Today's Liberal News

Contributing Writers

“Model America”: Family of Phillip Pannell, Killed by White NJ Cop in ’90, Still Struggles for Justice

A new series examines how protests that erupted over a police killing three decades ago offer important lessons for the Black Lives Matter movement today. We speak to the family of Phillip Pannell, a 16-year-old Black boy who was fatally shot in the back in 1990 by a white police officer later acquitted for the killing. Pannell is the subject of “Model America,” a new four-part series by MSNBC that looks at the racial divide in the U.S.

Azerbaijan’s Deadly Attack on Armenia Inflames Decades-Long Conflict in South Caucasus

An attack by Azerbaijan on Armenia left more than 200 people dead before a ceasefire was called last Wednesday. It was the latest round of fighting between the two neighbors in the South Caucasus, which have fought a series of wars over territory. For more, we speak with Armenia-based reporter Roubina Margossian, who has reported from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh that is at the center of the conflict.

Women Burn Hijabs in Iran as Protests Escalate over Killing of Mahsa Amini by “Morality Police”

Protests in Iran continue after the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in custody of the so-called morality police. Mahsa Amini died last week after being detained for allegedly leaving some of her hair visible in violation of an Iranian law requiring women to cover their heads. Witnesses said Amini was severely beaten by police, but authorities claim she died of natural causes.

“Art of the Steal”: Trump Faces Greatest Legal Peril Yet as NY AG Sues Trumps & Docs Probe Resumes

Former President Donald Trump is facing his greatest legal peril yet, as New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday against Trump, three of his children and his family business for widespread financial fraud. The suit alleges they overvalued assets by billions of dollars in order to secure more favorable financial arrangements, then deflated those values to pay less in taxes.

“The American Dream & Other Fairy Tales”: Disney Heiress Tackles Inequality, Family Legacy in New Film

Half of full-time workers in the United States cannot make ends meet. Thousands of them work for the Walt Disney Company. One of them reached out to the dissident heiress Abigail Disney, whose grandfather Roy Disney built what is often called the “happiest place on Earth.” Now she’s made a documentary about how the family business exploits its workers: “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales.

Adnan Syed Freed After 23 Years in Prison. Same Flaws in His Murder Case Plague Thousands of Others

Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” was released Monday after a Maryland judge vacated his murder conviction due to evidence withheld during the trial that might have helped exonerate him. Syed spent 23 years in prison after being convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee as a teenager in 1999. He has not been declared legally innocent, and prosecutors could decide to retry the case, but that appears unlikely.

COVID, Climate & Conflict Fueling Global Hunger as World Leaders at U.N. Urged to Take Action

An open letter signed by over 200 humanitarian groups calls on world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly to urgently take action on world hunger, citing that one person dies of hunger every four seconds. We speak with Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America, one of the letter’s signatories, who just returned from Somaliland, where a famine may be declared as early as next month.