U.S. economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6 percent
Housing investment, though, plunged at a 26 percent annual pace, hammered by surging mortgage rates.
Today's Liberal News
More voters trust Republicans on economy as interest in midterms hits high, polls say
According to an NBC News poll released Sunday, 70 percent of registered voters expressed interest in the upcoming election as a “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale.
“Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power”: New Film on Radical Voting Activism in 1960s Alabama
We look at “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power,” a remarkable new documentary that shows how a small rural community in Alabama organized during the civil rights movement to challenge white supremacy and systematic disenfranchisement of Black residents, and would become, in some ways, the first iteration of the Black Panther Party.
Right-wing judge makes the inevitable move against birth control rights
We warned you this was coming. The same crowd that said Republicans and their judges wouldn’t really overturn Roe v. Wade have dismissed the idea that Republicans and their judges would follow up Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by coming for birth control next, but here it is.
Ukraine update: Russia fails in attempts to push back Ukrainian troops around Kreminna and Svatove
UPDATE: Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 · 4:40:40 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The situation in Bakhmut is reported to be bad and getting worse this evening. Russia launching wave attacks one on top of another, and coming at the city from multiple directions. Even though Ukraine has been able to push back some of these attacks, and even reclaim ground in some areas, the situation is approaching a critical point.
DeSantis doubles down on misinformation campaign, vows to impanel grand jury on COVID-19 vaccine
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pulling out all the stops to attract COVID conspiracy voters in his quest for the 2024 Republican crown. This weekend, he started laying the groundwork by indicting the COVID-19 vaccine, citing an unfounded conspiracy about the vaccine’s side effects.
Speaking at a private event, DeSantis announced his administration intends to impanel a statewide grand jury to “investigate any and all wrongdoing” by the makers of the mRNA vaccine.
Elon Musk is about to learn that liberals—not his new deplorable pals—buy Teslas
I drive a Tesla. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sometimes it feels like a third of people around me drive Teslas. I see lots of Teslas in New York City, Austin, and Seattle. I don’t see many of them in Alabama, or the Florida Panhandle or mid-Pennsylvania or Idaho, or anywhere else that’s mostly conservative.
Just 31% of Republican voters still favor Trump’s ’24 bid, but GOP might still be stuck with him
There’s nothing quite so vexing as being saddled with a losing candidate who most people don’t want to run nearly two years out from Election Day. But that’s precisely where the Republican Party finds itself—mostly because their ‘leaders’ were too spineless and craven to shiv Donald Trump when they had the chance (looking at you, Mitch).
Mary Trump Suggests Why Cousin Ivanka And Jared Kushner Are Ditching Donald Trump
The former president’s older daughter has said she doesn’t plan to be involved in his 2024 presidential campaign.
Fox Business Host Tells Elaine Chao ‘We Were All Appalled’ By Trump’s Racist Post
Fox Business Network’s Stuart Varney asked Trump’s former transportation secretary if she had a response to his September slurs.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Commutes State’s Death Sentences
The 17 people previously on death row will instead get life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Surprise! Snakes Have Clitorises
In her two decades as a genital morphologist, Patricia Brennan has looked at a lot of animal clitorises. She’s seen female lizards’ two spike-studded protrusions, which are almost identical to their counterparts on males. She’s glimpsed the prominent appendage through which female spotted hyenas urinate and give birth. She’s even studied the thin-skinned, nerve-laced organ of a female dolphin, which Brennan’s work suggests makes sex pleasurable.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democrats In Awkward Spot Ahead Of 2024
With potential challengers circling, Democrats must decide how to avoid a messy Arizona Senate primary now that’s she’s switched to independent.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Schools The World On What Makes A ‘Real Insurrection’
“They can’t handle the truth,” the congresswoman said of her critics, paraphrasing Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men,” because why not.
The Republicans Need a Reckoning
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.The pretense that the seditionists in the GOP are limited to a handful of kooks who worship Donald Trump is no longer sustainable. If there are any Republicans left who care about the Constitution, the time to speak up is now.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
The Threat to Democracy Is Still in Congress
The defeat of prominent election deniers around the country in last month’s midterm elections is cause for relief and maybe even tempered celebration, but not complacency about the dangers to democracy.Unexpectedly bad results for Republican candidates were, I have written, the result of an anti-MAGA majority that has turned out in three consecutive elections to rebuke Donald Trump and his coalition.
Avatar: The Way of Water Puts Most Modern Blockbusters to Shame
These days in Hollywood, scale seems to be one of the easiest things to achieve on-screen. Breakthroughs in visual-effects technology mean that audiences get to watch one epic battle after another, and are accustomed to seeing dozens of superheroes zipping around pointlessly. James Cameron has always been a director who harnesses the latest CGI advances to whip up thrills, but with Avatar: The Way of Water, his first film in 13 years, he faces an undeniable challenge.
U.S. inflation slowed sharply to 7.1 percent over past 12 months
Even with last month’s further easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to keep raising interest rates.
Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party. Is It Enough to Save Unpopular Senator’s Reelection Plans?
What does Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s defection from the Democrats mean for the party, control of the Senate and President Biden’s policy agenda? Sinema said last week that she is registering as an independent, though she will keep her committee assignments. Her announcement came just as Democrats were celebrating Senator Raphael Warnock’s reelection in Georgia, which gave Democrats 51 seats in the upper chamber.
AZ Governor Builds Illegal “Border Wall” of Shipping Containers & Razor Wire. Why Isn’t Biden Stopping It?
Outgoing Republican Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona is spending nearly $100 million in his final weeks in office to erect a makeshift border wall along the state’s southern boundary with Mexico made of shipping containers and razor wire. Ducey has described it as an effort to complete former President Donald Trump’s border wall, but the shipping containers are being placed on federal and tribal lands without permission.
Biden Hosts Summit of 49 African Leaders to Counter China & Russia’s Growing Power Across Continent
Leaders from 49 African nations are in Washington, D.C., this week for a three-day summit organized by the Biden administration. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit comes as the United States is trying to counter the growing influence of China and Russia in Africa. On Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced a pledge of $55 billion in economic, health and security support for Africa over the next three years.
‘The situation in the hospitals is grim’: States face brutal virus fallout
Nearly 30,000 people currently in the hospital have tested positive for Covid-19, up 30 percent since Thanksgiving.
Dems’ final Covid report slams government failures. Congress may repeat them.
The Coronavirus Crisis committee lays out 30 recommendations for protecting the country during future pandemics.
FDA greenlights bivalent vaccines for children as young as 6 months old
The move to authorize the shots comes as Covid-19 infections in the U.S. tick up amid the most intense flu season in years.
China announces rollback of strict anti-Covid measures
Public frustration with the restrictions appears to have finally swayed the opinion of officials.
Ex-FDA vaccine inspectors call for better training
The team overseeing licensed vaccines is overwhelmed by high turnover and a pandemic-induced backlog of inspections.
Fed jacks up rates again but Powell hints it might slow down
Inflation has cooled only slightly and job growth remains strong.
Voters remain gloomy despite recent economic gains
A new POLITICO-Morning Consult poll suggests voters’ views of the economy are baked in.
U.S. economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6 percent
Housing investment, though, plunged at a 26 percent annual pace, hammered by surging mortgage rates.
More voters trust Republicans on economy as interest in midterms hits high, polls say
According to an NBC News poll released Sunday, 70 percent of registered voters expressed interest in the upcoming election as a “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale.