Today's Liberal News

How the American Political Landscape Changed

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After nearly five decades, Dan Balz is retiring from The Washington Post, where he covered 12 elections and eight presidencies as a political correspondent.

Trump Just Made Burning the Flag a Little Easier

Although flag-burning has never been popular in America, condemning it has long been a staple for politicians. On Monday, President Donald Trump joined the chorus by issuing an executive order calling the act “uniquely offensive and provocative” and “a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation.” The order directs federal officials to prosecute flag-burners whenever possible.

A Truly Great Statue of a Sports Hero

Of all the public indignities great athletes are subjected to, from the meme to the boo to the hurled bottle, undoubtedly the worst is the bad statue. A bronze figure in a stadium plaza is so much more permanent than an insult, and the irony is that a Dwyane Wade or a Michael Jordan has to accept the thing as a compliment. The statue’s intent is to immortalize. Instead, it kills its subject dead.

Yes, Cash Transfers Work

In 2023, the United States produced $28 trillion worth of goods and services. The average family had a net worth of $192,900. Shares in American companies accounted for more than half of global-market capitalization. Yet one in eight Americans lived in poverty, as did one in seven children.
The best way we have to help those people is to give them money.

Austin Butler Is Too Charming for This

The new crime comedy Caught Stealing unfolds in the year 1998, traveling across a distinctly grungy New York City—all dingy subway platforms and drab Chinatown apartments. The time frame differs just slightly from that of the novel it’s based on, which is set in 2000. I can think of only one reason the director, Darren Aronofsky, might have decided to make this tweak: The film shares its time and place with his debut feature, Pi, which premiered that same year.

The Art of the Crypto Deal

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Right at the beginning of the second chapter of The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump declares that his “style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward.” Crucially, this was long before the invention of cryptocurrency.

Show Me the Person, and I’ll Show You the Crime

How many members of Congress, federal judges, governors, attorneys general, and other federal and state leaders have submitted home-loan applications with falsehoods in them?
Too many, I think, to make felons of them all.
The question arises as the Trump administration threatens charges against three prominent Democrats who have angered the president: U.S. Senator Adam Schiff of California, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

AI Has Broken High School and College

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Another school year is beginning—which means another year of AI-written essays, AI-completed problem sets, and, for teachers, AI-generated curricula. For the first time, seniors in high school have had their entire high-school careers defined to some extent by chatbots.

Why Is the National Guard in D.C.? Even They Don’t Know.

Even the men and women of the National Guard seemed flummoxed, at times, over what exactly they were supposed to be doing in the nation’s capital.
“We’re the president’s patrol, ma’am,” one trio from South Carolina told us when we spotted them along the waterfront and asked what they were up to.
“Just walkin’ around,” replied another gaggle—also strolling along the Potomac.
“Smiling and waving,” a third group, up from West Virginia and stationed along the National Mall, told us.

“Race Against Time”: 20 Years After Hurricane Katrina, Docuseries Reckons with Aftermath

Twenty years ago today, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore in southeastern Louisiana, tearing through the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force and gushing winds, driving a massive storm surge toward New Orleans. Thousands were abandoned by state and federal officials, left to fight for survival in the rising floodwaters — many stranded on the rooftops of their sinking homes without water, food or medical care.