Liberals Dreamed of This Economy For Decades. What If Voters Don’t Like It?
Policymakers were determined to avoid the mistakes of the Great Recession — and they succeeded. But now they are in a mood of “fear and introspection.
Today's Liberal News
Biden’s economy keeps messing up Trump’s message
“You can’t blame the president when policies go wrong, and then say he’s not responsible if things are going right.
US employers added surprisingly robust 353,000 jobs in January in further sign of economic strength
The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, just above a half-century low.
Biden’s new economic messaging strategy: Attack Trump’s tax legacy
The strategy shift focuses on Trump’s tax law and poses a simple question to voters: Whose side are you on?
The Intercept: New York Times Exposé Lacks Evidence to Claim Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence Oct. 7
We speak with Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim of The Intercept about their exposé of a major New York Times piece into alleged mass rapes committed by Hamas militants on October 7 that raises serious questions about the accuracy of the story. The Times article was headlined “’Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct.
“Just Being Racist”: Biden & Trump Push Anti-Immigrant Policies in Dueling Border Visits
Joe Biden and Donald Trump both visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday, where the two leading presidential candidates each pitched anti-immigration measures to further militarize the border and restrict asylum. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked a new Texas law set to go into effect that would give police the power to arrest migrants they suspect of entering the U.S. without authorization.
Israel Kills 104 Palestinians Waiting for Food Aid as U.N. Expert Accuses Israel of Starving Gaza
In Gaza City, at least 104 Palestinian refugees were killed Thursday when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd waiting for food aid. “This isn’t the first time people have been shot at by Israeli forces while people have been trying to access food,” says the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, who accuses Israel of the war crime of intentional starvation.
Sen. Merkley: McConnell Paralyzed the Senate & Turned Supreme Court into “Far-Right Legislature”
As Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announces he will step down as the Senate’s Republican leader after 17 years — the longest term in Senate history — we speak with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, who says, “McConnell’s legacy has been one of obstruction.” He describes McConnell’s “aggressive” use of the filibuster, the topic of Merkley’s new book, Filibustered!: How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America, as having “broken the cycle in which government can function.
The Leader of Today’s Republican Party
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The race to become the Senate’s top Republican is already under way. Mitch McConnell made the surprise announcement this week that he will step down from his role as Senate minority leader in November—ending his tenure as the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S.
A Movie That Understands the Absurdity of the American Dream
Alejandro, the protagonist of the film Problemista, is an aspiring toy designer who creates idiosyncratic renditions of classic objects. To him, every toy truck should come with a tire that slowly deflates to illustrate the concept of running out of time. Cabbage Patch Kids should hold cellphones that display worrisome notifications, such as an unexpected Venmo charge from a frenemy. My favorite is his concept for Barbies: His version of the doll keeps her fingers crossed behind her back.
Closing This Gap May Be Biden’s Key to a Second Term
Just since last November, the most closely watched measure of consumer confidence about the economy has soared by about 25 percent. That’s among the most rapid improvements recorded in years for the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment, even after a slight decline in the latest figures released yesterday.
And yet, even as consumer confidence has rebounded since last fall, President Joe Biden’s approval rating has remained virtually unchanged—and negative.
Can Anyone Learn to Sing?
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
“There is nothing quite so vulnerable as a person caught up in a lyric impulse,” Roy Blount Jr. wrote in our February 1982 issue. What makes the situation even more vulnerable is to be among the group that Blount calls “the singing-impaired.
What ‘Luxury Beliefs’ Reveal About the Ruling Class
The writer Rob Henderson recalls a classmate at Yale, where he was an undergraduate, telling him that “monogamy is kind of outdated.” But she was raised by monogamous parents and said that she planned to have a traditional marriage.
Henderson shares that anecdote in his new memoir, Troubled, an account of his upbringing in foster care and his escape into the Air Force and higher education. For him, “Monogamy is kind of outdated” is a “luxury belief,” a term he coined.
Alabama legislature votes to restore IVF access
The votes in the House and the Senate come nearly two weeks after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen eggs are children, setting off a national debate about how IVF is performed in the U.S.
