Today's Liberal News

Contributing Writers

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.

“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.

Patrick Cockburn Warns the West’s “Triumphalism” in Ukraine Could Prolong Conflict Indefinitely

As fighting continues in Ukraine, we speak with journalist Patrick Cockburn, who says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is peddling a “vague triumphalism” which is “obscuring just how dangerous and how bad the situation has become.” His recent CounterPunch piece is headlined “London and Washington are Being Propelled by Hubris — Just as Putin was.

After the Uvalde Massacre in South Texas, Will Migrants with Key Info Be Protected from Deportation?

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it would try to temporarily pause “immigration enforcement activities” in the town of Uvalde, Texas, so families could freely seek assistance and reunite with their loved ones following Tuesday’s massacre at Robb Elementary, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. The school’s population is nearly 90% Latinx, and Uvalde is part of a heavily militarized border zone in South Texas.

“Enough Was Enough”: How Australia Reformed Its Gun Laws & Ended Mass Shootings After 1996 Massacre

After the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting, Australia passed sweeping new gun control measures that largely ended mass shootings in the country. We speak with Rebecca Peters, an international arms control advocate who led the campaign to reform Australia’s gun laws after the massacre. She recalls how in just 10 days the prime minister brokered a deal with local officials to pass higher standards around gun safety that would prevent any mass shootings for the next 20 years.

“A Uniquely American Problem”: Pressure Grows for Gun Control After School Massacre in Texas

As people mourn Tuesday’s mass shooting that left dead 19 students and two teachers, Republicans who still oppose any new gun control measures face growing outrage. “This is a uniquely American problem, and it’s happening with such frequency and such devastation, it’s almost hard to wrap your mind around,” says Robin Lloyd, managing director of the gun violence prevention group Giffords.

Sen. Chris Murphy, Whose District Includes Sandy Hook, Begs to Pass Gun Control Laws: “What Are We Doing?”

Hours after Tuesday’s mass shooting that killed at least 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy passionately addressed Republicans on the Senate floor in a call for action on gun control. “I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here,” said Murphy. “Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.

NRA to Hold “Republican Pep Rally” in Houston with Trump, Days After 21 Killed in Texas Mass Shooting

The National Rifle Association still plans to host its annual meeting Friday in Houston, Texas, despite Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead in the state. More than 55,000 people are set to attend and hear speeches by former President Trump and Republican Texas lawmakers including Governor Greg Abbott and Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

“We Can’t Go On Like This”: 21 Killed in Elementary School Massacre; Texans Demand Gun Control

Nineteen children and two teachers were shot dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday by an 18-year-old who had earlier shot and critically wounded his grandmother. The gunman was shot and killed by law enforcement. The attack was the deadliest school shooting since the massacre in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, in 2012 and comes just 10 days after an 18-year-old self-described white supremacist attacked a grocery store in the heart of Buffalo’s African American community.

“His Name Is George Floyd”: Two Years After Police Murder, His Life & the Struggle for Racial Justice

This week marks the second anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd. We speak with Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, who have just published an in-depth new book, “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” that tells the story of structural racism in the U.S. through Floyd’s own story. “This is an American story.

Greenslide: Climate Crisis Spurs Green-Labor Win in Australian Election Over Pro-Coal, Right-Wing PM

In what is being described as a “greenslide,” voters in Australia topple the prime minister, ending nearly a decade of conservative rule. The main issue? Climate change. Voters elected Anthony Albanese of the center-left Labor Party as their new prime minister on Saturday, ousting the right-wing, pro-coal Scott Morrison, who had served as Australia’s prime minister since 2018.

Biden Says U.S. Will Defend Taiwan as China Accuses U.S. of Forming “Indo-Pacific Version of NATO”

President Biden is on his first trip to Asia as president to meet with other leaders from the “Quad” — Japan, India and Australia — as part of efforts to counter China’s growing power in the region. During the trip, Biden has contradicted longstanding U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan by vowing to defend it militarily if China attacks.