Marjorie Taylor Greene Schools The World On What Makes A ‘Real Insurrection’
“They can’t handle the truth,” the congresswoman said of her critics, paraphrasing Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men,” because why not.
Today's Liberal News
The Republicans Need a Reckoning
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.The pretense that the seditionists in the GOP are limited to a handful of kooks who worship Donald Trump is no longer sustainable. If there are any Republicans left who care about the Constitution, the time to speak up is now.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
The Threat to Democracy Is Still in Congress
The defeat of prominent election deniers around the country in last month’s midterm elections is cause for relief and maybe even tempered celebration, but not complacency about the dangers to democracy.Unexpectedly bad results for Republican candidates were, I have written, the result of an anti-MAGA majority that has turned out in three consecutive elections to rebuke Donald Trump and his coalition.
Avatar: The Way of Water Puts Most Modern Blockbusters to Shame
These days in Hollywood, scale seems to be one of the easiest things to achieve on-screen. Breakthroughs in visual-effects technology mean that audiences get to watch one epic battle after another, and are accustomed to seeing dozens of superheroes zipping around pointlessly. James Cameron has always been a director who harnesses the latest CGI advances to whip up thrills, but with Avatar: The Way of Water, his first film in 13 years, he faces an undeniable challenge.
U.S. inflation slowed sharply to 7.1 percent over past 12 months
Even with last month’s further easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to keep raising interest rates.
Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party. Is It Enough to Save Unpopular Senator’s Reelection Plans?
What does Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s defection from the Democrats mean for the party, control of the Senate and President Biden’s policy agenda? Sinema said last week that she is registering as an independent, though she will keep her committee assignments. Her announcement came just as Democrats were celebrating Senator Raphael Warnock’s reelection in Georgia, which gave Democrats 51 seats in the upper chamber.
AZ Governor Builds Illegal “Border Wall” of Shipping Containers & Razor Wire. Why Isn’t Biden Stopping It?
Outgoing Republican Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona is spending nearly $100 million in his final weeks in office to erect a makeshift border wall along the state’s southern boundary with Mexico made of shipping containers and razor wire. Ducey has described it as an effort to complete former President Donald Trump’s border wall, but the shipping containers are being placed on federal and tribal lands without permission.
Biden Hosts Summit of 49 African Leaders to Counter China & Russia’s Growing Power Across Continent
Leaders from 49 African nations are in Washington, D.C., this week for a three-day summit organized by the Biden administration. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit comes as the United States is trying to counter the growing influence of China and Russia in Africa. On Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced a pledge of $55 billion in economic, health and security support for Africa over the next three years.
‘The situation in the hospitals is grim’: States face brutal virus fallout
Nearly 30,000 people currently in the hospital have tested positive for Covid-19, up 30 percent since Thanksgiving.
Dems’ final Covid report slams government failures. Congress may repeat them.
The Coronavirus Crisis committee lays out 30 recommendations for protecting the country during future pandemics.
FDA greenlights bivalent vaccines for children as young as 6 months old
The move to authorize the shots comes as Covid-19 infections in the U.S. tick up amid the most intense flu season in years.
China announces rollback of strict anti-Covid measures
Public frustration with the restrictions appears to have finally swayed the opinion of officials.
Ex-FDA vaccine inspectors call for better training
The team overseeing licensed vaccines is overwhelmed by high turnover and a pandemic-induced backlog of inspections.
Fed jacks up rates again but Powell hints it might slow down
Inflation has cooled only slightly and job growth remains strong.
Voters remain gloomy despite recent economic gains
A new POLITICO-Morning Consult poll suggests voters’ views of the economy are baked in.
U.S. economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6 percent
Housing investment, though, plunged at a 26 percent annual pace, hammered by surging mortgage rates.
More voters trust Republicans on economy as interest in midterms hits high, polls say
According to an NBC News poll released Sunday, 70 percent of registered voters expressed interest in the upcoming election as a “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale.
Sarah Leah Whitson on Growing Saudi-China Ties & Holding MBS Responsible for Jamal Khashoggi Murder
We speak with Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, about the campaign to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This week a U.S.
“A Personified Weapon of Mass Destruction”: Ex-Arms Trafficking Inspector on Freed Russian Viktor Bout
Brittney Griner’s release from Russia has brought renewed attention to the notorious Russian arms dealer whom the U.S. exchanged for the basketball star in a prisoner swap. Viktor Bout, the former Soviet military officer who became known as the “Merchant of Death,” was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States for conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Trump’s a loser. So’s McDaniel. The whole back-scratching crew is taking the GOP down with them
Donald Trump has turned the Republican Party into a wasteland of losers, but they’re his loyal losers and that’s all that really matters. With his 30% base of voters and MAGA maniacs running most of the state parties, Trump will likely continue driving the GOP into the ground without paying even a smidge of a price for costing the party dearly in 2018, 2020, and once again in 2022.
Old flames, baking competitions, and saving the family business: Time for some holiday TV movies
Made-for-TV holiday movies are having a moment. They’ve been a personal tradition of mine for more than a decade, and the truly overwhelming profusion of options coming from outlets like Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, Hulu, BET+, Great American Family, and more suggests that I have more company every year in my affection.
Ukraine update: Russian propagandists show how to turn a humiliating defeat into a great victory
Sometime around Dec. 9 or 10, Russian forces mounted a major attack on the town of Velyka Novosilka in southern Ukraine. The Russian milblogger “Novorossiya Z.O.V.”, with 300,000 followers, reported the assault:
The decision to attack in the Velyka Novosilka area looks potentially dangerous for the right flank of the Ukrainian grouping in the Donbass.
Wisconsin Republicans have shredded democracy. We can restore it by winning back the Supreme Court
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When I tell you that the upcoming election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court is, without any doubt, the most massively important single race of the year, it’s impossible to overstate the case.
Negotiations over boosting child tax credits are proof we are a crooked, crooked country
Remember the expanded child tax credit? You know, the program that singlehandedly boosted millions of American children out of poverty, only to send them crashing back down because Republicans absolutely refused to keep the program running no matter how successful it was and were, in fact, enraged that Democrats managed to pass it in the first place? The one that saw Democratic Sen.
Iowa Court Blocks State’s ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Law From Being Reinstated
Judge Celene Gogerty found there was no process for reversing a permanent injunction that blocked the abortion law in 2019.
Supreme Court Won’t Block California Flavored Tobacco Ban
The Supreme Court has refused a request from tobacco companies to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored tobacco products that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November.
Biden Forms Interagency Group To Draft Antisemitism Strategy
Amid a surge in hateful rhetoric and violence, President Joe Biden has formed an new interagency group to develop a national strategy to combat antisemitism.
DOJ Special Counsel Probing Trump Serves Subpoena To Georgia Secretary Of State
In a phone call dated Jan. 2, 2021, the former president asked Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed to give him a win in Georgia.
The Wild Future of Artificial Intelligence
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.OpenAI’s impressive new artificial-intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, has intensified the debate over what the rise of AI-generated writing and art means for work, culture, education, and more.
What Does a Good Health-Care System Look Like?
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.Last week I asked, “What’s been your experience with the health-care system and what lessons have you drawn?”Dennis kicks us off with a near-death experience:
I was young and foolish.