Georgia Probe Of Trump’s Demand To ‘Find’ Him Votes Expands: Now Weighing Racketeering Issues
With the primaries over, and Trump nemesis Brad Raffensperger victorious, Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is pulling out the stops.
Today's Liberal News
Ukraine Update: Ukraine makes a move in Kherson, while things remain desperate in the east
Yesterday I wondered why Ukraine was so hell-bent on defending Severodonetsk, isolated on a deep salient surrounded on three sides and no natural barriers, when those forces could simply cross the river and hold out in a much more defensible Lysychansk. Retired Australian general Mick Ryan pondered the same today, noting that “the tactical and political necessity to hold out in Severodonetsk is questionable.
News Roundup: A tough week for a nation beset by corporate greed and guns
It is Friday. This week has been a brutal reminder of what divided opinions on “American exceptionalism” in our leadership class really are. Children were murdered this week in a way that otherwise only exists in countries being bombed by missiles. While the overwhelming majority of Americans are demanding that action be taken to make our country safer for children going to elementary schools, corporate gun lobby money is a more powerful master to conservative lawmakers.
Donald Trump’s Stiff Chant Of Uvalde Victims’ Names At NRA Rally Curdles Critics’ Blood
He ended his speech praising the National Rifle Association with his trademark “dance” step.
Report: 1 in 4 Asian American seniors reporting hate crimes during COVID-19 pandemic were assaulted
Elderly Asian Americans have been subject to increased violence since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, thanks to Donald Trump’s racist language about COVID-19 and the right-wing “news” media’s quick action in adopting and disseminating it themselves.
The Black child who touched Obama’s hair is graduating. His mom says all he wants is to be president
At a time when the world seems to be spinning off its axis with children and adults slaughtered by gunfire, a power-hungry dictator invading a country, and the rights of Americans being stripped away at every turn, it’s important to take a second to remember a few wonderful moments that are also happening.
One such moment dates back to 2009, when a 5-year-old got the chance to visit the White House and meet then-President Barack Obama. His name is Jacob Philadelphia.
I won’t celebrate any president barely keeping a campaign promise while poor people suffer
As covered over at The Washington Post, White House officials are, as of the time of writing, planning to cancel $10,000 in federal student loans per borrower for individuals who earn less than $150,000. For married couples filing jointly, the cap is $300,000. Both incomes are based on the previous year. It seems there is no additional income testing.
Federal Judges Overrule Ohio Supreme Court: Mandate Voided Voting Map
The decision is a win for the Republican-dominated redistricting commission, which passed five straight sets of legislative maps that couldn’t meet constitutional muster.
Trump Calls Gun Control Efforts ‘Grotesque’ At NRA Convention
The former president appeared at the gun lobbying group’s convention just days after the deadly school shooting in Texas.
78 Minutes
We were told today, in the latest version of events offered by authorities in Texas, that police left children locked in a classroom with a gunman for 78 minutes as they repeatedly called 911 begging for help, not knowing that their would-be rescuers were standing idly by.
The Atlantic Daily: The Only Sure Outcome of Depp v. Heard
Tomorrow, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s six-week defamation trial comes to a close. Depp is suing Heard, his ex-wife, for $50 million, accusing her of defaming him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she refers to herself—without naming him—as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard, in turn, filed a $100 million defamation counterclaim against Depp.The jury will likely issue a verdict next week.
When Stranger Things Finally Gave Its Villain a Voice
This article contains spoilers for the first seven episodes of Stranger Things Season 4.Only on Netflix’s sci-fi horror drama Stranger Things have teenagers gotten used to fighting interdimensional demons. Early in Season 4, Robin (played by Maya Hawke) offers an explanation for her and her friends’ nonchalance in dealing with threats from the Upside Down, the desolate alternate realm that regularly sets monsters loose.
The Ludicrous Beauty of Top Gun: Maverick
In the original Top Gun, the enemy is intentionally obscure: anonymous pilots flying MiGs from a hostile but unnamed country who have to be chased away and shot down by the heroic Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) and his fellow graduates of the Top Gun naval flight school. Who exactly the enemy is does not matter. What matters is that the hero is America. Tony Scott’s film was a highly successful, undeniably compelling advertisement for brash 1980s jingoism.
