Today's Liberal News

News roundup: The one-year anniversary of the insurrection nears

In the news today: Thursday is the one-year anniversary of the Donald Trump cultists’ attempt to overthrow the U.S. government, and the news of the day reflects that. Another right-wing paramilitary group’s potential involvement was revealed; three more lawsuits were filed against Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection; the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S.

New York City announces fund to connect Haitian asylum-seekers with legal help, social services

New York City says it’s directing $1.5 million in funds to help Haitian asylum-seekers and other migrants access vital services including legal representation. The funds will be distributed to a number of Haitian-led community-based organizations and comes as recent arrivals have settled in the region, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) said in a Dec. 22 release.

Immigrant leader targeted by ICE for his activism returns to U.S., wins three years of relief

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is on the record as intentionally targeting immigrants and advocates alike for their criticism of the agency’s frequently deplorable actions. That includes its targeting of Jean Montrevil, a permanent resident and New Sanctuary Coalition cofounder who was deported to Haiti by the previous administration in 2018.

The federal government used a conviction from 1990 as its excuse to deport him.

Should I Just Get Omicron Over With?

For the past two years, Marie, a 30-something student in New York, had the right idea about COVID-19: She didn’t want to get it. Then, in the middle of December, as the antibody-dodging Omicron swept through her state, the coronavirus found her all the same. But Marie’s three vaccines helped keep her illness short and manageable.

Omicron and the Return to Normalcy

Sign up for Conor’s newsletter here.Question of the WeekThe holiday break is over for most. How should America’s colleges, high schools, and elementary schools handle the winter surge of COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant? What do you like most or least about how your educational institution is handling the pandemic? What local details of interest can you share about how matters are being handled near you? As ever, my email address is conor@theatlantic.com.

The Movie That Understands the Secret Shame of Motherhood

Maggie Gyllenhaal has a theory that the mothers we see on-screen tend to fall into one of two categories. First, there’s the “fantasy mother,” who’s perfect in every way except when she has, say, some oatmeal on her sweater or runs a little late for a parent-teacher conference.

We Are Living Through a Democratic Emergency

Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET on January 5, 2022.Donald Trump could subvert the next election—and his second coup attempt has already begun, Barton Gellman warns in our latest cover story.Ahead of the anniversary of the insurrection at the Capitol, Gellman joined Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum and executive editor Adrienne LaFrance for a live virtual conversation about the threats to American democracy.

Columnist Will Bunch: Trump Came Much Closer to Pulling Off a January 6 Coup Than People Realize

The January 6 insurrection resulted in criminal charges for over 700 rioters, and the FBI has since called it an act of domestic terrorism. Philadelphia Inquirer national columnist Will Bunch says there is growing evidence that links Trump and his inner circle to the Capitol attack. He argues understanding what was happening behind the scenes at the Pentagon, which has operational control over the National Guard in D.C.

Will Britain Survive?

Photographs by Robbie LawrenceThe grim reality for Britain as it faces up to 2022 is that no other major power on Earth stands quite as close to its own dissolution. Given its recent record, perhaps this should not be a surprise.

News Roundup: Omicron closing schools despite political vows; Republican support for violence rises

In the news today: Omicron. Omicron, omicron, omicron. While politicians posture and bicker over who can keep schools open longest or manage this new mega-surge with the least “disruption,” the virus at the center of the surge isn’t listening—and that means schools and other services are being shuttered not because any politician ordered it to happen or not happen, but there are simply too many people out sick to make things function.