Today's Liberal News

What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Republican House

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.Earlier today, I posed a question to my colleague Russell Berman on Slack: What should we expect if—or is it when?—Republicans retake the House in the midterms? Here is the spirited chat that followed.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

It’s Gotten Awkward to Wear a Mask

Last week, just a couple of hours into a house-sitting stint in Massachusetts for my cousin and his wife, I received from them a flummoxed text: “Dude,” it read. “We are the only people in masks.” Upon arriving at the airport, and then boarding their flight, they’d been shocked to find themselves virtually alone in wearing masks of any kind.

What Lies Beyond the L.A. City Council Debacle

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.Question of the WeekA child born today will turn 18 in 2040.

Everyone Wants to Be a Hot, Anxious Girl on Twitter

Here’s a very popular tweet: “she’s a 10 but she cries on her birthday every year.”Solid. Concise. I can see why people would relate to the sentiment. Who doesn’t want to think of themselves as hot? And further, who doesn’t already think of themselves as emotionally complicated enough to shed a tear on a day that is supposed to be happy? Nearly 246,000 accounts liked this tweet, and I have no problem with that.

Rep. Cori Bush on Being Raped, Her Abortions, Police Brutality & Her Journey from Activism to Congress

As President Biden vows to codify abortion rights if Democrats can control Congress after the midterms, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Cori Bush, who faces reelection this November as a first-term Democrat in Missouri, where abortion was banned after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. She just wrapped up a “Roe the Vote: Reproductive Freedom Tour.

Venezuelans Seeking Asylum Are Now Turned Away at U.S. Border as Biden Expands Trump-Era Title 42

We get an update from immigrant justice advocate Guerline Jozef, who is in Mexico to look at the impact of the Biden administration’s expansion of Title 42 to turn away Venezuelan asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump-era policy lets the government expel asylum seekers on public health grounds. “It is unacceptable today for the government to try to expand Title 42, and forcing people to continue to die,” says Jozef.

Oath Keeper tells jury: It was ‘conquer or die’ to keep Trump in White House on Jan. 6

James Dolan, a former member of the extremist Oath Keepers network, told jurors that when he came to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 to storm the Capitol under the leadership of the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes, he understood the outcome may have been the start of a violent, armed war of pro-Trump factions against the U.S. government. 

On Tuesday, the 46-year-old former U.S.

Ukraine update: Edging toward Svatove and the mystery of the Great Trench of Putin

UPDATE: Tuesday, Oct 18, 2022 · 10:31:34 PM +00:00 · kos

Russia continues to react hysterically to something in Kherson:

In a late-night address posted on Telegram, Russian-installed Kherson official Kirill Stremousov calls for people to “evacuate the city as quickly as possible” and says Ukraine “will begin an offensive on the city of Kherson very soon” pic.twitter.

Restaurants keeps complaining they can’t find workers. Maybe this is why

Owners of restaurants, coffee shops, and the like are often at the front of the line to complain about how Nobody Wants To Work These Days. No doubt coincidentally, they often provide some of the worst examples of why nobody wants to work for them. And this one is spectacular.

Boston-area journalist Deanna Schwartz started to apply to work at her local coffee shop, Phinista.

McCarthy confirms: GOP will crash the economy unless Democrats agree to destroy Social Security

If the GOP regains the House, four of the leading Republicans contenders for the House Budget Committee chair have all vowed to demand cuts to Social Security and Medicare in return for their cooperation in raising the debt ceiling next year. To be clear, that’s Republicans saying they will crash the U.S. economy to force President Joe Biden to give into their demands.