Today's Liberal News

Social Media Is for Strangers Now

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.Instagram just isn’t what it used to be. With Gen Z users flocking to TikTok, social media as we know it is changing—and we’re leaving our friends and family behind.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
COVID science is moving backwards.

Only English Would Try to Shorten a Word This Way

You walk into your favorite coffee shop. You greet the familiar barista, who knows your daily order. You say “Hi, I’ll have the”—wait, I can’t figure out how to write the next word. You know, “the usual,” but shorter. Hip! Casual! I’ll have the … uzhe. I mean, the yoozh.

The 10 Best Films of 2022

Even as the movie industry continues to recover from the pandemic’s debilitating effects, the ongoing story of film is not about loss of quality. This was a year filled with cinematic delights from every part of the world, with first-time filmmakers doing everything they could to shock audiences, and old masters delving into their darkest reminiscences for indelible works of memoir.

In Defense of IRL Shopping

Online shopping has been on the rise for the past two decades, spiking abruptly (and unsurprisingly) during the pandemic. My household certainly did its part; for the past few years, we’ve filled our digital shopping cart, struggled to recall the credit-card number, and summoned groceries, kids’ clothing, and CDs (yes, I still buy them) to the porch.I was grateful for the delivery trucks, suddenly everywhere and idling. But by 2021, I’d had enough of scrolling.

Futuro Media Probes Deadly U.S. Border Policy & NY Drug Trafficking Trial of Mexico’s Former Top Cop

In “Death by Policy,” the newly launched investigative unit of Pulitzer Prize-winning Futuro Media reveals how the U.S. Border Patrol’s policies push migrants attempting to cross from Mexico to the U.S. into dangerous areas, especially the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The longstanding “prevention through deterrence” approach, which funnels people into unsafe migration routes, has contributed to thousands of deaths since the 1990s.

“The People Have Spoken”: Sen. Warnock Wins in Georgia in Victory Over GOP Voter Suppression Efforts

Senator Raphael Warnock makes history defeating Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia’s closely watched Senate runoff, becoming the first Black senator to be elected to a six-year term in Georgia. His victory in Tuesday’s special election will give Democrats control of 51 seats in the Senate. It also marks a major defeat for former President Donald Trump, who had handpicked Walker, a former football star who had no political experience, to be the standard-bearer in Georgia.

Raphael Warnock wins re-election in Georgia, giving Democrats an outright Senate majority

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won a full six-year term by defeating Republican Herschel Walker in Tuesday’s runoff in Georgia, a victory that gives his party an outright 51-49 majority in the upper chamber.

While Democratic control of the Senate was assured once it became clear that Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto had secured a second term last month, the stakes were still high in Georgia.

The GOP civil war heats up in testy Tuesday meeting

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy’s wild ride to the speakership promises only to get bumpier. He’s not backing down from having a floor fight, and his loudest detractor just announced his official challenge. That means there will be a contest for the top job on the floor come Jan. 3 unless McCarthy can pull some kind of maniac-appeasing miracle off in the next three weeks.

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Families of Jan. 6 heroes ignore McConnell at gold medal ceremony, aren’t shy about explaining why

On Tuesday, the Washington, D.C., police and other law enforcement connected to defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received Congressional gold medals in a ceremony. This included the family of officer Brian Sicknick, who died as a result of the events of Jan. 6. At the ceremony were the top leaders of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Herschel Walker Is the New Normal

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.Win or lose, all the criticisms of Herschel Walker obscure a larger point: The Republicans have acclimated the American public to ghastly behavior from elected officials and candidates for high office.