‘Scratching their heads’: State lawmakers take a closer look at personhood laws in wake of Alabama ruling
The Alabama Supreme Court ruling that granted legal personhood to frozen embryos puts a new spotlight on states with laws that confer rights on embryos from the moment of fertilization.
GAO: Billions wasted on federal health insurance program
The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees health insurance for 8 million federal workers and their families at a cost of more than $60 billion a year, has never checked the eligibility of those on its rolls.
Liberals Dreamed of This Economy For Decades. What If Voters Don’t Like It?
Policymakers were determined to avoid the mistakes of the Great Recession — and they succeeded. But now they are in a mood of “fear and introspection.
Biden’s economy keeps messing up Trump’s message
“You can’t blame the president when policies go wrong, and then say he’s not responsible if things are going right.
US employers added surprisingly robust 353,000 jobs in January in further sign of economic strength
The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, just above a half-century low.
Biden’s new economic messaging strategy: Attack Trump’s tax legacy
The strategy shift focuses on Trump’s tax law and poses a simple question to voters: Whose side are you on?
Israel Kills 104 Palestinians Waiting for Food Aid as U.N. Expert Accuses Israel of Starving Gaza
In Gaza City, at least 104 Palestinian refugees were killed Thursday when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd waiting for food aid. “This isn’t the first time people have been shot at by Israeli forces while people have been trying to access food,” says the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, who accuses Israel of the war crime of intentional starvation.
Sen. Merkley: McConnell Paralyzed the Senate & Turned Supreme Court into “Far-Right Legislature”
As Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announces he will step down as the Senate’s Republican leader after 17 years — the longest term in Senate history — we speak with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, who says, “McConnell’s legacy has been one of obstruction.” He describes McConnell’s “aggressive” use of the filibuster, the topic of Merkley’s new book, Filibustered!: How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America, as having “broken the cycle in which government can function.
Education Department To Investigate School District After Nex Benedict’s Death
The 16-year-old transgender student died last month after being beaten at an Oklahoma high school, raising concerns about the safety of LGBTQ+ students.
House Republicans Seek Political Cover Behind Useless IVF Resolutions
But no GOP House members have actually introduced legislation to protect access to in vitro fertilization.
Clarence Thomas’ new clerk was accused of racist rhetoric. Enter right-wing revisionism
For a young law school graduate, securing a Supreme Court clerkship is like being a first-round draft pick in the NFL or NBA draft. Each of the nine justices can appoint four clerks per one-year term, and it’s a golden ticket. Former SCOTUS clerks often land at elite law firms with signing bonuses of up to $500,000, and eventually a federal judgeship, or a top academic or political position.
Some of Justice Clarence Thomas’ law clerks have gained notoriety after they left the post.
‘My Own Line Turned Around And Sacked Me’: James Lankford Hasn’t Forgotten The Border Bill Debacle
“Everyone knew what was in that bill,” the Oklahoma Republican said of the legislation on Ukraine and the U.S. border that failed in the Senate.
Democracy’s Dark Winter
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.
Freedom and democracy have endured a long winter of setbacks. Spring will bring its own challenges both overseas and in the United States.
First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:
With Trump’s SCOTUS appeal, justice delayed is justice denied.
Obstruction, Money, Courts and Trump: How Mitch McConnell Changed American Politics
The so-called institutionalist is one of the biggest change agents in recent political history.
Senate Republicans kick off their food fight for next leader
The fight to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is on, with the “Three Johns”—Texan John Cornyn, South Dakota’s John Thune, and Wyoming’s John Barrasso— lining up against the MAGA wing of the party to determine the future of the Republican conference.
In the war of the Johns, Cornyn was first out of the gate to announce his bid and has been aggressively pursuing the top spot.
Shocker! Trump’s Truth Social co-founders say he’s screwing them over
Two founders of Donald Trump’s Truth Social social media platform filed a lawsuit against him on Wednesday. They allege that he and others have been involved in “11th hour, pre-merger corporate maneuvering,” machinations that would “drastically dilute” their partnership’s stake in the social media company.