Parkland Victim’s Dad Calls Jim Jordan A ‘Liar’ Over Claims On Gun Legislation
“Perhaps had you not spent most of the time out of the hearing, you would remember,” tweeted Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaimie, was killed.
Today's Liberal News
Republicans show they’re the NRA’s servants during House meeting on gun reform
The House Judiciary Committee is meeting Thursday to discuss a package of bills that would stiffen gun laws in the nation after three separate mass shootings in the past 10 days. The Democratic-led panel is trying to get bipartisan agreement, but that, as we know, is highly unlikely.
The Democrats are hoping to push the “Protecting Our Kids Act” in front of the full House as soon as next week, CBS News reports.
‘Enough’: Biden Exhorts Congress To Pass Gun Control Laws
Congress is working toward a slimmer package, short of what Biden hopes to pass.
The First Amendment Is Stronger Than Johnny Depp
After Johnny Depp’s successful defamation claim against Amber Heard, many observers are wondering if a recalibration of First Amendment law is occurring in the United States.By all indications, it was a close case. The jury spent dozens of hours deliberating, evaluating six weeks’ worth of testimony and evidence. It ultimately decided that the preponderance of evidence favored Depp.
Covid vaccination for kids under 5 expected to start June 21
The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines to roughly 19 million young children is the last step in making shots available to the entire U.S. population.
The Lessons of Newtown for the Future of Uvalde
Isla Vista, Charleston, San Bernardino, Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Parkland, Thousand Oaks, Virginia Beach, Buffalo: Over the decade since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, scores of American communities have become inextricably linked to mass death. With the killing of 19 children and two of their teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last week, the town of 16,000 near the southern border became yet another of our nation’s landmarks of loss.
A Sci-fi Film With a Lighthearted, Apocalyptic Vision
The gray-haired, cloak-wearing protagonist of David Cronenberg’s new science-fiction film, Crimes of the Future, is a very particular sort of conceptual artist. Saul Tenser (played by Viggo Mortensen) sleeps in a bizarre contraption that looks like a spiky womb, speaks with the cadence of someone being strangled, and is constantly growing new organs, which his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux), surgically removes from his body for a live audience.
No, Ann Coulter, I Am Not Responsible for the ‘Great Replacement’ Theory
Ann Coulter, in so many words, thinks that I am responsible for the mass shooting in Buffalo in mid-May.Not me alone. After the shooting, Coulter wrote a column dismissing the idea that Republican politicians and commentators had popularized the “Great Replacement” theory, a conspiracy theory that the young, white Buffalo shooter cited as a motivation before killing 10 people at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Climate Crisis, Ukraine War Worsen Food Crisis in East Africa; Someone Dies of Hunger Every 48 Secs
In a devastating new report, Oxfam says one person is likely dying from hunger every 48 seconds in drought-ravaged Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. We speak with Shannon Scribner, director of humanitarian work at Oxfam America, about how the hunger crisis has worsened since an earlier report was released 10 years ago. She says climate change and the recent war in Ukraine have worsened already dire conditions in East Africa.
Mass Shootings at Home, Mass Arms Exports Abroad: A Look at Deadly Role of U.S. Weapons Across Globe
As U.S. lawmakers struggle to reach a consensus on legislation to curb gun violence in the wake of mass shootings, the U.S. also remains the largest international supplier of arms, funneling billions in military weaponry into wars in Ukraine and Yemen. Until there is a serious curtailment of U.S. militarism, it will continue to prioritize U.S.
Anatol Lieven on Why the U.S. Must Avoid a “Permanent Crusade Against Russia” over Ukraine
Friday marks the 100th day of the Russian war in Ukraine, and the United States warns the war could continue for many more months. We speak with Anatol Lieven, senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest piece for The Atlantic argues that the U.S. is right to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia; however, without a clear strategy for peace and ending the war, the U.S.
America’s hospital regulator wasn’t designed for a pandemic
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is responsible for safety regulations. It is ill-equipped to enforce them.
Austin pushing to effectively decriminalize abortion ahead of ruling on Roe
The state’s so-called trigger law, which would take effect 30 days after a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe, includes the nation’s harshest criminal penalties on abortion.
CMS turning attention to hospitals with Covid outbreaks
The nation’s hospital regulator is probing hospitals where patients were likely infected with Covid after a record spike in transmission this year.
