Why the Crypto Industry Is Having a Meltdown Over the Infrastructure Bill
The Shiba Inu memes are howling—and it turns out they also have teeth.
Today's Liberal News
Why Biden Could Succeed Where Trump Failed on Infrastructure
How did Democrats overcome Republican intransigence in order to to take on one of their highest priorities?
Obamacare architect floated for top FDA job
The administration has struggled for months to find a nominee to lead the agency despite its central role in fighting the ongoing pandemic.
Vaccine demand jumps in states pummeled by Delta variant
State and local officials in these areas say that fears about the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, and the risk of death, are finally driving more people to seek out shots.
Dems plot to squeeze health care promises into social spending bill
To squeeze as many of their priorities as possible in the budget resolution, lawmakers are discussing making some of the new health spending temporary.
New York City to mandate vaccines for indoor restaurants, gyms, performances
The new program to “unlock New York City” will begin Aug. 16, with enforcement set to start Sept. 13, according to City Hall.
‘Literally losing our workforce’: Florida schools defy DeSantis’ anti-mask order
School districts view the mask mandates as a matter of life or death.
Pop Is Making Happiness Sound Pretty Dreary Lately
Getty ; Adam Maida / The Atlantic
Billie Eilish has some scary problems, she tells listeners on her new album’s first song, “Getting Older.” A stranger outside her door is acting deranged. Loneliness and burnout mount in her mind. Abuse and trauma darken her past. She murmurs about these things over a synthesizer that pulses like a time bomb. It never seems to explode, but the final verse does contain a shock.
Dear Care and Feeding: I Can’t Stop Thinking About What I Did to Our Nanny Almost a Decade Ago
Parenting advice on nanny regrets, toddler control, and math class.
Help! My Son’s Wife Is Getting Bigger and Butcher Than a Woman Should.
I’m afraid she’s going to emasculate him, looking like this.
House Dem campaign chief warns the majority at risk without message reboot
“We’re not trying to hide this,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s executive director said.
Biden’s economic gains come with newer worries about the future
Some economists have already begun to ease back on forecasts for the rest of this year.
U.S. economy surpasses prepandemic size with 6.5% Q2 growth
The growth is another sign that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
Virus resurgence menaces economy just as rescue programs unravel
A new wave of cases followed by the looming expiration of enhanced jobless benefits, a ban on evictions and other rescue programs is sparking concern among lawmakers and economists.
The pandemic drove women out of the workforce. Will they come back?
Their absence could hurt the broader U.S. economy, so policymakers are weighing ways to help them return to work.
Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Sued Chevron over Amazon Oil Spills, Marks 2 Years Under House Arrest
Protests across the United States are calling for the immediate release of environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who has been held under house arrest in New York for two years after being targeted by the oil giant Chevron. Donziger sued the oil giant in Ecuador on behalf of 30,000 Amazonian Indigenous people for dumping 16 billion gallons of oil into their ancestral lands.
A Cycle of War Crimes: Today’s Crisis in Afghanistan Grew Out of 20 Years of U.S. War
As the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency session to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, we speak with Polk Award-winning journalist Matthieu Aikins, who is based in Kabul. The Taliban have been seizing territory for months as U.S. troops withdraw from the country, and the group is now on the verge of taking several provincial capitals. “In the 13 years I’ve been working here, I’ve never seen a situation as grim,” says Aikins.
Remembering Richard Trumka: Union Leaders Reflect on Death of AFL-CIO Head & Labor Movement Challenges Ahead
Richard Trumka, the longtime president of the AFL-CIO and one of the most powerful labor leaders in the United States, has died of a heart attack at the age of 72. Trumka’s death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from fellow labor figures, activists and lawmakers, including President Joe Biden. Trumka was a third-generation coal miner from Pennsylvania who, at the age of 33, became the youngest president of the United Mine Workers of America.
“They Killed Us from the Inside”: U.N. Inquiry Demanded into Officials’ Culpability in Beirut Blast
One year after the Beirut port explosion, a new Human Rights Watch report implicates senior Lebanese officials in the disaster that killed 218 people, wounded 7,000 others and destroyed vast swaths of the city. The blast on August 4, 2020, was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
Community Spotlight: Nelson Mandela, John Waters, and the road less (angrily) traveled
The delta surge has triggered the eruption of an enormous new anger in our zeitgeist. We’re tired of being nice to deniers and furious at people refusing to take sensible public health measures like getting vaccinated, social distancing, and mask-wearing. We’re fed up with ludicrous invented problems pinned to words like “socialism” and “critical race theory,” problems created to inflame anti-democratic frenzy and promote cruel policies.
Texas Won’t Require Schools To Inform All Parents Of COVID-19 Outbreaks
Vaccinated people are not considered a close contact who should be informed, according to the guidelines.
Maine Republican will run to avenge 2018 House defeat he still refuses to recognize
Former Rep. Bruce Poliquin announced Wednesday that he would seek the Republican nomination to take on Rep. Jared Golden, the Democrat who unseated him in a tight 2018 contest for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
Poliquin, though, is continuing with his Trumpish refusal to accept his defeat in that instant runoff general election, as he once again proclaimed, “Head-to-head, you know, I beat Golden in 2018, and God willing, I will do it again next year.
Trump DOJ Ally Reportedly Pushed Wild Theory China May Have Used Vote-Hacking Thermometers
Jeffrey Clark spun the plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House, according to emails obtained by the House Oversight Committee.
Connect! Unite! Act! Our community remembers those we’ve lost
Connect! Unite! Act! is a weekly series that seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups meet regularly to socialize, but also to get out the vote, support candidates, and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers that be. Visit us every week to see how you can get involved!
When a friend or family member passes, people grieve the loss.
July jobs report exceeds expectations, this week in the war on workers
Good things were happening with jobs in July:
There is still a big gap in the labor market, but even with some slowing from this pace of job growth, we will be back to pre-COVID health by the end of 2022—a recovery *five times* as fast as the recovery following the Great Recession, thanks to the vaccine and to the ARP. 2/ pic.twitter.
Barack Obama’s Scaled-Down Birthday Bash Still Has A Lot Of Celebs
The party, which reportedly initially had some 475 invitees, was downsized due to delta variant concerns. But it’s not clear what that means.
Another sad marker of the Southern Residents’ decline: Beloved orca K21 Cappuccino dies at 35
FRIDAY HARBOR, Washington—K21 Cappuccino was a gregarious, curious, and kindly orca. He liked to engage in play behaviors—breaching, spyhopping, slapping his pectoral fins. And he was generally quite fearless about approaching human boaters who were in his waters. He seemed to always be curious about the crazy monkeys.
Texas Democrats Continue Holdout, