White House: Covid-19 boosters will become annual shot, just like the flu vaccine
The administration is making a policy change it has signaled for months.
Today's Liberal News
A Ruling Untethered to the Law
One of the most dispiriting aspects of the decision yesterday by Federal District Court Judge Aileen Cannon—which granted former President Donald Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review the evidence seized from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI—is that it undermines the work of all the other judges who have tried to adhere to their oath to “administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and … faithfully and impartia
RIP Barbara Ehrenreich: Exposed Inequality in “Nickel and Dimed,” Opposed Health-Industrial Complex
We remember the author and political activist Barbara Ehrenreich, who has died at the age of 81 after a career exposing inequality and the struggles of regular people in the United States. In a brief interview, Democracy Now! co-host Juan González recalls working with Ehrenreich as part of the Young Lords and says she was instrumental for the movement against the American health-industrial complex.
Chile Goes Back to the Drawing Board After Voters Overwhelmingly Reject New Progressive Constitution
Voters in Chile have rejected a new constitution that would have replaced the country’s Pinochet-era constitution and expanded rights for Indigenous peoples and abortion seekers, guaranteed universal healthcare and addressed the climate crisis. The new charter was rejected with 62% voting “no,” and President Gabriel Boric has now vowed to continue efforts to rewrite the charter.
George Monbiot: New U.K. PM Liz Truss Has “Extreme Neoliberal” Anti-Labor, Anti-Environment Record
The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party has voted for Liz Truss to become its new leader, replacing Boris Johnson and making her Britain’s next prime minister. Truss served as foreign secretary under Johnson and has a record of “extreme neoliberal policies,” says British journalist George Monbiot. These include supporting tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulating the fossil fuel industry and refusing to regulate agricultural pollution.
The Biden administration is gambling that a little-studied vaccine can stop monkeypox
To prevent the disease from becoming endemic, the U.S. needs a vaccine that stops transmission, but no one knows if Jynneos does that.
VA plans to offer abortion services to certain veterans and beneficiaries
The VA submitted an interim final rule that would enable it to provide abortions when the life or health of a veteran or beneficiary is in peril, or in cases of rape or incest.
Michigan groups ask state court to put abortion rights measure on the Nov. ballot
The amendment — now in limbo — would insert permanent protections into the state’s constitution for abortion and other reproductive health services.
CDC recommends updated Covid-19 boosters to target Omicron strains
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the shots
Covid vaccine drive for youngest kids off to underwhelming start, data shows
Hesitant parents and challenging logistics are slowing the effort to get the nation’s youngest protected against Covid-19.
Biden administration weighs saving monkeypox doses for potential smallpox outbreak
Top U.S. health officials are debating how much of the Jynneos stockpile in Denmark to bottle to combat monkeypox. It could be saved for a potential smallpox outbreak.
Biden Laid the Trap. Trump Walked Into It.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton warned that Donald Trump was a fool who could be baited with a tweet. This past Thursday night, in Philadelphia, Joe Biden upped the ante by asking, in effect: What idiot thing might the former president do if baited with a whole speech? On Saturday night, the world got its answer.For the 2022 election cycle, smart Republicans had a clear and simple plan: Don’t let the election be about Trump.
G-7 announces price cap deal on Russian oil in win for Yellen
The plan touted by the U.S. Treasury secretary aims to diminish the Kremlin’s revenue while preserving the global oil supply.
Powell’s ‘dangerous’ words risk resistance from lawmakers
“Jerome Powell’s rhetoric is dangerous, and a Fed-manufactured recession is not inevitable — it’s a policy choice,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
‘We’re in a housing recession’
The housing market has cooled so much as the Fed withdraws its support for the economy that some analysts say it may be in a slump.
Powell blows away doubts about his war on high inflation
In a closely watched speech, the Fed chair foreshadowed further interest rate increases and warned that rates might need to stay high for some time to kill price spikes.
Powell’s inflation miscalculation raises stakes on rate shift
The Federal Reserve chair needs to convince markets he means business when he addresses the landmark conference of economists on Friday.