Demand for monkeypox vaccine grows in U.S., European countries as virus cases climb
Governments warn against panicking, but they are planning for the worst outcome.
China’s fragility feeds the doom-mongers in Davos
Fêted at the World Economic Forum in 2017, Xi Jinping is now accused of torpedoing the global economy with his disastrous Zero Covid strategy.
RIP Davos Man, long live globalization
Open markets aren’t what they used to be. A more complicated, more regional economic system is reshaping the global order.
U.S. economy is in a ‘period of transition,’ White House economic adviser says
Despite high inflation, the U.S. is “moving from the strongest economic recovery in modern history to what can be a period of more stable and resilient growth,” Brian Deese said.
U.S. inflation hit 8.3% last month but slows from 40-year high
On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.3% from March to April, a still-elevated rate but the smallest increase in eight months.
Fed set to launch fresh assault on inflation in new era for economy
Rates this year could reach their highest levels since before the 2008 Wall Street crash if surging prices continue.
Colombia Election Runoff: Leftist Gustavo Petro Leads Presidential Vote But Faces Trump-Like Tycoon
Colombia’s highly anticipated presidential elections on Sunday resulted in victory for two anti-establishment candidates: leftist Gustavo Petro and Trump-like right-wing millionaire Rodolfo Hernández. The two will face off in a runoff election on June 19, the outcome of which will determine whether Colombia addresses worsening inequality under Petro or ushers in a new era of populist conservatism under Hernández.
Gridlock Could Delay COVID Funds Until Fall — Or Longer
The Biden administration foresees unnecessary deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of dollars more to brace for the pandemic’s next wave.
‘This Video Will Change You’: Urgent Plea For Gun Sanity Has People In Tears
A new video makes one simple request after yet another mass shooting at an American school.
America Had 3 Simultaneous Shootings On Wednesday, Less Than 2 Weeks After Uvalde
Four people were killed in Tulsa, a student was shot in Los Angeles and a woman was targeted at a nail salon in Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Ukraine Update: Not enough? Here’s the challenge of moving even four HIMARS
I both love and hate Ukrainian aid announcements from the Pentagon. Here’s the latest:
High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
Five counter-artillery radars;
Two air surveillance radars;
1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units;
6,000 anti-armor weapons;
15,000 155mm artillery rounds;
Four Mi-17 helicopters;
15 tactical vehicles;
Spare parts and equipment.
I love them because hey, Ukraine is getting more of what they need to win this war.
GOP Lawmaker Manages To Blame Abortion For Mass Shootings
“Life has no value to a lot of these folks,” Rep. Billy Long of Missouri said.
News Roundup: Lawmakers prepare to introduce (or block) new gun laws; DeSantis gets an actual army
After yet another mass murder in a public school, the race is on to do something, anything, to protect Americans from America’s gun-toting aspirational terrorists—and for Republicans, the challenge is how best to stonewall reforms until that urgency again dies down. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to polish his credentials of “like Trump, but somehow worse” with a recruitment drive for a new Florida state paramilitary force.
Pillow Man thinks 2022 Georgia GOP primaries were also rigged, because results were bad for Trump
Crack reporter Mike Lindell has gotten to the bottom of yet another election conspiracy, folks, and it’s eerily similar to the old conspiracy! Georgia—which, not for nothing, recounted every single 2020 presidential paper ballot by hand—has apparently cheated Lindell’s messiah, Donald Trump, once again—this time by illegally handing some of his endorsees an embarrassing (to Trump, anyway) loss.
One way to keep books by and about LGBTQ people on the shelves? Hide them from the GOP
We’re still trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence and police brutality continue to endanger everyone (especially people of color and Black men in particular), and Republicans are gearing up for the midterm elections by … banning books. Ah yes, the Republican way: distract and enrage.
As Daily Kos has covered at length, we know conservatives are trying to attack marginalized folks on all fronts.
Chicago curfew for teens draws concern from community members
by Sayou Cooper
This story was originally published at Prism.
The Chicago City Council has officially implemented a citywide curfew for minors. On May 17, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order that would alter the city’s 30-year-old curfew for minors. Last week, the curfew became permanent after approval from the Chicago City Council, with the measure approved by a 30-19 vote.