Today's Liberal News

“The Afghanistan Papers”: Docs Show How Bush, Obama, Trump Lied About Brutality & Corruption of War

We speak with Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of the new book “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War,” which reveals how multiple U.S. presidents deceived the public about progress in the war despite widespread skepticism among defense and diplomatic officials about the mission. “The public narrative was that the U.S. was always making progress.

“Uncertainty, Fear”: How Afghan Women & Ethnic Minorities Feel About Taliban Takeover & U.S. War

We look at how the rights of women and ethnic minorities will be impacted by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan with two Afghan women who fled their country. Mariam Safi, who left Kabul last month and is founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies, says the Taliban’s rapid advance across the country surprised many people who had been hoping for a negotiated end to the war.

Greenville County Republican leader dies after month-long battle with COVID-19

On Thursday morning, Aug. 19, 2021, Greenville County Republican Party leader Pressley Stutts died, losing his fight against COVID-19. The South Carolina official had been a staunch opponent of vaccine and mask requirements. According to the Greenville News, Stutts’ death was confirmed by Anderson County Republican Party official Dan Harvell, who called Stutts “the brother I never had.

Jan. 6 insurrectionist may go back to jail—for watching Pillow Man’s latest Big Lie nonsense

Okay, to be fair, I watched more of Mike Lindell’s goofy cyber symposium than I care to admit. And I may have hidden the full extent of my pathological obsession from my wife. And my therapist. And my dogs, for that matter. But, you know, I wasn’t literally banned from watching it. 

Capitol rioter Douglas Jensen was banned, however. In fact, as a condition of his release from jail following his part in Donald Trump’s Jan.

Appeals court refuses to stop order forcing Biden admin to restart inhumane asylum policy

An appeals court late Thursday left in place a ruling that orders the Biden administration to restart the previous administration’s inhumane and unlawful Remain in Mexico policy. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed by the previous administration, had last week ruled in favor of a Republican-led lawsuit, though he paused his decision for seven days, and the Biden administration very quickly appealed.

Finally, some student loan news to celebrate

I am one of the first to admit frustration and disappointment when it comes to student loan relief. We heard from Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren about their sweeping but feasible plans to cancel—or at least reduce—the serious burden of student debt on the campaign trail. Amid the pandemic, Donald Trump did, technically, do a good thing by pausing payments and collections on federally-held student loans.

Jeff Bezos Needs NASA to Listen to Him

In the summer of 2019, Jeff Bezos appeared at a space symposium marking the anniversary of the first moon landing. Fifty years had passed since that historic achievement, and Bezos marveled at how quickly NASA had once moved to select the manufacturer for its lunar lander. “Today there would be three protests,” he said, referring to contractors’ appeals of NASA decisions, “and the losers would sue the federal government because they didn’t win.

There’s No Time for Small Talk in Middle Age

Each installment of “The Friendship Files” features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.This week she speaks with the actors Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael, who co-host The Deep Dive, a podcast that explores their friendship and adult womanhood.

The Books Briefing: How Fan Fiction Reimagines the Writing Process

When The Last Jedi came out, some viewers had déjà vu: Certain aspects of the movie’s plot were strikingly similar to the events in several popular stories on the fan-fiction site Archive of Our Own. The coincidence may seem strange, but in many ways it’s unsurprising that the people who were thinking most deeply about a franchise—its creators and devotees alike—would come to the same conclusions about each character’s fate.

Biden Is Betting Americans Will Forget About Afghanistan

Call it the White House’s dream scenario: In the end, the voters don’t blame Joe Biden. The president’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan simply aligns him with everyone else who has given up on the notion that the military could mold a fractious country into a stable democratic ally.

The Remote Work–Fertility Connection

Last year was a blur for Miranda Turner, but she remembers the day her kids’ school shut down like it was yesterday. On a Friday in March 2020, Arlington Public Schools, in Virginia, announced that it would close the following Monday because of the newly circulating coronavirus, sending working parents like Turner scrambling to figure out what to do with their kids.