Another bonus update, as holy crap things are happening on the ground. Just in the last 24 hours, I wrote about weird stuff happening in Izyum and bridges around Kherson getting blasted, and Mark followed up with Russia’s suddenly precarious position in that region. Things haven’t let up today.
There’s been newly visible movement in the Department of Justice’s own investigation of the Jan. 6 coup attempt, with new indications that prosecutors are indeed examining Donald Trump’s own actions on and before that day. And that’s still about all we know, but it’s something.
In the meantime, Trump himself is bellowing new, brazenly fascist threats.
Voters didn’t pay all that much attention when Donald Trump’s Hitler goof rallies plumbed ever-lower depths of hate and bigotry—or when it was reported that he literally kept a book of Hitler speeches in his bedside cabinet, for that matter.
The Kentucky Republican said the Senate wouldn’t pass a computer chip bill if Democrats pursued budget reconciliation, but it did and they are.
Massachusetts Republicans want to make roads less safe by calling for the repeal of a law that will allow undocumented residents in the commonwealth to apply for driver’s licenses and drive legally. The Work and Mobility Act was passed in June and doesn’t even go into effect for another year, but state Republican officials and candidates are backing an effort to get a repeal on November’s ballot.
The former vice president got 17 minutes of airtime while giving a speech the same day as Trump, who was appearing a mile away.
From their very beginnings in the 1990s, “Patriot” militia groups have tried to portray themselves as civic-minded defenders of their communities who show up at natural disasters as well as for “communist” threats to their well-being. Over the years, they’ve posed as flood rescue workers, volunteer border watchers, and anti-pedophilic “groomer” watchdogs—but in reality, they always have been nothing but unaccountable thugs with gun.
“They should be like, ‘Are you a toxic male? Please sign up,’” the Georgia Republican said.
The tolls aren’t expected to be implemented until late next year at the earliest.
The people with knowledge of the matter said the declaration is expected as soon as the end of the week.
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.Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., for the first time since leaving office in a show of support for the organization trying to make MAGA more than just vibes.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
Yesterday Vice President Kamala Harris briefly caused a significant portion of the social-media world to think that she was hopelessly liberal or simply out of her mind. At a recorded roundtable event in the Eisenhower Executive Office building, she introduced herself by saying, “I am Kamala Harris; my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit.
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 WeekIs there class prejudice in the United States? If so, describe how it works.
The slow embrace of the comic-book medium by elite audiences is a history with its own particular milestones, each marking a moment of sudden approbation by previously disapproving constituencies. George McManus received a congressional dinner and warm words from Franklin D. Roosevelt in celebration of his comic strip, Bringing Up Father. Mid-century-modern artists like Roy Lichtenstein adapted (okay, lifted) images and panels from comic books.
The move can offer the agency a better understanding of how far and fast the virus is spreading.
We speak with Marxist economist Richard Wolff about how experts forecast another economic recession in the United States, with inflation at a historic high and a federal minimum wage that hasn’t changed for 13 years.
We look at the looming possibility of a global recession amid rising inflation, the pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine. World financial institutions and wealthier countries should take stronger actions such as writing off debts that are crippling developing nations, says Jayati Ghosh, economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “This is just completely lack of political will. It’s not because we don’t know what to do.
China warned that there could be serious consequences, including a military response, if U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi follows through on plans to visit Taiwan in August, according to the Financial Times. If the trip happens, Pelosi would become the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
Indiana is the first state legislature to take up a sweeping new ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Public health experts fear the workarounds they’ve found could degrade the quality of care over time.
There are over 16,800 cases reported globally, with nearly 2,900 in the U.S.
Slower wage growth could help bring down prices and ultimately mean less sting for the average worker.
Lower-income and Black and Hispanic Americans have been hit especially hard.
Biden officials have repeatedly touted the jobs numbers as evidence of the economy’s underlying strength, but slowing the labor market is essential to helping tame consumer prices.
Fears have mounted that the central bank might trigger a recession sometime in the next year with its aggressive rate action.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the battleground for abortion access now shifts to the states, even as the U.S. faces the worst rates of maternal mortality among all rich nations, with Black maternal mortality three to four times higher than the national average. Now a new documentary examines the crisis of Black maternal mortality through the families of two young Black women who died after giving birth.
The news that a federal grand jury heard testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence’s top lieutenant reminds us that yes, the Justice Department is technically doing something to investigate the Jan. 6 coup attempt—we just don’t know what.
Lots happening today, so bonus update!
On Monday I briefly addressed rumors out of pro-Ukraine Telegram that Russian forces had abandoned two key villages near Izyum, the site of a pontoon bridge and a key supply route for forces pushing toward the twin fortress cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Unfortunately it’s not likely true.
Maybe, after all is said and done, promoting an irritable bowel with a Sriracha beer bong attachment as your party’s standard-bearer isn’t such a great idea after all. For years, Donald Trump was to Fox News what Jared was to Subway: the face of the franchise. The only difference is, Fox knew all along what an odious lump of id Trump was but decided to make him their mascot anyway.
That may all be changing.
In December, President Joe Biden extended the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030 as part of the Space Frontier Act. A month later, NASA set an explicit end date for the last crew to leave in January of 2031. Then in February, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin initiated an illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.