Today's Liberal News

OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear

Sam Altman is done with keyboards and screens. All that swiping and typing and scrolling—too much potential friction between you and ChatGPT.
Earlier today, OpenAI announced its intentions to solve this apparent problem. The company is partnering with Jony Ive, the longtime head of design at Apple, who did pioneering work on products such as the iMac G3, the iPod, and, most famously, the iPhone. Together, Altman and Ive say they want to create hardware built specifically for AI software.

Will Republicans Say No to Trump?

Representative Tim Burchett is fond of saying no.
The fourth-term Tennessean was one of the eight renegade Republicans who helped oust Kevin McCarthy, and when Speaker Mike Johnson tries to rally the party around legislation, many times Burchett is one of the last holdouts. As Burchett left the Capitol on Monday, he complained to me: “It’s always the conservatives that have to compromise.

COVID Shots for Kids Are Over

Long before he joined the FDA to run the center that regulates vaccines, Vinay Prasad argued against COVID shots for kids. Among his many criticisms of the United States’ approach to combatting the disease, Prasad has insisted that pediatric vaccines have few benefits for kids—and has maintained that the FDA should never have authorized COVID boosters for them, that the CDC should never have recommended those shots, and that “it is malpractice for a doctor to recommend the booster to children.

The Trump Administration’s Favorite Answer

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.
One of the key predecessors of the modern Republican Party was the Know Nothing Party, so called because of its secrecy. When asked about the organization, members would reputedly reply, “I know nothing.

Trump Hands Putin Another Victory

For years, President Donald Trump has bragged that he, and only he, could bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. “I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” he said repeatedly during his most recent presidential campaign. Once back in the White House, he told advisers to plan for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the hope of creating a made-for-TV spectacle during which he could formally announce a resolution to the war, two administration officials and an outside adviser told me.

Trump’s Brain Drain: Scientists Look to Move Abroad as DOGE Slashes Research Funding in U.S.

Cuts by the Trump administration are beginning to “chase” U.S.-based scientists at federal agencies and research institutions out of the country. “We’re draining our scientific talent,” says environmental journalist Robert Hunziker, who explains how China and European countries are offering positions for scientists laid off, fired or pushed out by Trump and DOGE’s mass culling of federal workers and funding. The massive U.S.

Tax Revolt: Arjun Singh on the Roots of Trump’s Push for Massive $4.5 Trillion Tax Cut for the Rich

As President Trump pushes House Republicans to support a sweeping budget bill that gives massive tax breaks to the rich while slashing spending for Medicaid, food stamps and subsidies for clean energy, we look at a new series for The Lever’s podcast Lever Time, which covers the history of the Republican anti-tax movement and how their anti-government influence is impacting Trump’s attempts to build power.

“A Big, Ugly, Destructive, Deadly Bill”: Bishop William Barber Slams Bill Cutting Medicaid, Medicare

As a Republican-sponsored budget bill advances through Congress, we hear from Bishop William Barber about how the bill hurts low-income people. “It is about death-dealing and destruction to the poor and the elderly and the youth of our country,” says Barber, citing the bill’s cuts to essential social services like Medicaid and paralleling those cuts to the government’s funding of defense and deportation initiatives.

Trump’s Newest Crackdown on Dissent

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.