Today's Liberal News

All Soda Is Lemon-Lime Soda

“Actually, we have Starry,” the counter clerk said. It was early spring of this year, and I was ordering a lemon-lime soft drink. I had asked for Sprite but was told that the establishment, a Pepsi shop, had Sierra Mist instead. But wait, it didn’t have that either, because Pepsi had just killed off its 22-year-old lemon-lime brand and replaced it with a new one: Starry. Did I want a Starry? I guessed so.

Go to a Pool

In this summer of heat domes and record-breaking global temperatures, finding a place to cool off is more important than ever. You can go to a movie or a museum—if you want to buy a ticket. You can head to an air-conditioned bar—if you don’t have kids who also need to escape the heat. Or you can just stay at home and blast your own air conditioner—a rather lonely prospect, if you ask me.

Trump’s Legal Turmoil Just Keeps Getting Worse

Updated at 8:09 p.m. ET on July 28, 2023Yesterday, Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a superseding indictment in the classified-documents case against Donald Trump and his aide Waltine Nauta in federal court in Florida. The revised indictment adds a new defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago, as well as two new obstruction-of-justice counts for attempting to “alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal evidence.

Texas Rep. Greg Casar on Why He Undertook “Thirst Strike” to Demand Heat Protections for Workers

As nearly half of Americans face heat advisories, President Biden announced new steps Thursday to provide relief, and Texas Congressmember Greg Casar held an eight-hour thirst strike Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the need for a federal workplace heat standard, including mandatory water breaks for workers. This comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed legislation overturning local rules for mandatory workplace water breaks. “It is a slap in the face.

As the U.N. Warns “The Era of Global Boiling Has Arrived,” Biden Resists Declaring a Climate Emergency

July is on pace to be the hottest month ever recorded, and the impact of the soaring temperatures is being felt across the globe in massive heat waves, wildfires, flooding and more. On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the world has entered the “era of global boiling,” and President Joe Biden gave a major speech to unveil new measures to combat the crisis but resisted calls to declare a climate emergency.

Ben Crump: Florida’s New Curriculum, Claiming “Benefits” of Slavery, Will Cause “Psychological Trauma”

We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about two recent cases of anti-Black racism making headlines in the United States: Florida’s new curriculum standards that teach students the “benefits” of transatlantic slavery to enslaved people, and a set of lawsuits against Northwestern University accusing the school’s athletic teams of widespread and institutionalized hazing, including physical, racial and sexual abuse.

Israel’s Avalanche

Israel’s democracy is still intact, but the country has already lost something essential.First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:
Fatigue can shatter a person.
“I saw the movie ‘they’ don’t want you to see.”
American family life should not be this volatile.
Utter CollapseAs Israel nears the end of a week of turmoil, its democracy remains intact.

How Comedy Movies Are Changing

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 WeekI’m still rounding up your emails about the song “Fast Car” and coverage of race in journalism––they’ll run early next week and then we’ll be back on our regular newsletter schedule.

TikTok Is Doing Something Very Un-TikTok

Krysten Wagner, a Los Angeles–based TikTok influencer, is defending her decision to promote products on TikTok while wearing a face mask that’s on sale for $50. In a video from June, Wagner squeezes white cream from a shiny blue tube and begins applying it to her taut, perfectly clear skin. “If you’re not familiar,” she says, smearing the cream on her forehead, “you can now shop in the TikTok app.

So Maybe Facebook Didn’t Ruin Politics

“DEMOCRACY INTERCEPTED,” reads the headline of a new special package in the journal Science. “Did platform feeds sow the seeds of deep divisions during the 2020 US presidential election?” Big question.

Racism Unleashed: Attack Dogs Maul, Bite & Terrorize Prisoners Across United States

A shocking new investigation by Insider reveals patrol dogs in U.S. prisons have attacked at least 295 people since 2017, with Virginia setting dogs on prisoners more than any other state. These attacks can leave people with grievous physical and psychological scars, sometimes permanently disabling and disfiguring them. The report also finds ties between procedures in U.S. prisons and the abuses committed by U.S.

Brutal Ohio Police Dog Attack on Black Truck Driver Highlights Pattern, Echoes Violence of Slavery

An Ohio police officer filmed unleashing a police dog on an unarmed Black truck driver during a July 4 traffic stop has been fired. We speak with legal scholar Madalyn Wasilczuk, who has helped represent teenagers in Louisiana attacked by police dogs and who says that dogs do not receive the proper amount of scrutiny when used in policing. “They’re seen as these valorized K-9 cop heroes, and we don’t focus so much on the real violence that they do,” says Wasilczuk.

Judge Puts Hunter Biden Plea Deal on Hold as Republicans Ramp Up Attacks on President & Son

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Delaware halted a plea deal reached between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors in which the president’s son would avoid facing prosecution on a separate gun charge by pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. Trump-appointed Judge Maryellen Noreika said the deal lacked legal precedent, and identified several sections of the agreement that were interpreted differently by the prosecution and defense.