Today's Liberal News

Why Are We Awkward?

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.Like most other humans I know, I’m still trying to remember how to act normal when socializing.

The Luckiest Rover

The Mars rover was out and about, doing its normal rover things inside one of the red planet’s craters, when there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere. A vortex of air and dust had swirled into shape, and it was fast approaching. The rover, named Perseverance, didn’t move from its spot. The whirlwind slammed into the robot, tiny particles pinging its exterior. Within seconds, the bombardment was over, and the vortex was gone.Perseverance was fine.

How Tall Is Too Tall?

Photographs By Jeffrey MilsteinIt was a sunny day in New York City when I realized that my sky was being stolen.The first sign of trouble was the crane. Its thin finger appeared over the old brick building outside my window, scratching at the sliver of sky I could just make out above the rooftops. My sky. In a city where you can sprain your neck searching for sky, I relished this shard of blue, so tiny that I could cover it with my thumb.

A grift. A cover up. And the fallout after MAGA cultists call out Trump’s con

Donald Trump’s ‘major announcement’ Thursday truly exceeded the already exceedingly low expectations.

Trump digital trading cards! Priced to sell at just $99! An exclusive series of ‘really incredible artwork’ (i.e. hilarious parody) depicting, for instance, Trump as a strapping superhero bearing his sculpted chest, as a cowboy brandishing an American flag atop a white horse, and as an aviator-clad astronaut.

Musk bans journalists, lies about the reason, and storms off in snit during Thursday Night Ass-acre

UPDATE: Friday, Dec 16, 2022 · 8:08:34 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

It’s not over.

Overnight, at least nine journalists were banned from Twitter in a vivid demonstration that new owner Elon Musk views the idea of consistent, fair rules for everyone with nothing but contempt. Some of the journalists involved had been reporting on the earlier suspension of the ElonJet account, which posted already public information about the flight plans of his personal jet.

Qatar Won

This is an edition of The Great Game, a newsletter about the 2022 World Cup—and how soccer explains the world. Sign up here.“The thing with the royal family is that for most of the time, it’s just a slightly tawdry soap opera,” a friend of mine reflected when we met up in the days after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth earlier this year. “But then, occasionally, it rises to become pure opera.

The Joy of Morocco

This is an edition of The Great Game, a newsletter about the 2022 World Cup—and how soccer explains the world. Sign up here.There is a video from the World Cup that I can’t stop watching.It’s not of Christian Pulisic’s self-sacrificial goal against Iran that sent the United States into the round of 16, or Lionel Messi dancing past a Croatian defender before providing the assist that sealed Argentina’s place in the final.

The Childish Drama of Elon Musk

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.Updated at 9:00 p.m. ET on December 16, 2022For the past few days, Elon Musk has been throwing a gigantic temper tantrum on his platform, Twitter.

No One Wins in Elon Musk’s Battle With Journalists

Last night, several well-known journalists, including Ryan Mac of The New York Times and Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, were suspended from Twitter.The suspensions were ostensibly related to the journalists’ reporting on an account—@ElonJet, operated by the 20-year-old Jack Sweeney—which was dedicated to publishing the location of Elon Musk’s private jet based on public data.

What a Famous Writer’s Early Work Can Teach Us About Failure

Reading the early works of established, revered writers always reminds me of looking at a baby’s face: how it seems impossible to know the ways that visage will sharpen and emerge, how mushy it is, sometimes indistinguishable from others—but also, when looking back at photos once the baby is grown, how difficult it is to imagine that face turning into anything other than what it has become.

Biden, Like Trump Before Him, Derails Effort to End U.S. Support for Saudi War in Yemen

A new UNICEF report finds that over 11,000 children have been killed or injured in the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war in Yemen since 2015. A six-month ceasefire between warring parties expired in October. Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew a Senate resolution Tuesday that would have ended U.S. support for the war, following pressure from the White House. Sanders said he would bring the resolution back if they could not reach an agreement.