Today's Liberal News

Bannon continues defiance of Jan. 6 committee at sentencing hearing. Now it’s on to his appeal

Former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine on Friday morning, months after a jury took less than three hours to find him guilty of two charges of criminal contempt of Congress—Willful Failure to Appear for Testimony, and Willful Failure to Provide Records—for his refusal to comply with subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee. Bannon’s sentence is technically two four-month sentences to be served concurrently.

Graham has one court left to save him from testifying about his election interference in Georgia

UPDATE: Friday, Oct 21, 2022 · 9:09:19 PM +00:00

·
Joan McCarter

As predicted, Graham has asked the Supreme Court to block the subpoena.

Another court has ruled that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will have to appear before a Georgia grand jury to testify about his involvement in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state. A three-judge panel at the U.S.

America’s Latino Future Is Here

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.With the midterms less than three weeks away, the “Latino voter” is back in the national spotlight. But Democrats and Republicans alike still don’t seem to understand this crucial—and heterogeneous—group of voters.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Black Country Is Not a Fad. It’s a Legacy.

In 1962, the rhythm-and-blues singer and piano player Ray Charles attempted something new, unexpected, and potentially hazardous to his career. For his 17th album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, he recorded standards by such titans as Hank Williams and Don Gibson. But instead of pedal steel guitars and fiddles, Charles opted for big-band orchestration and opulent strings. His record label and colleagues at first disapproved of the concept.

What to Cheer About in the Sentencing of Steve Bannon

The famously logorrheic Steve Bannon finally found a reason to shut up, and it’s going to get him locked up.Bannon, the former éminence grise (and grease) to Donald Trump, was sentenced today to four months in prison for contempt of Congress, stemming from his refusal to testify to the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection and Trump’s attempts to steal the 2020 presidential election. He’ll also be fined $6,500.

Crypto’s Political Megadonor Has Shut His Wallet

Sam Bankman-Fried, a 30-year-old co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is a $15 billion enigma. As one of the richest and most powerful men in crypto, “SBF” is already a political megadonor in the vein of Peter Thiel and George Soros: He spent millions in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and was one of the biggest Democratic donors in the country in the lead-up to this year’s midterm elections.

An Unholy Alliance Between Ye, Musk, and Trump

What do you get the contrarian billionaire who has everything? Try a social network to call their own.It certainly seems like the hot new thing. Almost one year ago, Donald Trump, freshly banned from mainstream platforms, ginned up a Twitter clone called Truth Social, which he claimed would constitute the first “non-cancellable” global community. Elon Musk appears to be going through with his acquisition of Twitter.

“Democracy Demands We Participate”: Black Voters Mobilize for Midterms Amid GOP-Led Voter Suppression

We speak to law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw and civil rights attorney Barbara Arnwine, who are on an Arc of Voter Justice bus tour of 26 cities across the country to increase Black voter turnout at critical midterm elections in November. They discuss fighting voter suppression and racial gerrymandering, and the high stakes in states where Republicans have instated bans on what they describe as critical race theory.

Sisters of Alaa Abd El-Fattah Stage Sit-In in U.K. Demanding His Release from Egypt Prison Before COP27

The family of imprisoned Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been staging a sit-in outside the British foreign office to demand the government help release him. El-Fattah, who was recently granted British citizenship, has been on hunger strike for over 200 days to protest being held in harsh conditions during his seemingly endless jail sentence in Egypt. “We’re not sure how much time is left.

“We Are a Democracy in Name Only”: George Monbiot on Truss Resignation & Who Will Be Next British PM

British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after just 45 days in office, the shortest term in the nation’s history. Her low-tax, low-regulation financial policies were widely criticized after they sent the pound plummeting, causing several senior ministers to quit. We speak to George Monbiot, British journalist at The Guardian, about her short-lived time in office, what this says about the Conservative Party, and who her likely successor will be.

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.

The Beautiful Banality of Taylor Swift’s Midnights

These days on the internet, the term theory refers to something between a rumor and a prayer: a wish so commonly expressed that it starts to seem true. And a very particular wish fueled all the theorizing about Taylor Swift’s 10th original studio album, Midnights. Fans who speculated that she was about to come out as pansexual, or make a Rumours-level masterpiece of soft rock, or finally manage to quiet down Kanye West for good all wanted the same thing: a breakthrough.

Oath Keeper sedition trial Day 12: Terror by the minute

On Thursday, prosecutors meticulously guided jurors through the terrifying minutes and hours when Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes allegedly oversaw and coordinated a highly organized storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Aiding the prosecution at trial was Whitney Drew, an FBI agent who started investigating mere weeks after the Capitol attack. Assistant U.S.

Ukraine update: Zelenskyy warns threat to Kakhovka dam, U.S. says Iran forces on ground in Ukraine

For the past three days, the big story out of Ukraine has been about Russia getting out of Ukraine—or at least, out of a key part of it. The area of Kherson Oblast west of the Dnipro River has been a key location for Russia since the start of the invasion. Now it seems they may be leaving that entire area, which would include the only regional capital Russia has managed to capture during the invasion.

Another extraordinary ruling takes Trump one step closer to being indicted on conspiracy

On Wednesday, Federal District Court Judge David Carter handed down another blunt ruling, stripping away attorney-client privilege from communications between Donald Trump and attorney John Eastman. These documents relate directly to claims that Eastman made before the Georgia state senate in an effort to justify reversing the results of the 2020 election and to support a scheme to halt the final certification of electors on Jan. 6.