Today's Liberal News

You’ve Never Seen a Star Like This

From our perspective down here, on the surface of our planet, the stars are tiny, gleaming specks in an inky-dark universe. Occasionally they appear to twinkle, when the air in our atmosphere bends the incoming light. Through telescopes, they are balls of light, their glow distorted by the lens. And up close, the best star in the universe—our sun—is an orangey sphere of flame.But stars can be so much more than that, as telescopes, especially the very good ones, can reveal.

The Brain of a Man Who Is Always Thinking About Ancient Rome

Do you find yourself constantly closing your eyes and seeing marble? Do thoughts of Caesar and chariot races and a nascent republic punctuate your daily goings?All roads lead to Rome—and apparently so do all male thoughts. Across social media, women have been encouraged to ask the men in their life how often they think about the Roman empire and to record the answer.

400 Climate Scientists Endorse Call to Halt Fossil Fuels Ahead of Major NYC Climate March

Ahead of a March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on Sunday, some 400 scientists endorsed the demands of the march in an open letter to President Biden, blasting him for claiming he would “listen to the science” while his policies “fail to align with what the science tells us must happen to avert calamity.” We speak with Rose Abramoff, an Earth scientist and one of the signatories, who was arrested last week blocking construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

UAW on Strike: In Historic Move, Auto Workers Target All Big Three Automakers at Once

For the first time in history, the United Auto Workers has launched a strike against the Big Three U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler — all at once. UAW President Shawn Fein announced targeted strikes at three facilities: a General Motors plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis complex in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan.

“Complicit”: Columbia U. Shielded Predator OB-GYN Robert Hadden for Decades as He Assaulted Hundreds

We look at how Columbia University ignored women, undermined prosecutors and protected obstetrician Robert Hadden while he preyed on hundreds of his patients for more than two decades, as detailed in a new investigation from ProPublica and New York magazine. Hadden was sentenced in July to 20 years in federal prison for sexually abusing his patients, but survivors say no one has been held accountable at Columbia, and are still demanding justice.

“A Calamity of Epic Proportions”: Death Toll from Libyan Floods Tops 6,000 in Latest Climate Disaster

We get an update from Libya, where at least 6,000 are feared dead after a catastrophic cyclone hit the eastern city of Derna, causing two dams to burst and flooding whole sections of the city. Storm victims are being buried in mass graves as hope is dwindling for those who have been unable to locate friends and family members. Libya’s infrastructure has crumbled over years of civil war, NATO intervention and political instability; Derna’s dams have not been maintained since 2002.

When Americans Abandon the Constitution

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.Our excerpt from a forthcoming biography of Mitt Romney has many people talking about the Utah senator’s principles and character, but we should be deeply alarmed by Romney’s warning about the Republican Party.

Tracing the Decline of Trust in America

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 WeekDo you trust America’s institutions more than, less than, or as much as you did a decade ago? Why? Feel free to respond generally or to focus on one particular institution, or more, in your emails.Send your responses to conor@theatlantic.

Kids Deserve Privacy Online. They’re Not Getting It.

Childhood is the crucible in which our identities and ambitions are forged. It’s when we sing into our hairbrushes and confide in our diaries. It’s when we puzzle out who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to live our lives.But to be a modern child is to be constantly watched by machines. The more time kids spend online, the more information about them is collected by companies seeking to influence their behavior, in the moment and for decades to come.

The Truth About Hunter Biden’s Indictment

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted today on three counts of gun-related crimes. Federal prosecutors in Delaware allege that Hunter Biden lied on paperwork when he bought a revolver, saying he did not use illegal substances, and then possessed the pistol while on narcotics.This is one of two major stories about the younger Biden in the headlines this week.

Naomi Klein on Her New Book “Doppelganger” & How Conspiracy Culture Benefits Ruling Elite

We spend the hour with acclaimed journalist and author Naomi Klein, whose new book Doppelganger out this week explores what she calls “the mirror world,” a growing right-wing alternate universe of misinformation and conspiracies that, while identifying real problems, opportunistically exploits them to advance a hateful and divisive agenda. Klein explains her initial motivation for the book was her own alter-ego, the author Naomi Wolf, for whom she has often been mistaken.