Report from the Donbas: Shelling Intensifies in Severodonetsk as Russia Moves to Capture Key City
Heavy fighting is continuing in eastern Ukraine as Russia attempts to seize the entire Donbas region, where fighting began in 2014. We speak to independent journalist Billy Nessen, who just left the city of Severodonetsk, where Russian shelling has exponentially increased. He says a possible Russian capture of Severodonetsk would be a “big propaganda victory for Russia,” but predicts that Ukrainians are not yet at the point where they are willing to concede.
“Doubling Down”: How Minneapolis Elites Worked to Stop Police Reform After George Floyd’s Murder
Wednesday marked two years since George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, setting off worldwide protests against police violence. But has anything in Minneapolis changed? We spoke with longtime local activist Robin Wonsley Worlobah, who is also now Minneapolis’s first Black democratic socialist city councilmember.
“Trigger Points”: Author Mark Follman on How to Stop Mass Shootings Through Community Prevention
Shortly before the massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, we spoke with author and journalist Mark Follman about the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States. Follman is the author of the new book “Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America,” in which he closely examines how a community-based prevention method called “behavior threat assessment” can help prevent mass shootings.
Demand for monkeypox vaccine grows in U.S., European countries as virus cases climb
Governments warn against panicking, but they are planning for the worst outcome.
Pfizer, BioNTech report 80 percent efficacy of Covid-19 vaccine for youngest children
The companies plan to finish submitting data to the Food and Drug Administration this week.
State Democrats, abortion-rights activists ‘incredibly frustrated’ with federal inaction
Democratic inaction at the federal level could complicate the party’s efforts to run this fall as champions of reproductive rights.
Health official on monkeypox: ‘I feel like this is a virus we understand’
Ashish Jha said he doesn’t expect monkeypox will become a particularly big threat.
China’s fragility feeds the doom-mongers in Davos
Fêted at the World Economic Forum in 2017, Xi Jinping is now accused of torpedoing the global economy with his disastrous Zero Covid strategy.
RIP Davos Man, long live globalization
Open markets aren’t what they used to be. A more complicated, more regional economic system is reshaping the global order.
U.S. economy is in a ‘period of transition,’ White House economic adviser says
Despite high inflation, the U.S. is “moving from the strongest economic recovery in modern history to what can be a period of more stable and resilient growth,” Brian Deese said.
U.S. inflation hit 8.3% last month but slows from 40-year high
On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.3% from March to April, a still-elevated rate but the smallest increase in eight months.
Fed set to launch fresh assault on inflation in new era for economy
Rates this year could reach their highest levels since before the 2008 Wall Street crash if surging prices continue.
Abbott Drops In-Person Appearance At NRA Convention, Will Still Speak Via Video
The governor will hold a press conference in Uvalde, Texas on Friday instead of visiting the gun group’s national conference.
Ukraine Update: Severodonetsk is exposed, isolated, under assault. Why doesn’t Ukraine retreat?
The United States’s decision on whether to send MLRS/HIMARS rocket artillery to Ukraine has been painfully long and torturous, but they’re reportedly on the verge of making it happen. According to CNN’s sources, the problem is fear “Ukraine could use the systems to carry out offensive attacks inside Russia … The MLRS and its lighter-weight version, the HIMARS, can launch as far as 300km, or 186 miles.
News Roundup: Uvalde reveals hollowness of ‘hardening’ schools in a state that prioritizes guns
The horror of what happened in Uvalde continues to get worse with each new detail, but what is clear is that the fictions Texans relied on to “harden” their schools while still allowing guns to flow freely were just that: fictions.
Jimmy Kimmel delivers powerful monologue about do-nothing politicians, Dallas station cuts away
Jimmy Kimmel has used his late-night platform to call out the hypocrisies and grotesqueness of the right-wing media machine. He has openly challenged the fascist lies of people like Marjorie Taylor Greene. He has attempted to speak to the MAGA crowd and tried to use humor in pointing out the … inconsistencies between Trump’s promises and his actions.
Happy 20th anniversary, Daily Kos! And the 2022 Koscars go to …
A 20-year-old person can’t even drink legally in the U.S., but many a glass will be raised today in honor of the Daily Kos 20th anniversary. Whether you have wine, beer, sparkling water, Ardbeg, or oat milk in your glass, it doesn’t matter: Propose your own toast to 20 years of reading, ranting, laughing, crying, and changing the world together.