Today's Liberal News

House GOP makes a mockery of the legislative body, passes radical rules package

It will be hard for Republicans to top their performance of last week, but they’re going to do their damnedest these evening. All the promises Kevin McCarthy handed out in his nearly-failed bid to become Speaker are being revealed (nobody Rep. Byron Donalds getting a sweet committee post, the maniacs guaranteed multiple slots on what’s going to become the most important committee) and the ridiculousness of what they have in the works is being revealed.

Republicans already delivering on promising prospect of returning House to Democratic hands

Just before a hopeful Kevin McCarthy finally got his hands on an all but meaningless gavel, he reflected on his historically tumultuous journey to the speakership.

“It just reminds me of what my father always told me — it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy told reporters Friday evening, as he geared up for the 15th round of voting that would mercifully punctuate the GOP’s inaugural embarrassment.

Ukraine update: Germany has done more for Ukraine than most know or acknowledge

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UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan 10, 2023 · 12:37:11 AM +00:00

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Video from inside Soledar earlier today. The caption reads “Soledar Hang in there!” pic.twitter.com/Zz1gSLEao9— LanguageLearner (@LanguageIearner) January 9, 2023

There are sober analysts who are saying that Russian advances have been exaggerated, and not to believe either side at the moment.

Freedom Caucus in disarray while GOP gives new meaning to swearing-in ceremony

Asked about the Friday night chaos on the GOP side of the House floor, Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois recalled something his son once asked him.

“My son a few years ago asked me, ‘what’s a swearing-in?’ He said ‘what swear words are you gonna be using at this event,’” Krishnamoorthi, said with a smile during an interview on MSNBC Saturday afternoon.

The GOP Goes Down the Rabbit Hole

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.If you were hoping that a razor-thin majority in the House was going to moderate the behavior of congressional Republicans and create some sort of platform for governing, you are about to be disappointed. GOP House leaders have told us what to expect, and we should take them at their word.

17 Readers Weigh the Risks in Sports

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he 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.

Twitter Was the Ultimate Cancellation Machine

Whatever else it is, Twitter is a place where the average person can subject others to their displeasure. They have been mistreated by Southwest Airlines. They have been angered by the comments of a man who sells beans. They have learned, to their horror, that the father of their favorite indie-pop star previously worked for the U.S. State Department.

All the Pretty Republicans

And there were men there in attendance there with double faces, as they had been sutured one face to another with catgut and diabolic needle, and women with the nostrils of dragons.Monstrosities of democracy they came forth in their pomp in the noon of the day. From the backwoods, from the boggy peninsulas. From the gleaming mall-lands. From the sucking swamps. Sun it did throb like a thumb in the eye of God. And the chamber was a cauldron of mockery, bepopulate with jeerers and carousers.

Maybe Don’t Unleash the Kraken

These days, it’s a real headache to keep tabs on the coronavirus’s ever-shifting subvariants. BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5, three Omicron permutations that rose to prominence last year, were confusing enough. Now, in addition to those, we have to deal with BQ.1.1, BF.7, B.5.2.6, and XBB.1.5, the version of Omicron currently featuring in concerned headlines. Recently, things have also gotten considerably stranger.

Harvard Faces Outcry for Rescinding Post to Ex-Head of Human Rights Watch over Criticism of Israel

We speak with the longtime former head of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, about losing a prestigious position at Harvard over his criticism of Israeli human rights abuses. Roth was set to begin as a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy after he retired as director of the renowned human rights organization in April.

Biden Visits Border But Doesn’t Meet with Asylum Seekers as Administration Cracks Down on Immigration

Immigrant rights groups are denouncing President Biden’s recent announcement that the United States will start to block migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba from applying for asylum if they’re apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The move is an expansion of the contested Trump-era Title 42 pandemic policy set to be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro Backers Storm Brazil’s Key Gov’t Buildings in Jan. 6-Style Attempt to Oust Lula from Power

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is condemning thousands of supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace Sunday in a scene reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Rioters smashed windows, ransacked offices and set fire to a carpet inside the Congress building before authorities made over 400 arrests.

“We Need Ceasefires Everywhere”: Bishop William Barber’s Message of Peace for Ukraine & the World

Russian President Vladimir Putin has unilaterally declared a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Putin’s overture, however, saying that Russia wants to use Christmas as a pretext to stop Ukrainian advances in the Russian-occupied Donbas region. Putin’s declaration comes after about 1,000 U.S.

Two Years After Jan. 6, Capitol Attack Casts Long Shadow Over GOP That Allows Extremism to Fester

Friday marks two years since the January 6 Capitol insurrection, when President Donald Trump incited thousands of supporters to violently storm Congress, attempting to overturn the 2020 election. The attack on the Capitol briefly shut down Congress as lawmakers fled for their safety from the mob, which included members of the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and other violent extremist groups.

Chaos in the House: Is This Just the Beginning of a Far-Right Attempt to Make Congress Dysfunctional?

The U.S House of Representatives still has no speaker after Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy failed to get the full backing of his party over the course of two days and six rounds of voting. A contingent of about 20 far-right lawmakers opposes McCarthy’s elevation to the top job, but no other candidate has emerged so far who can garner the 218 votes necessary to claim the speaker’s gavel.

Diana Buttu & Gideon Levy: Israel’s New Far-Right Gov’t Entrenches Apartheid System with U.S. Support

Far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Tuesday visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem is being roundly condemned across the Middle East. Ben-Gvir is a key part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government, which includes ultranationalist and ultraorthodox parties that are calling openly for the annexation of the West Bank.

Americans Set an Example for the Rioters in Brazil

We memorize its opening sentences in school, throw quotes from it into speeches, and generally treat the American Declaration of Independence as a familiar source of reliable tropes. But when it was published in 1776, the Declaration was a radical document, and its language inspired other radical documents. In 1789, French revolutionaries published the Declaration of the Rights of Man, declaring that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

Josh Hawley’s opponent just entered the Senate race with a powerful new campaign ad

In November, former Marine Lucas Kunce ran a solid grassroots campaign for U.S. Senate that surprised many but came up short in the Democratic primary after Trudy Busch Valentine entered into the race late.

Kunce is not letting the momentum he generated over the past year ebb and has once again jumped in early, releasing a campaign ad for the upcoming 2024 U.S. Senate race in Missouri on Friday. This would be for Sen.