Today's Liberal News

The grift goes on: Supporters of indicted Chinese billionaire donate thousands to Santos’ campaign

Why would anyone donate to Rep. George Santos’ reelection campaign? Santos was indicted in May by the federal government on 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and lying on federal disclosure forms. He has pleaded not guilty.

This week, House Democrats put Republicans on the spot by introducing a resolution to censure Santos for his many lies about his background.

The Whitewashing of Neo-Nazis: Lev Golinkin & Ben Makuch on How Far Right Is Exploiting Ukraine War

Multiple reports are reinvestigating the neo-Nazi fighters and militias involved in the war both in Russia and Ukraine. “You have neo-Nazis on both sides of this conflict,” says Ukrainian American journalist Lev Golinkin, a longtime reporter on the far right in Ukraine and Russia who is critical of the Western media’s normalization of groups like the Azov Battalion.

William Arkin: CIA Is Playing “Outsize Role” in Ukraine Despite Biden Pledge Not to Send U.S. Forces

A new investigation reveals the extent of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, where the agency operates clandestinely in what, under a formal declaration of war, would be the domain of the military. We’re joined on the show by the author of the investigation, William Arkin, a national security reporter and senior editor at Newsweek, who says that the CIA has “got its hand in a little bit of everything” in Ukraine.

Could Facebook messages be used in abortion-related prosecution?

Shefali Luthra
Health Reporter, The 19th

Your trusted source for contextualizing abortion news. Sign up for our daily newsletter.

A Nebraska case involving a mother who illegally gave her daughter an abortion pill has put renewed attention on the role digital information and communication could play in prosecutions around abortion.

The Wild-Card Candidates

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.A Trump-Biden rematch is inevitable in 2024, even though polling has shown that most Americans wish it weren’t (and even though the former president is possibly facing a third indictment).

Ukraine Update: Putin quits grain deal, putting Russia’s own shipping in danger

Russia has ended the grain corridor deal, which allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products through the Black Sea. China was the largest recipient of those products, receiving almost one-quarter of them. A significant percentage went through United Nations food programs to Africa, making them a key weapon in the fight against hunger. Being a purveyor of cruelty and misery, Russia doesn’t care.

The Man Who Wrote the AI Doomer Bible

Doom lurks in every nook and cranny of Richard Rhodes’s home office. A framed photograph of three men in military fatigues hangs above his desk. They’re tightening straps on what first appear to be two water heaters but are, in fact, thermonuclear weapons. Resting against a nearby wall is a black-and-white print depicting the first billionth of a second after the detonation of an atomic bomb: a thousand-foot-tall ghostly amoeba.

Climate Collapse Could Happen Fast

Ever since some of the earliest projections of climate change were made back in the 1970s, they have been remarkably accurate at predicting the rate at which global temperatures would rise. For decades, climate change has proceeded at roughly the expected pace, says David Armstrong McKay, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter, in England. Its impacts, however, are accelerating—sometimes far faster than expected.For a while, the consequences weren’t easily seen.

Meet the Wisconsin Teacher Fired for Protesting Ban on Miley Cyrus & Dolly Parton Song “Rainbowland”

We speak with first-grade teacher Melissa Tempel, who was fired last week for a viral tweet in which she criticized the Waukesha, Wisconsin, board of education’s decision to ban her students from singing “Rainbowland” during a school concert earlier this year. The hit song about inclusivity by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton includes the lyrics “We are rainbows, me and you / Every color, every hue / Let’s shine on through.

Caribbean Matters: What is ‘responsible’ tourism, and why is it important?

Have you visited the Caribbean as a tourist? Taken a Caribbean cruise? Stayed at a Caribbean resort? Many Americans who are not of Caribbean ancestry think of the Caribbean first as a place to vacation in, or cruise to; it is one of the most popular venues to visit for sun, sand, and sea sports. According to Travel Market Report’s analysis of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s data, “14.

Historian John Womack: Unions Need to Exploit “Choke Points” in Economy to Grow Working-Class Power

As Hollywood actors enter their fifth day on the picket lines and some 340,000 Teamsters working at UPS prepare to carry out one of the largest single-employer strikes in U.S. history, we speak with historian and labor organizer John Womack Jr. about his new book, Labor Power and Strategy, focused on how to seize and build labor power and solidarity. Labor actions around the world are gaining headlines this week.

Israeli Forces Blindfold & Handcuff Palestinian Reporter Who Filmed Settler Attack in Masafer Yatta

On Saturday, Basel Adra, reporter for Local Call and +972 Magazine, was detained while covering an Israeli settler attack in the West Bank area of Masafer Yatta. After he refused to hand over his video footage, Israeli soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him and then sat him in a chair in the blazing sun for hours. The Union of Journalists in Israel denounced Basel’s detention, describing it as a “serious violation of freedom of the press.