Russia oil shock looms over Fed inflation fight
The Fed is already expected to begin a campaign of interest rate increases next month in a bid to remove its support for economic growth amid a blistering job market and rapidly rising prices.
Today's Liberal News
Biden takes victory lap with January jobs report
“America’s job machine is going stronger than ever,” Biden said at the White House.
U.S. employers shrug off Omicron, add 467,000 jobs in January
The burst of jobs came despite a wave of Omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
“Who Does the West Consider Worthy of Saving?” Asks Matthieu Aikins, After Journey with Afghan Refugees
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, the country has faced a humanitarian crisis with half of the population experiencing acute hunger. The U.N. Refugee Agency says 3.
Eric Trump’s New Attack On Joe Biden Ignores 1 Key Fact About His Father
The ex-president’s son seems to forget what his father did in times of crisis.
Ukraine update: New Ukrainian counterattacks continue to deal major damage to Russian forces
Today saw news of significant new Ukrainian counterattacks against Russian forces. Northwest of Kyiv, a Ukrainian offensive appears to have retaken Makariv, with additional Ukrainian attacks northward potentially endangering the long Russian supply lines that feed the Russian artillery lines threatening Kyiv. Ukraine also appears to be having some success dislodging Russian forces around Kherson in the south.
This doesn’t necessarily mean those successes will continue.
Kentucky Democrat makes impassioned plea in defense of reproductive rights. You need to see this
Let’s see: In the past few years, Republicans have hitched themselves to Vladimir Putin, violent insurrectionists who tried to overthrow the legitimate government of the United States, a sore-loser campaign to undermine democracy, a former president who stole boxes of classified information from the White House and called a murderous tyrant a savvy genius, and a cruel campaign to gut (particularly poor and vulnerable) people’s reproductive freedoms.
Black Women Rally At Supreme Court For Ketanji Brown Jackson
The judge would be the first Black woman and first public defender on the Supreme Court if she is confirmed.
Trump Still Can’t Wrap Head Around Climate Change: ‘You Have A Thing Called Weather’
“And you go up and you go down,” the former president explained on Fox Business when asked if human activity has anything to do with climate change.
The Moscow apartment bombings of 1999 and the curious rise of Vladimir Putin
It’s disturbing but predictable that, as the Ukraine crisis continues to unfold, many Americans are getting what amounts to their first “crash course” on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘You’re the only half-colored on the squad’: Maryland sergeant accused of disgusting remarks in suit
A Black police officer alleged the kind of racist vitriol happening inside of a Maryland police force that if taken out of context would read like a 1960s news article. Officer Mark Miles said in a federal suit filed on Monday that his former supervisor, Sgt. Stephanie Harvey, called him “colored” in front of his peers and “frequently talked about murdering Black Lives Matter protesters” with other officers in text threads, NBC News reported.
Indiana Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Trans Girls From Girls’ Sports Teams
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb said the legislation “falls short,” noting other states have had similar bills blocked by lawsuits.
Ukraine update: Let’s look at the Donbas front, the only place Russia has had some success
Last update, we looked at Ukrainian moves in northwest Kyiv. I was going to focus next on the Kherson area, but still too much fog of war to get an accurate read. So instead, let’s head over to the eastern front, where Russia has had some success.
One of four major axes of attack (the others being Kyiv/north, Kharkiv/Sumy/northeast, and Kherson/south), the Donbas front has been continuously at war for eight years.
Private School Apologizes For Teacher Who Led Preschoolers In Anti-Biden Chant
Some parents were angered the unidentified teacher coached her 4- and 5-year-olds to say they want Joe Biden out of office.
Opinion | When It Comes to Inflation, Our Focus Should Be On the Cost of Housing
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates — but Congress has a chance to bring real relief.
Why the U.S. Finally Called a Genocide in Myanmar a ‘Genocide’
Four years ago, the State Department began an investigation into the Myanmar military’s brutal operation against the country’s Rohingya Muslims the prior year, which had resulted in scores of deaths and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya being pushed into Bangladesh.
