Kari Lake, Combative Hard-Right Former TV Anchor, Wins GOP Nod For Arizona Governor
As the Republican nominee, Lake will face Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in November.
Today's Liberal News
News Roundup: Sinema mulls next move; Ron Johnson proposes carving up Social Security, yet again
As the Manchin-Schumer Senate deal inches toward its first vote, all eyes are on the one Democratic senator known for scuttling past party deals: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, meanwhile, is casually proposing new ways to kill both Social Security and Medicare. The Department of Justice has announced new federal charges in the police killing of Breonna Taylor. And Alex Jones … hoo boy.
Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced arrested by the FBI, charged with bribery
Although it’s public knowledge that the former governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez Garced, and some of her cronies have been under investigation for corruption, Puerto Ricans woke up Thursday morning to the surprising news that she had been arrested by the FBI, along with two other unidentified people.
Ironically enough, prior to being appointed governor in August 2019, Vázquez served as the island’s Secretary of Justice.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Agrees To Vote For Inflation Reduction Act
The Arizona Democrat’s support for the bill paves the way for its passage as soon as next week.
Utah school district removes more than 50 books from public school libraries, thanks to new law
As Daily Kos has continued to cover, Republicans are going after books. Attempts to ban books are so outrageous, that they sound like satire, but they’re sadly extremely real, and so are the ramifications of young people (and adults) losing access to stories by and about marginalized people. As covered by the Salt Lake Tribune, more than fifty books by several dozen authors are set to be removed from public school libraries in the biggest school district in Utah.
The Billionaire’s Dilemma
Usually when rich people rage against the possibility that someone less wealthy might become their neighbor, nobody bats an eye. Why would they? NIMBYism is the dominant fact of American urban geography. But in recent years, a number of very rich people, including the billionaire investor Marc Andreessen, have positioned themselves on the other side of the debate, arguing against supply restrictions and deriding purportedly progressive places for failing to address the rising cost of housing.
Border agents seize turbans from dozens of Sikh migrants: ‘Serious religious-freedom violations’
Border Patrol agents have violated the religious freedom of dozens of asylum-seekers throughout the past two months alone, confiscating and refusing to return turbans belonging to almost 50 Sikh individuals who have crossed the southern border into Arizona.
Advocates have noted border agents seizing turbans and other sacred items from Sikh migrants as far back as 2019, and rising sharply this past June, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona said.
Caribbean Matters: EPA’s Michael Regan takes ‘Journey to Justice Tour’ to Puerto Rico
Back in November 2021, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan embarked on a Journey to Justice tour of historically marginalized communities in the southern United States. In July of this year, he took the latest leg of the tour to Puerto Rico. There, he met with community groups and environmental activists and visited areas of the island still struggling to recover from 2017’s Hurricane Maria.
4 Critically Injured As Lightning Strikes Near White House
Officials said four people suffered life-threatening injuries after they were found in Lafayette Square near a statue of Andrew Jackson.
West Virginia Man Gets 3 Years For Threatening Dr. Fauci, Other Officials
Thomas Patrick Connally, Jr. sent emails saying that Biden’s chief medical adviser would be “hunted, captured, tortured and killed,” according to court records.
Clinton-era FDA commissioner to lead external review of key agency offices
Jane Henney will be spearheading the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s evaluation of the FDA’s food safety and tobacco divisions.
Trump Leaves RNC Ensnared In Criminal Probes Of His Coup Attempt
At least half a dozen RNC members could face prison time for their roles in the “fake elector” scheme that Trump pushed to illegally remain in office.
What Should Worry Most Americans About Our Monkeypox Response
Seventy-eight days and more than 7,000 documented cases into the United States’s 2022 outbreak of monkeypox, federal officials have declared the disease a nationwide public-health emergency. With COVID-19 (you know, the other ongoing viral public-health emergency) still very much raging, the U.S. is officially in the midst of two infectious-disease crises, and must now, with limited funds, wrangle both at once.
The Right’s Rising Authoritarian Ally
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.I’m sorry to say it: We really must talk about CPAC.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
Alex Jones can’t pretend his way out of this reality.
