Judge halts Trump’s abstinence-only overhaul of teen sex ed program
But the ruling will not restore tens of millions in funds cut earlier this summer.
Today's Liberal News
Photos: Drone Attacks on Russia’s Wildberries Warehouses
SOPA Images / Reuters
A man looks at a burning warehouse belonging to the Russian online retailer Wildberries in the Utkina Zavod area, near the village of Novosaratovka, following a drone attack. During the night of July 24, 2026, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack targeting Wildberries warehouses in the Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Activist Tree-Sit in Ancient Cottonwood Continues Against Border Wall Construction in Arizona
A protest camp in the small border town of Lochiel, Arizona, is seeking to stop federal contractors from building another portion of President Trump’s border barrier with Mexico. At the center of the protest camp is a 200-year-old cottonwood known as a “grandmother” tree, with activists sitting in the tree to physically stop its destruction.
Bipartisan Outcry Forces Trump to Pause Border Security Project in Big Bend National Park in Texas
The Trump administration has paused construction of border infrastructure in Big Bend National Park in Texas following public criticism of the controversial project. Crews were filmed bulldozing pristine desert wilderness earlier this month, sparking rare bipartisan pushback. The construction is part of a larger plan for the Big Bend region to build hundreds of miles of walls, vehicle barriers and other border infrastructure.
“Profoundly Corrupt”: Trump Sued for Selling Early Access to His Truth Social Posts for $100K/Month
We speak with Brendan Ballou, CEO of the Public Integrity Project, which is part of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over his plan to monetize access to his social media platform Truth Social, where he routinely makes market-moving announcements. Truth API went live on August 1 and already has subscribers. Truth Social is charging up to $100,000 per month for early access to the president’s posts, giving investors an edge on major news events.
Trump’s “Authoritarian Takeover” of the Media, ABC Suing FCC & the Meta Trial: Free Press’s Jessica González
We look at major media news with Jessica González, co-CEO of the advocacy organization Free Press. She discusses the landmark lawsuit against Meta for making its social media platforms addictive for young people, efforts to halt the Paramount-Warner Bros. megamerger, and Disney’s lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission over what it calls the Trump administration’s “retaliatory campaign” against the ABC television network.
What the Shell?
The Trump administration is axing a bipartisan anti-corruption law that would require shell companies to disclose their beneficiaries.
Starbucks and McDonald’s Keep Pushing These Drinks. I Have a Distressing Theory Why.
America’s favorite new sweet treat is a glaring recession indicator.
Vance presses Justice Department to investigate hospitals over transgender care
The Trump administration alleges that some hospitals are incorrectly billing for gender-affirming care.
NIH head quarrels with CBS host over loss in public trust on health issues
Jay Bhattacharya’s interview ended up similar in tone to the one with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week on CNN.
The Trump admin offered sick Medicaid patients a 1-year lifeline. These red states are rejecting it.
Several conservative states will require proof from people who say they’re too sick to work.
When Church Was a Queer Space
Outward’s hosts sit down with the host and co-creator of When We All Get to Heaven.
Remembering, with the People of MCC San Francisco, AIDS Still Isn’t Over.
The neighborhood changes, the church moves, people forget and remember “the AIDS years,” but AIDS isn’t over.
What Happens When You Organize Church Around AIDS – and AIDS Changes?
The AIDS cocktail opens new possibilities. And MCC San Francisco tries to use the experience of AIDS to make bigger social change.
The Church’s Pastor Gets Diagnosed with AIDS. And the Church Wonders How Much They Might Lose.
The church’s minister gets sick and everyone knows it.
A Church Romance Between a Hula Dancer and a Lumbersexual Blossoms in a Dangerous Time.
The church’s “it couple” faces AIDS, caregiving, and loss as part of a pair, part of families, and part of a community.
“The Nerd Reich”: Author Gil Durán on Big Tech Fascism, Peter Thiel, JD Vance & the War on Democracy
A new book by longtime Bay Area journalist Gil Durán investigates “tech fascism” and its mounting influence on U.S. politics. The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy follows the rise of Vice President JD Vance, the former venture capitalist whose “outsider” campaign for Senate was bankrolled by the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, Peter Thiel.
Trump to select Heidi Overton for FDA commissioner
The agency has been under acting leadership since May.
Trump’s Current Naval Fixation
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.
Over the past nine years, Donald Trump has returned again and again to the concept of steam power. He loves the way that steam propels fighter jets off the decks of aircraft carriers, and he laments that the Navy has pivoted to electromagnetic launchers in its new ships.
Former Fauci aide pleads guilty to dodging federal public records laws
David Morens’ former boss, Anthony Fauci, has said he did not participate in a scheme to hide emails about a controversial researcher’s funding.
What Really Happens If China Wins the AI Race?
As China releases ever more capable AI models—ones that compete with Silicon Valley’s top offerings—many American AI and national-security researchers have been arguing, loudly and forcefully, that the world should fear Chinese AI supremacy. The outcomes they envision are catastrophic.
There’s No Reason to Buy a New Phone Anymore
In a time when an iPhone can be preordered, customized, and on its way to your doorstep all through a touch-screen tap, it’s almost quaint to remember that people used to camp out for smartphone releases. That was once the regular routine of Andrew Erickson, a longtime tech YouTuber, who recalled to me with a mixture of nostalgia and awe the time he braved the rain at 4:30 a.m. to join a line for the newest iPhone. The line snaked through the mall, nearly reaching the parking lot.
The Atlantic Announces Ian Bogost and Gabby Deutch as Staff Writers, and Nick Summers and Talya Zax as Senior Editors
Today The Atlantic is announcing four new members of the editorial staff: Gabby Deutch and Ian Bogost as staff writers, and Nick Summers and Talya Zax as senior editors.
America’s Rural Lands Are Burning
The summer of 2026 has been one of extraordinary fires. In Europe, they have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in France and Spain and destroyed homes across England; they killed 13 people in Spain last month, and an elderly couple in Greece this weekend. In Canada, fires have consumed an expanse of forestland larger than Belgium—which is also battling its biggest recorded wildfire. In the United States, about 7.
Netanyahu Throws “Poison Pill” into Gaza Deal as Kushner Meets with Hamas & Israel: Mouin Rabbani
President Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday after Israel rejected a 15-point plan for Gaza promoted by President Trump’s “Board of Peace.” The proposal would have seen Hamas gradually disarm and turn over governance of Gaza to an international force in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from the besieged territory.
“Regime Change” Author Maggie Haberman on Trump’s Imperial Presidency, Epstein Files & War on Iran
We continue our conversation with Maggie Haberman, whose recent book with fellow New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, digs into the handling of the Epstein files and the president’s decision to wage war on Iran.
Who Is Natalie Harp? NYT Reporter Maggie Haberman on Trump’s Aide & His Attacks on Women Reporters
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Maggie Haberman is the co-author of the new book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. In the book, Haberman and her fellow New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan provide an inside look at how the administration has handled many of the biggest crises of Trump’s second term.
Donald Trump Has Finally Wielded His Presidential Power for Good
RIP to one of air travel’s most cursed features.
Money Talks: The Path to Affordable Childcare
Yale researcher Martha Gimble explains The Budget Lab’s research into early childhood education and care policies.