L.A. Ballot Measure Would Let Unhoused People Stay in Hotels Past Pandemic Amid Deepening Homeless Crisis
The housing crisis is worsening in Los Angeles, where an estimated 60,000 people remain unhoused in Los Angeles County and thousands more are on the cusp of evictions, even as 20,000 hotel rooms remain vacant across the region. This comes as a new ballot measure could require hotels to house homeless people in vacant rooms.
Historian of Radical Right: Biden Is Correct, Trump Poses Existential Threat to Future of Democracy
In a primetime address Thursday, President Biden warned Donald Trump and his radical supporters are threatening the foundations of the republic. Biden said, “Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” and that MAGA Republicans present a “clear and present danger to our democracy,” referring to Trump’s campaign slogan of “Make America Great Again.
Ukraine Update: Russia wants to talk peace again because it is losing
Short update today because it’s a holiday and I still haven’t recovered from yesterday’s monster update. If you haven’t seen it, it’s still a current representation of public information on the ground situation in Ukraine. In short, I went out on a (short) limb to declare Russia’s offensive culmination, with a clear shift to defensive ops as their war machine runs out of steam.
What is found when things are lost: Reflections on a father
No one ever tells you when you’re a kid, hey, your parents are going to get old in front of you one day (if you’re lucky) and it’s going to be really hard to watch. No one primes you or prepares you well in advance for dealing with a parent who has cancer or dementia.
It’s a hard-knock school that you are admitted to without ever applying.
This past week I spent some time traveling and ended up in Florida where my father lives.
I found my people at Netroots (and Daily Kos) fighting the climate crisis
I can’t help but keep thinking about how much different my life was a year ago as one of the only named storms of this hurricane season begins to form in the Atlantic right now. Exactly a year to the day ago, I was sweating my ass off making sandwiches with World Central Kitchen before switching to their plating team where I worked some of the hardest days I’ve ever experienced.
Marco Rubio Shrugs Off Trump’s Top-Secret File Grab As Simple ‘Storage’ Issue
“This is, really, at its core, a storage argument that they’re making,” the Florida senator said of top secret files that Trump was storing at Mar-a-Lago.
Federal court rulings finally give wild orcas a place at the table for salmon harvests
One of the reasons the Southern Resident killer whale population in the Pacific Northwest is endangered is that its primary dietary staple—Chinook salmon—happens to be prized food for humans, too. And humans are bad at sharing: While Northwest salmon harvests are carefully regulated, divvied up between commercial, tribal, and sport fishermen, the federal authorities in charge of those decisions leave no place at the table for the orcas whose survival depends on the salmon.
Sen. Ron Johnson Tries To Squirm Out Of Threats He Made To Social Security
“What elected official would ever want to cut Social Security?” Johnson asked after proposing a shaky funding system for a program 69 million Americans are currently relying on.
Distract yourself from the current sad news with happy things that happened this month
Let’s be honest, these last few weeks have been difficult to keep up with the news. There seems to be one tragedy after another making headlines. From hate crimes increasing nationwide to climate change impacting countries worldwide, there seems to be little to no happy news.
Despite how awful the news can be, there’s always something happening that can brighten our days.
Uvalde Fourth Graders Waited An Hour With Wounded Teacher
When Elsa Avila looks at the scar that runs down her torso, she can’t help remember May 24, when a gunman stormed her fourth grade wing at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers and leaving her and others wounded.
Trump Rally Highlighted Jan. 6 Prisoner Who Posed As Adolf Hitler
The former president allowed the aunt of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who prosecutors say told co-workers “Hitler should have finished the job,” to make a case for him on Saturday.
Judge Grants Trump Team’s Review Of Seized Mar-A-Lago Docs
A federal judge has granted a request by former President Donald Trump’s legal team to appoint a special master to review documents seized by the FBI during a search of his Florida home last month.
Boris Johnson’s Terrible Parting Gift
In his last days as prime minister of Britain, Boris Johnson conducted a farewell tour of the country. Possibly he expected something like the accolades his beloved Roman generals were given—a small arch in his honor, say—or at least a few angry Gauls walking miserably behind his chariot. Instead he went to a field in southwest England and stared at a hole in the ground.