Today's Liberal News

Democrats Are Getting Crushed in the ‘Vibes War’

To explain the Democrats’ poor performance in state and local elections Tuesday, various commentators have made very specific claims: It was mostly about critical race theory, or mostly about Terry McAuliffe’s flaws as a candidate for Virginia governor, or mostly about suburban white women voting like it’s 2012 again.But none of these explanations is fully satisfying. The turn against Democrats wasn’t limited to parents, or Virginia, or white women.

Actually, Kristen Stewart Has Always Been a Great Actor

Kristen Stewart hit the height of her fame as the star of the Twilight movies about a decade ago, and to many audiences she will always be a teenage girl falling in love with a vampire. Last month, in an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times, the actor said she’s probably made “five really good films” at most. The quip immediately inspired blog posts and social-media jokes about how perhaps the Twilight quintet filled all of those slots.

Why Aaron Rodgers Felt Free to Mislead People

Updated at 5:10 p.m. ET on November 5, 2021The Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving disheartened fans and disappointed their teams by remaining unvaccinated against COVID-19, but at least both athletes kept it real. Neither attempted to deceive the public about his status. Aaron Rodgers, however, made a conscious decision not to tell the truth.

COVID-Vaccine Mandates for Kids Are Coming

COVID-19 vaccination for 5-to-11-year-olds is finally a go. But even as the emergency-use-authorization process unfolded, so too did arguments over whether kids should (or would soon) be forced into getting shots. School mandates for new vaccines tend to lag behind CDC recommendations by about half a decade, but COVID-19 shots appear to be in the express lane.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley: 2 Degrees of Global Warming Is “Death Sentence” for Millions

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley addressed the audience at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week. “We must act in the interests of all our people,” she said. “If we don’t, we will allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction.” She implored global leaders to “try harder” to keep global temperatures at 1.

“Too Little, Too Late”: Global South Activists Decry 2050 “Net Zero” Goal by Wealthy Nations

After nearly a week of speeches, negotiations and protests at the COP26 U.N. climate summit, we speak with Meena Raman, head of programs at Third World Network, who says developing countries need more time and resources to adapt to the climate crisis and end the use of fossil fuels. Without a just transition that addresses inequality, she says, many countries will continue to suffer from both poverty and environmental devastation.

“Please Open Your Hearts”: Kenyan Activist Elizabeth Wathuti Urges Leaders to Act on Climate Crisis

Youth activists are taking to the streets outside the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow to demand world leaders do more to avert a climate catastrophe. The protest is being organized by Fridays for Future, an international movement of students which grew out of Greta Thunberg’s climate strike outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. We hear from Elizabeth Wathuti of Kenya.

Ben Crump on the Start of Trials for Kyle Rittenhouse & the Killers of Ahmaud Arbery

Only one Black juror, along with 11 white jurors, has been selected to hear the murder trial of three white men who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man who was jogging through the suburbs of Brunswick, Georgia. The defendants — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, as well as their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan — claim they were attempting a citizen’s arrest when they chased and killed Arbery.

Frightened white woman tries to explain what’s scary about school lessons on racism, fails badly

No matter how worthless a white person’s opinion is, the media will eventually seek it out. On a recent episode of CBS News Originals’ Reverb series, the network sent a reporter to find out what the fuck is up with critical race theory.

Because we white folk are apparently the snowflakiest hominids in the history of bipedalism, the media feel compelled to take our pulse from time to time (i.e., always).

As their union vote looms, these Amazon distribution center workers are looking to make history

by Lakshmi Gandhi

This story was originally published at Prism.

Last week, activists and organizers from Amazon’s Staten Island distribution center traveled to their regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) office to deliver the signatures needed to formally request a vote to form a union. Shortly after the signatures were delivered, Natalie Monarrez noticed an instant change in the moods of her coworkers.

This Week in Statehouse Action: Whiplash edition

Hey, how are you?

I know Tuesday night might have been kinda rough.

To say that Election Day 2021 didn’t turn out the way Democrats and progressives hoped is … a bit of an understatement.

Are you confused? Bummed? Scared? Ambivalent? Numb? Apathetic? In a glass case of emotion?

Well, no matter where you are right now, I’ve got something for you.

Floating Wind Farms Are About to Transform the Oceans

Photographs by Paccarik OrueAlla Weinstein did not invent the floating wind turbine. This is something she wanted to make clear early in our Zoom call, as if she were worried I’d give her too much credit. “I don’t need to invent. There are plenty of inventions,” she said. “But a lot of inventions die on the grapevine if they aren’t carried through.” What Weinstein does is carry them through.For that, she does want credit.