To Putin, Brittney Griner is a pawn. To the U.S., she’s a person.
Whither Batgirl?
In the world of moviemaking, it’s generally considered good business to release the movies you make. After all, they can cost tens of millions of dollars to produce, and (pardon me for getting overly technical here) selling tickets for the general public to view them can help recoup that cost. Streaming TV has changed that calculation a little. Now films are sometimes made not to sell tickets but just to beef up entertainment libraries for monthly subscribers.
Pharma group leader says Dems who vote for reconciliation bill ‘won’t get a free pass’
PhRMA CEO Steve Ubl says the group is still fighting hard against the drug pricing provisions, but is making contingency plans — and promises — should reconciliation become law.
Biden administration declares monkeypox a public health emergency
The moves aim to speed up distribution of vaccines amid criticism of the federal government’s response.
Hungary PM Viktor Orbán Addresses CPAC as American Right Embraces His Authoritarian Rule
We speak with international affairs scholar Kim Lane Scheppele on the rise and fall of Hungary’s constitutional democracy and how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gained popularity among the American right ahead of his speech today at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Orbán presents, especially for the American right, a kind of irresistible combination of culture war issues,” says Scheppele.
Warnings Grow over Nuclear Annihilation as Tensions Escalate Between U.S., Russia & China
The U.N. warned this week that humanity is “one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation” as tensions escalate globally. We speak with Ira Helfand, former president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, who says the U.N. Security Council permanent members, comprising Russia, China, the U.S., the U.K. and France, are pursuing nuclear policies that are “going to lead to the end of the world that we know.
Greenpeace Warns of Twin Nuclear Crises in Ukraine from Chernobyl to Russian Military Control of Zaporizhzhia Plant
Safety conditions at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are “completely out of control,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This comes as the Russian military has deployed heavy artillery batteries and laid anti-personnel landmines at the site in recent weeks.
Rich countries put billions into global Covid responses. Low-income countries wish they could spend it on bigger problems.
Those who work on AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other plagues say progress is in danger of reversing.
U.S. monkeypox response stirs up anxious memories of AIDS era for activists
They lived through the dawn of the AIDS epidemic and see parallels to monkeypox now.
Kansas voters block effort to strip abortion protections from state constitution
The conservative state voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to reject an amendment that would have allowed the state legislature to ban the procedure.
The key abortion news you may have missed this week
As Kansas prepared for the first state vote on abortion since the Supreme Court decision, conflicts also played out in state courts, a video of Justice Samuel Alito and lawsuits from Florida clerics.
Kansas’ abortion vote kicks off new post-Roe era
Canvassers are going door to door to lay out the stakes of Tuesday’s referendum.
Biden enters the Always Be Closing phase of his first term
Suddenly, overnight, real progress has been teed up for the White House.
Biden touts record jobs but faces new headwinds as GDP shrinks
Republicans are poised to cast aside all the economic technicalities and bash Democratic candidates up and down the midterm ballot over an economy that is already deeply unpopular with voters in both parties.
“The Viral Underclass”: Steven Thrasher on Monkeypox, Biden Failures & How Class Impacts Viral Spread
As New York City declares monkeypox a public health emergency, and California and Illinois have also declared states of emergency over the rapid spread of monkeypox, we speak with LGBTQ+ scholar Steven Thrasher, author of the new book, “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide,” which explores how social determinants impact the health outcomes of different communities.
U.S. Slow To Ask For Monkeypox Vaccines, Adding Months To Delivery Schedule: Report
Millions of vaccines on order likely won’t be delivered until 2023.
News Roundup: Kansas voters crush anti-abortion amendment; Alex Jones lies in court, gets caught
Tuesday’s elections resulted in one big surprise, as Kansas voters overwhelmingly crushed an attempt by state Republicans to curtail abortion rights. Even in the hard-right state, voters weren’t having it, and that suggests Republicans aren’t going to be able to dodge their new anti-abortion bans in November’s elections either. But will it make Republican lawmakers back down from their efforts to criminalize abortion nationally? Don’t bet on it.