Today's Liberal News

Civil rights advocates defend a North Carolina court justice suing over a probe for speaking out

Civil rights advocates and Democratic state legislators defended and praised Wednesday a state Supreme Court justice for suing this week to block a state ethics panel from investigating her public comments that she says are protected by the First Amendment.

Leaders of the North Carolina Black Alliance, Emancipate NC and a minister spoke at a Legislative Building news conference in support of Anita Earls, who is the only Black woman on the seven-member court.

Great Reads From Our Editors

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.Today, spend time with a collection of stories selected by our writers and editors.Many of the below stories have narrated versions, if you prefer to listen to them; just click the link and scroll to the audio player below the headline.

A Politician Who Loved Being Courted

Every so often, someone asks me who my favorite politicians to write about over the years have been. I always place Bill Richardson, the longtime congressman and former governor of New Mexico, near the top of my list. I once mentioned this to Richardson himself.“How high on the list?” he immediately wanted to know. “Top 10? Top three? I get competitive, you know.”Richardson died in his sleep on Friday, at age 75.

Salvadoran Writer Javier Zamora on Coping with Trauma from Being Detained & Undocumented in U.S.

Salvadoran poet and writer Javier Zamora discusses the roots of his memoir Solito, which details his odyssey as an unaccompanied 9-year-old child through Guatemala and Mexico to reunite with family in Arizona. “After surviving that nine-week journey, surviving the United States as an undocumented person was perhaps the main reason why I became a writer,” Zamora says.

The Cost of Ron DeSantis’s Ideological Purity

Updated at 10:18 a.m. ET on September 4, 2023You don’t often see someone turn down $346 million in free money. But that’s effectively what Florida’s Ron DeSantis is doing.The Republican governor and presidential candidate has blocked his state from getting energy-efficiency incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, the signature Biden-administration policy that passed in 2022, Politico noted last week.

Is This Premenstrual Condition a Mental Illness or Oppression?

This article originally appeared in Undark Magazine.For one week of every month, I have a very bad time. My back aches so badly I struggle to stand up straight. My mood swings from frantic to bleak. My concentration flags; it’s difficult to send an email. Then, my period starts, and the curse is lifted. I feel okay again.Like some 1 to 7 percent of menstruating women, I meet the criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD.

Some Have Yoga. I Have Montaigne.

When I became a dedicated reader of the 16th-century French writer Montaigne, in 2005, I was new to writing and relatively new to motherhood, with a 3-year-old and a newborn, and about to publish my first book. I had purchased copies of Montaigne’s essays from secondhand bookstores before, but I decided to jump into the deep end right away with the 900-page volume of The Complete Essays of Montaigne, translated by Donald M. Frame.

Green New Deal Architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright Warns the Green Transition May Leave Black People Behind

As the cost of the climate crisis continues to rise and climate justice groups demand more government action to halt the heating of the planet, we speak with policy expert Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal. She says the Inflation Reduction Act championed by President Biden, which is the largest climate bill in U.S. history, has many provisions that “structurally leave out Black people.

Enbridge Is the Guilty Party, Not Me: Meet the Pipeline Protester Facing 5 Years for Peaceful Action

We speak with climate activist and water protector Mylene Vialard, whose trial for peacefully protesting the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline began this week in Minnesota. Vialard faces up to five years in prison for her 2021 protest, when she attached herself to a 25-foot bamboo tower erected to block a pumping station in Aitkin County. Vialard, who lives in Colorado, had come to Minnesota to take part in a wave of Indigenous-led acts of civil disobedience to stop the pipeline.

Jan. 6: Proud Boys Lieutenant Joe Biggs, Who Warned of “Second Civil War,” Sentenced to 17 Years

Two former leaders of the right-wing Proud Boys gang were sentenced Thursday for their actions during the January 6 insurrection, with the judge handing down some of the longest sentences yet for people involved in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Joseph Biggs, the former leader of the group’s Florida chapter, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison. Zachary Rehl, the former leader of the Philadelphia chapter, received 15 years.

How Race-Consciousness Can Affect Relationships

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.Question of the WeekWhat roles should “color-blindness” and race-consciousness play in personal interactions (as distinct from public policy)?Send your responses to conor@theatlantic.com or simply reply to this email.