginning late last month, anyone could go online and use a tool owned and promoted by the world’s richest man to modify a picture of basically any person, even a child, and undress them. This was not some deepfake nudify app that you had to pay to download on a shady backwater website or a dark-web message board.

Can Democrats capitalize on latest House Republican exit?

Yet another GOP lawmaker announced on Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in November, joining a long list of Republicans choosing to head for the exits or run for different office rather than return to possibly minority status in 2027.

Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida said in a statement that his fifth term will be his last, opening up the Sunshine State’s 2nd Congressional District for the first time in a decade.

None of This Should Have Happened

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.
After an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis last week, forensic examinations of videos of the incident emerged within hours.

MAGA influencer’s face-plant shows pitfall in creator culture

Many of those who call themselves journalists these days have a very different set of standards than the old guard. That was resoundingly apparent when MAGA “independent journalist” Nick Shirley sat down with fellow creator Andrew Callaghan for an interview and their conversation highlighted major pitfalls within the journalistic creator economy.

Texas Sends Plato Back to His Cave

Thomas Jefferson loathed Plato. In 1814, he wrote to John Adams that he had been reading the Republic and came away unimpressed: “Bringing Plato to the test of reason, take from him his sophisms, futilities, & incomprehensibilities, and what remains?” The only reason the Greek philosopher is so revered, Jefferson opined, is that “education is chiefly in the hands of persons who, from their profession, have an interest in the reputation and the dreams of Plato.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia: On, Yes, the Gay Hockey Show

Updated with new questions at 2:45 p.m. ET on January 13, 2026.
Welcome back to Atlantic Trivia! Are you hungry for more?
I hope that while I’ve been away, you have been enjoying plenty of food for thought—literally. Research shows that berries help improve memory and that a walnut-heavy diet is associated with higher cognitive performance. Fatty fish and leafy greens are linked to slower cognitive decline. Caffeine is a brain boost too.

“Empire in Decline”: Historian Alfred McCoy on U.S. Aggression in Venezuela, Iran & Beyond

As President Trump threatens Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Greenland and more, renowned historian Alfred McCoy says the United States is “an empire in decline,” following a predictable pattern of militarism abroad and political instability at home as it loses power and influence on the world stage. “American politics become increasingly contorted and irrational,” says McCoy.

“State of Siege”: Iran Protest Death Toll Rises to 2,000 After U.S. Sanctions Spawn Economic Crisis

Iran has said it’s ready for “war” or dialogue after President Trump said the U.S. was considering “very strong options” to intervene if Iran’s security forces kill anti-government protesters in an ongoing crackdown. Vali Nasr, professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, says the U.S. “can wage full-scale war on Iran — which President Trump does not seem to be eager to do — or it can hope to squeeze Iran economically in order to create political unrest in Iran.

“Stolen from Us”: Family Demands Justice for Keith Porter, Black Father Killed by Off-Duty ICE Agent

Activists in Los Angeles are demanding justice for Keith Porter Jr., an African American 43-year-old father of two, who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve. His family is demanding transparency in the investigation into his killing. “When he walked in, he brought joy,” says Porter’s cousin Jsané Tyler. “He always had a laugh, a joke, a smile.