Today's Liberal News

Stephen Miller Has a Plan

During the first Trump administration, when Stephen Miller’s immigration policy proposals hit obstacles in federal court, rumors would circulate about his plans to dust off arcane presidential powers. Government lawyers were wary of overreach; officials in the West Wing and at the Department of Homeland Security would sometimes snicker.
LOL Stephen, they’d say, amused by his creative zealotry.
No one is laughing now.

How to Make an Instantly Forgettable, Very Expensive Movie

Joe and Anthony Russo, better known as the Russo brothers, have enjoyed two of the most lucrative careers in Hollywood. The bulk of their success comes from the features they’ve co-directed for Marvel: Three of those projects, in which they helped turn comic-book characters into icons and “cinematic universes” into a standard practice, are among the 50 highest-grossing movies of all time.

A Battle for the Soul of the West

For President Donald Trump, last month’s spat at the White House with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was “great television.” To the rest of us, it was a horrifying realization of our worst fears: a real-time crumbling of the Euro-American alliance, which has been the bedrock of the international order since 1945.
Europeans have recently been discovering a new resolve for standing on their own.

Sabotaging Social Security: Trump & Musk Move Ahead with Plan to Cut Agency Staff & Critical Services

The Social Security Administration is considering drastic new anti-fraud measures that could disrupt benefit payments to millions of Americans, according to an internal memo first obtained by the political newsletter Popular Information. The changes would force millions of customers to file claims in person at a field office rather than over the phone. An estimated 75,000 to 85,000 elderly and disabled adults per week would be diverted to field offices.

ICE Agents Detain Immigrant Leader Jeanette Vizguerra, Who Once Sought Sanctuary in Denver Church

Immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years, was arrested by ICE agents in Colorado on Monday. She was ambushed during her work break by ICE officials and is now being held in a private prison in Aurora. Vizguerra rose to fame during Trump’s first term when she evaded immigration officials by staying in a church basement with her four children and was named one of the 100 most influential people of the year by Time magazine in 2017.

“We Live in a Fascist Dictatorship”: Elie Mystal on Trump’s Lawlessness, Attacks on the Judiciary

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement Tuesday criticizing attacks by President Trump and his allies on federal judges. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” he said. Roberts’s statement came after Trump called for the impeachment of U.S.

Israeli Strikes Kill 174+ Children in Gaza as Netanyahu Breaks Ceasefire to Save Political Career

The nearly two-month ceasefire in Gaza has been shattered as Israel carries out a second day of intense airstrikes. At least 27 Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes Tuesday night. This comes a day after Israel killed over 400 Palestinians, including at least 174 children. The bombing is “the most savage attack that Gaza has witnessed in over a year,” says Muhammad Shehada, a writer and analyst from Gaza.

Trump Gets a Taste of Putin’s Tactics

Vladimir Putin isn’t going to make this easy for Donald Trump.
For weeks, Trump has bragged about his close relationship with his Russian counterpart and declared that Putin wanted to bring a quick end to the war that he, of course, started more than three years ago. Trump’s national-security team worked with Ukraine to come up with a 30-day cease-fire proposal in hopes of persuading Moscow to accept it.

What John Roberts’s Rebuke of Trump Left Out

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.
Yesterday, the Trump administration battled against a federal judge using the instruments of the law.

Forever 21’s Brief, Hideous Life

Forever 21 opened in my hometown when I was in middle school, when the opening of a new store at the mall was still a big deal. When the sign first went up, nobody knew what “Forever 21” was. I remember thinking that it would be a store marketed to retirement-age women who felt young at heart—Forever 21! This was wrong, but not so far off: Do Won Chang, one of its founders, has said he chose the name because 21 is “the most enviable age.