What We Can Learn From Our Political Adversaries
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Every Friday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Why Can’t the West Admit That Ukraine Is Winning?
When I visited Iraq during the 2007 surge, I discovered that the conventional wisdom in Washington usually lagged the view from the field by two to four weeks. Something similar applies today. Analysts and commentators have grudgingly declared that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been blocked, and that the war is stalemated. The more likely truth is that the Ukrainians are winning.
Stop Waiting for Trump to Get Convicted
Attorney General Merrick Garland is not going to save democracy. Nor is the attorney general of New York, Letitia James; the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg; nor the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis. As the apparent collapse of the New York district attorney’s investigation makes clear, criminal cases are hard to make. Donald Trump, despite his many seemingly criminal acts, is unlikely to ever spend a day in jail.
Exclusive: Sahrawi Activist Sultana Khaya Speaks from Moroccan-Imposed House Arrest in Western Sahara
In an exclusive interview, we speak with prominent Sahrawi human rights activist Sultana Khaya in occupied Western Sahara. Moroccan authorities have held her and her family under de facto house arrest for nearly 500 days, where she has been subjected to harassment and sexual abuse. A delegation of U.S.-based activists arrived at her home last week to break the siege and ward off police surveillance.
“U.S. Hypocrisy on Ukraine”: Biden Admin Remains Silent on Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara
While the Biden administration has condemned the Russian invasion of a sovereign, independent Ukraine, it has refused to similarly recognize or support Western Sahara, which has been occupied by Morocco since 1975. Human rights groups have documented brutal suppression of pro-independence activists and the Indigenous population, known as Sahrawis. The disparity between U.S.
“Russia & China, Together at Last”: Historian Al McCoy Predicts Ukraine War to Birth New World Order
President Biden reportedly warned Chinese President Xi Jinping via video call Friday that China would face “consequences” if it provided material support to Russia amid the war in Ukraine. The call was part of U.S. efforts to minimize an emerging Sino-Russian alliance, which threatens U.S. influence over the Eurasian landmass, says Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As U.S.
The Two Most Dismissive Words on the Internet
Sign up for Caleb’s newsletter here.The first things that could “go off” were weapons. Starting in the 16th century, to go off meant to explode in a decisive spurt of energy. Even as the more literal meaning of “to depart physically, to wander” followed close behind, the phrase retained the sudden dramatic shock of its inception.
CDC email: Let’s do better with ‘our data’
Agency leadership seeks to improve how it collects and sifts through information to get at better outcomes.
U.S. health officials seek Covid-19 hospital safety complaints following POLITICO report
America’s hospital regulator wants patients to report facilities that request they remove their masks.
The South’s health care system is crumbling under Covid-19. Enter Tennessee.
The state is a poster child for how rural areas are suffering disproportionately amid the pandemic in the worst public health crisis in a century.
Missouri wants to stop out-of-state abortions. Other states could follow.
The first-of-its-kind proposal from Missouri lawmakers would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident have an abortion.
Moderna asks FDA to authorize second booster shot for all adults
FDA is set to convene its advisory committee of vaccine experts next month to deliberate how to approach Covid booster shots.
Why Robert Pattinson’s Grim Batman Is Cause for Optimism
In The Batman, Matt Reeves’s long and grim superhero epic, Robert Pattinson plays a brooding sophomore of a dark knight. He wears mascara. He journals. He is vengeance. He is the shadows. But despite all the memes and fanboy hand-wringing generated from the Twilight actor’s casting, Pattinson’s is a back-to-basics Batman. He isn’t the tired, aging crimefighter played by Ben Affleck, nor is The Batman the umpteenth pearl-scattering origin story for the character.
Kyiv’s Sublime Urban Spaces Are in Danger
Kyiv is often described as the cradle of Slavic civilization. According to legend, the city was founded in 482, when a group of siblings from a royal Slavic tribe staked out a settlement along the banks of the Dnipro River. By the end of the millenium, under the leadership of Volodymyr the Great, it had become the capital of a major European civilization—Kyivan Rus. At this point, Moscow was barely a village.