Today's Liberal News

America Is Losing the Facts That Hold It Together

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.
The CIA World Factbook occupies a special place in the memories of elder Millennials like me. It was an enormous compendium of essential facts about every country around the world, carefully collected from across the federal government.

Should You Buy a Newspaper or a Yacht?

CONFIDENTIAL: To a billionaire trying to determine what to do with $250 million in 2013,
That kind of pocket change can buy you a newspaper. And not just any newspaper, but a world-class paper with a wall full of Pulitzers (I remember emerging from the elevator and marveling at it as a summer intern) and decades of experience holding power to account.
Alternatively, $250 million can buy half a superyacht. A yacht is a very big boat.
That newspaper employs hundreds of journalists.

You’ve Never Seen Super Bowl Betting Like This Before

Nothing makes Americans want to gamble like the Super Bowl. Every year, the game is reliably the biggest day for sports betting: On platforms such as FanDuel and DraftKings, people are already putting money down on which team will win the opening coin toss, how long the national anthem will be, and what color of Gatorade will be used to douse the winning head coach.
Gambling on sports has become practically inescapable.

Ballet’s New Iron Curtain

This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present. Sign up here.
In July 2017, as the U.S. was racked by revelations that Russia had interfered in its presidential election, a group of envoys from both countries quietly brokered a peace accord in New York. They met at Lincoln Center.

Elon Musk Under Fire for Epstein Links, Grok’s Sexualized AI Deepfakes & SpaceX-xAI Merger

French prosecutors have asked Elon Musk to appear for questioning following a police raid on the offices of the social media network X in Paris. The French probe comes on the heels of a U.K. investigation into Musk’s AI tool Grok over its “potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content.” Last month, the European Union also launched an investigation into sexual deepfakes created by Grok.

Shot, Harassed & Threatened: U.S. Citizens Describe Surviving Violent Attacks by Immigration Agents

U.S. citizens who have had violent encounters with federal immigration agents deployed in cities across the U.S. testified before Congress on Tuesday. Amid harrowing testimony by three victims and the brothers of Renee Good, congressional Democrats offered apologies and promises of accountability. Not a single Republican lawmaker showed up to the hearing.
Renee Good’s brothers Brent and Luke Ganger both testified at the hearing, with Brent Ganger calling Good “unapologetically hopeful.

“Tear Down ICE” & Probe Trump-UAE $500M Crypto Deal: Rep. Ro Khanna

We continue our conversation with Congressmember Ro Khanna, who urges Democrats to demand legislation that reins in President Trump’s anti-immigration raids ahead of the congressional vote on the spending bill. Khanna says the U.S. should “tear down ICE,” replacing it with “a new agency that has oversight with human rights to enforce immigration law.”
He also comments on Trump’s multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency deal with the United Arab Emirates.

Rep. Khanna Slams DOJ for Not Launching New Probes of Jeffrey Epstein’s “Co-Conspirators”

Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna has called for Congress to investigate associates of Jeffrey Epstein named in the files and for the full release of the remaining documents. This comes as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the review of Epstein files is over and that no further prosecutions are expected. Blanche, who was formerly President Trump’s personal lawyer, told Fox News that “it isn’t a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.