Today's Liberal News

California becomes first state to implement Universal Meal Program for all children

by Lily Levine

This article was originally published at Prism.

When Erin Primer first heard the news that California was implementing a Universal Meal Program, she didn’t think it was true. For Palmer, the director of food and nutrition services at San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) and a long-time advocate of universal meals, the announcement came as a colossal victory.

I’ve booked a trip to my Trumpy ancestral homeland, and I could use your help

A month from now, if all goes as planned, I’ll be in Northeast Wisconsin celebrating my niece’s wedding. And by “celebrating” I mean refusing to do the Chicken Dance, patiently explaining to the caterer that “vegan” does not simply mean “less Velveeta,” and trying to keep pace with a horde of professional drinkers (aka Wisconsinites) who were gradually weaned off Jägermeister as babies before being moved onto solid food.

Connect! Unite! Act! The beauty in our own backyards

Welcome back to Connect! Unite! Act! When I started writing Connect! Unite! Act! again last year, I wanted to take time to highlight the ways Daily Kos users interact with each other, build communities, and form strong relationships. During COVID, we’ve had a lot of strain put on our systems. It is easy to feel out of touch, or to miss relationships that transcend the digital.

Uyghur Poems From a Chinese Prison

For many Uyghurs, poetry is less a niche literary exercise than a vital part of everyday life. Uyghur culture has become a target of the Chinese government’s crackdown in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, a persecution of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities that the United States has said amounts to genocide. The authorities have destroyed Uyghur holy sites, censored Uyghur books, and suppressed the Uyghur language in schools.

Russia’s Invasion Is Making Ukraine More Democratic

On a recent trip to a village near Ukraine’s border with Russia, during a break between the seemingly constant explosions and skirmishes taking place nearby, a teenage Ukrainian soldier told me of how he did not want to live under a leader like Vladimir Putin, someone “who believes he may tell others what they should do.

“Reinfection Wave”: Ed Yong on BA.5 Omicron Variant Spread Amid Mask Mandate Rollbacks, Funding Cuts

COVID-19 cases are rising as the BA.5 Omicron variant puts more people in the hospital amid high rates of reinfection, which is the focus of a new piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Yong in The Atlantic that is headlined “Is BA.5 the ‘Reinfection Wave’?” Yong warns the premature rollback of protective policies, like mask mandates and public health funding, has left people more vulnerable to reinfection.

“Shameful”: Biden’s Trip to Saudi Arabia for More Oil Ignores Human Rights Abuses, Khashoggi Murder

President Biden is set to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday as part of a four-day visit to restore key relationships and build security cooperation in the Middle East. Human rights activists are outraged that the U.S. is willing to support a leader responsible for human rights violations including in the brutal war in Yemen, the state-sanctioned killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and more.

Good vibes only! Fox News guest complains of having to hear about slavery during Monticello tour

One of the many museums dedicated to American history is Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate. This was the estate designed by Thomas Jefferson, built and worked by African American slaves. Monticello is one of the most famous slave plantations because it was home to one of the “Founding Fathers,” and a very important and powerful American historical figure. About half a million people visit the 5,000 acre Monticello every year in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ukraine update: Data shows Russia lying about advances in east, but Kherson situation looks worse

By now I think everyone is tired of looking at maps of the Kherson area in which few things seem to change from day to day. So you may be excited to see that the map has changed today. Until you see that none of those changes is for the good.

Kherson area update reverts much of the ‘disputed’ area to Russian control.

It’s not that Russia has conducted a major offensive, or even that a number of past calls turned out to be wrong.

After ticket violation, Texas mother argues her unborn baby should count as passenger in HOV lane

A pregnant woman has gone viral on social media after receiving a ticket for driving in the HOV lane. Brandy Bottone was pulled over after an officer noticed she was driving alone in the HOV lane meant for carpoolers. When questioned, Bottone replied that following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, her fetus now qualified as another person. Her story quickly went viral, with scores of people both praising and criticizing her actions.

They came for Roe. Now, one right-wing lawyer is coming for PrEP, the medicine that prevents HIV

As most of us have figured out by now, the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was likely just the beginning. If the court can reverse the hands of time on millions of Americans and their much-needed reproductive health care, they obviously have zero issue with reversing same-sex or interracial marriage, taking away contraception, or even the ability to get lifesaving medicine.

According to The Advocate, a conservative attorney in Texas is a prime example.

The Shame of the Secret Service

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.When people say the Secret Service’s job is to protect the president, they usually mean it in a physical way—not a political one.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.