Price spikes threaten to ground Biden’s big-spending plans
The government reported Wednesday that the consumer price index, the most widely watched gauge of inflation, hit a four-decade high in December compared to the previous year.
Today's Liberal News
U.S. consumer prices soared 7 percent in past year, most since 1982
The jump is the latest evidence that rising costs for food, rent and other necessities are heightening the financial pressures on America’s households.
Powell’s warning to Congress: Inflation a ‘severe threat’ to jobs
The potential clash over the Fed’s plans to tighten monetary policy could be a harbinger of conflicts to come with Democrats and even some Republicans.
“Takeover”: Young Lords’ Juan González on Hospital Protest Doc. Shortlisted for Academy Award
The documentary “Takeover,” which chronicles the radical actions of the Young Lords, was recently shortlisted for an Academy Award. In 1970, the Puerto Rican collective took over a condemned hospital in the South Bronx to demand the construction of a new hospital, free healthcare for all, and more.
A Hard-Right Republican And A Progressive Debated. It Went As Well As You’d Expect.
Josh Mandel and Morgan Harper, running for Senate from opposite ends of the political spectrum, debated in Columbus. A moment for consensus it was not.
News Roundup: Biden hints at Supreme Court shortlist; still more conservative book bans
In the news today: Even as President Biden again asserts that he intends to nominate the first Black woman in history to the Supreme Court after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer, much of the news today continues to revolve around attacks to the nation’s education system from Republican leaders and the Republican base. From Virginia Gov.
‘Camp Auschwitz Guy’ pleads guilty to Jan. 6 charges
On Wednesday, 57-year-old Robert Keith Packer, known as the long-bearded prick wearing the “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt during the insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, pleaded guilty to “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.” This guilty plea is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of six months in prison. His sentencing date is April 7.
CBP commissioner defends Border Patrol’s cover-up units as ‘vitally important’
The head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is defending the department’s use of secretive, shadow police units that have been under mounting criticisms from both lawmakers and human rights advocates in recent months.
Commissioner Chris Magnus called Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs) “vitally important,” citing their role in evidence collection, Bloomberg Government reports.
Caribbean Matters: Statue of Puerto Rico exploiter Ponce de León toppled, even as gentrifiers invade
Puerto Rico has recently made headlines for stories that may seem unconnected; they are related, however. The common factor? Puerto Rico’s status as a colony—first under Spanish rule, and now as a “territory” of the United States.
King Felipe VI of Spain arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the founding of San Juan.
Sequela: Long after a pandemic is ‘over,’ new and terrible symptoms can appear
“Sequela” is a word that few Americans recognize today. Unfortunately, it’s a word that is much more likely to become familiar over the next few years… even decades. A sequela is a long-term pathological effect resulting from exposure to a disease. When the pandemic ends, the damage is not going to be over.
NYPD Cop Tells Fox News ‘We Need’ Democratic Lawmakers To Be ‘Victims’ Of Crimes
“I’m not praying any of these people get hurt or harmed, but they need to see firsthand how bad the streets really are,” the Blue Lives Matter founder said.
Republicans Have No Clear Agenda. They Might Win Control Of Congress Anyway.
Since the rise of the detail-averse Donald Trump, Republicans have retreated further from their self-proclaimed mantle as the “party of ideas.
Sen. Ron Johnson’s Latest COVID Conspiracy: Athletes ‘Dropping Dead’ From Vaccines
First things first: They’re not.
Stormy Daniels Cross-Examined By Her Former Attorney Michael Avenatti
She has accused the disgraced lawyer of stealing $300,000 of the advance she received from her book deal.
The IRS Should Stop Using Facial Recognition
With tax season upon us, the IRS is pushing individuals to submit to facial recognition in exchange for being able to complete a range of basic tax-related activities online. The IRS has retained a private firm—ID.me (formerly known as TroopSwap)—that claims to provide “secure identity proofing, authentication, and group affiliation verification for government and businesses across sectors.” The IRS is not the only government agency working with ID.me.
16 Indie Films to Get Excited About This Year
For the second year in a row, the Sundance Film Festival had to go completely virtual, but that didn’t stop the annual celebration from giving a robust preview of the most exciting emerging artists in Hollywood. Much of this year’s slate defied the pandemic’s limitations: Twisty horror films didn’t need Park City’s frigid climate to deliver chills.
Trump plan favored giving vaccines to Israel, Taiwan over poorer countries
As the U.S. prepared for authorization of the first Covid-19 vaccines, the administration prepared a secret list of which nations would get the doses first.
Delta’s Not Dead Yet
Pour one out for Delta, the SARS-CoV-2 variant that Season 3 of the pandemic seems intent on killing off. After holding star billing through the summer and fall of 2021, Delta’s spent the past several weeks getting absolutely walloped by its feistier cousin Omicron—a virus that’s adept at both blitzing in and out of airways and dodging the antibodies that vaccines and other variants raise.
An American Age of Greed Should Have Been Perfect TV Fodder
The Gilded Age made its debut on HBO on January 24, which is also the writer Edith Wharton’s birthday—a detail that’s hard to ascribe to coincidence. Not only does the drama borrow Wharton’s milieu of 1880s New York City, but the show’s creator is also a self-proclaimed Whartonite.
Government watchdog says HHS at ‘high risk’ of bungling public health crises
The deficiencies include failures to outline roles and responsibilities for other entities involved in a response.
“The Lords of Easy Money”: How the Federal Reserve Enriched Wall Street & Broke the U.S. Economy
As the Federal Reserve signals it will raise interest rates in March, we talk to Christopher Leonard, author of the new book “The Lords of Easy Money,” about how the Federal Reserve broke the American economy. He details the issues with quantitative easing, a radical intervention instituted by the federal government in 2010 to encourage banks and investors to lend more risky debt to combat the recession.
Despite U.S. Embargo, Cuba Aims to Share Homegrown Vaccine with Global South
A 60-year U.S. embargo that prevents U.S.-made products from being exported to Cuba has forced the small island nation to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines and rely on open source designs for life-saving medical equipment such as ventilators. We speak to leading Cuban scientist Dr. Mitchell Valdés-Sosa about how massive mobilization helped produce three original vaccines that have proven highly effective against the coronavirus.
Stephen Breyer to Retire, Giving Biden Chance to Nominate First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring after nearly three decades on the bench, giving President Biden a chance to fulfill a campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman in history to serve on the high court. Those worried that identity politics will hinder the most qualified candidate should consider that 108 of 115 justices since the nation’s founding have been white men, says Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation.
Republicans see political gold in Democrats’ race-sensitive Covid drug guidance
While Democratic strategists say these attacks are baseless, arguing that no one is being denied pills based on their race, they warn they may prove effective.
Omicron spreads in New Zealand, spoiling prime minister’s wedding plans
Jacinda Ardern was to have been married next weekend.
Beijing district orders mass virus testing ahead of Olympics
The ruling Communist Party is stepping up enforcement of its “zero tolerance” strategy.
Game-changing Covid pills remain out of reach for some patients
A flurry of regulatory, testing and logistical issues is complicating the rollout.
Opinion | Why Are Minority-Owned Banks Disappearing? Washington Holds the Smoking Gun
Congress needs to create a new safety net for such lenders — not let regulators squeeze them out of business.
Biden’s first year: A tale of 2 presidencies
Inside the White House, there is still optimism: “President Biden was elected to a four-year term, not a one-year term.
Price spikes threaten to ground Biden’s big-spending plans
The government reported Wednesday that the consumer price index, the most widely watched gauge of inflation, hit a four-decade high in December compared to the previous year.