Today's Liberal News
‘Cringe’: Ted Cruz Mocked For Super Awkward Beer Stunt On Live TV
The Texas senator was derided on social media for his latest performative outrage.
Mississippi Democrat To Become State’s First Openly Gay Lawmaker
Fabian Nelson’s primary runoff victory comes on the heels of a historic wave of restrictions passed by GOP-controlled legislatures targeting the rights of trans people.
Judge Rules Against Peter Navarro And He Takes It Out On Protester’s Sign
The former Trump advisor will not be allowed to claim executive privilege by former president Donald Trump at his contempt of Congress trial, which starts next week.
The Open Secret of Trump’s Power
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.Former President Donald Trump continues to smash through boundaries without losing support. Below, I explain why Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 Republican nomination now seem stronger than ever. But first, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:
The end will come for the cult of MAGA.
CPAC Power Couple Calls Daily Beast ‘Satan’ For Reporting On Groping Allegations
Matt and Mercedes Schlapp lashed out at the website after it reported Matt Schlapp is facing two more allegations he made unwanted advances.
Rudy Giuliani’s Attacks on Democracy Are Attacks on People
To borrow a phrase from the man himself, Rudy Giuliani had a theory, but not a lot of evidence.The lack of evidence—or more specifically, the failure to hand it over—caught up with him today, when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that Giuliani was liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a mother and daughter who served as election workers in Fulton County, Georgia.
High-School English Needed a Makeover Before ChatGPT
Last December, Moby-Dick made one of my students gasp. It wasn’t the first time this had happened (weird book), but nothing about the text itself produced the response. For the final project in my English class for high-school seniors, where we spend a semester reading Moby-Dick, I assigned a pretty standard eight-to-10-page research paper. One student, interested in finance, saw a connection between the plot and the 2008 financial crisis.
Very, Very Few People Are Falling Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole
Around the time of the 2016 election, YouTube became known as a home to the rising alt-right and to massively popular conspiracy theorists. The Google-owned site had more than 1 billion users and was playing host to charismatic personalities who had developed intimate relationships with their audiences, potentially making it a powerful vector for political influence. At the time, Alex Jones’s channel, Infowars, had more than 2 million subscribers.
“Modern Form of Slavery”: Haitians at Dominican Sugar Plantations Work Under Inhumane Conditions
We go with Democracy Now! correspondent Juan Carlos Dávila to the Dominican Republic, where many Haitian migrants and their descendants work on sugar plantations under conditions amounting to forced labor and live in heavily underresourced communities known as bateyes. Many bateyes do not have electricity or running water.
Texas Rep. Greg Casar Condemns Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Dangerous Stunts” at the Border
We continue our discussion with Congressmember Greg Casar of Texas about U.S. policy in Latin America by looking at one of its long-term effects: migration to the U.S. As people flee instability in their home countries brought about by U.S. trade and military policy, U.S. border authorities have implemented increasingly dangerous measures to stop migrants from traveling safely, including a deadly floating barrier of circular saw blades in the Rio Grande.
Progressive Dems Visit Latin America Seeking “New Path” After Decades of U.S. Interference
We speak to Congressmember Greg Casar of Texas, who has just returned from a congressional trip to meet with newly left-leaning governments in Brazil, Colombia and Chile ahead of the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-backed Chilean coup, which overthrew democratically elected President Salvador Allende and installed a 17-year military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.
Biden vs. Big Pharma: Medicare to Begin Negotiations to Lower Price of 10 Costly Drugs & Insulin
The Biden administration has taken a major step to rein in price gouging for prescription drugs in the United States. Medicare will now be able to negotiate prices on 10 of the most expensive drugs used to treat diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more. That list is set to expand over the years. In what’s seen as a blow to Big Pharma, the White House says the move, a part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will benefit more than 9 million people in the U.S.
Fentanyl is killing kids. State lawmakers are searching for answers.
Families grieving lost children want policymakers to take emergency action.
Will drug price negotiations work? Here’s what you need to know.
Many steps remain before older adults see the benefit of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ upcoming talks with drugmakers.
‘Pathetic’: Voters of color slam Biden’s performance on the economy
“Our economy is the lowest it’s been.
Biden’s approval rating for the economy remains at about a third, poll finds
The Biden administration has hit hard the president’s economic policy, known as “Bidenomics,” amid falling inflation, steady job growth and diminished talk of a forthcoming recession.
The White House plays it cool as ‘Bidenomics’ struggles to catch on
The president made a big bet on owning the economy. His team says give it time.
DeSantis’ conservative populism has left some donors chafing
The Florida governor has made a name for himself with the fights he’s picked.
Joy Reid Exposes ‘Creatively Racist’ Fox News Spin On Trump Arrest
“I’m almost impressed that they have all come up with this,” the MSNBC anchor said, singling out Jesse Watters’ comments as particularly awful.
Chris Christie Taunts Trump With The ‘1 Thing He Cannot Stand’
The former New Jersey governor reveals why he’s living “rent-free” inside the former president’s head.
Lawrence O’Donnell Has Damning Question For Trump About Giuliani’s Drinking
The MSNBC host said a new development about the former New York mayor could undercut one of Trump’s legal arguments.
Cornel West Declares The Democratic Party ‘Beyond Redemption’
The third-party presidential candidate also called Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez progressive “window dressing” for an otherwise moderate party.
Hawaii Senator On GOP Wildfire Attacks: ‘Maui Is Not A Political Talking Point’
Lahaina “is a community that has been flattened, and it needs our support,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in pushing for increased federal funding.
‘Go after it’: GOP strategists say Republicans need to hit Biden on drug pricing
Republicans are working to persuade Americans that the Biden plan will stifle innovation and lead to price controls.
A Robotaxi Experiment
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.Driverless taxis have arrived on the streets of San Francisco. The self-driving car companies Cruise and Waymo got the green light to expand their robotaxi fleets in the city earlier this month. The cars’ arrival was met with creative protests, curiosity, and long waitlists to take a ride.
The 2024 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet
No one alive has seen a race like the 2024 presidential election. For months, if not years, many people have expected a reprise of the 2020 election, a matchup between the sitting president and a former president.But that hasn’t prevented a crowded primary. On the GOP side, more than a dozen candidates are ostensibly vying for the nomination.
Reader Questions for the GOP Candidates
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Last week I asked readers, “If you could pose one earnest question to any of the Republican candidates, what would it be?”Replies have been edited for length and clarity.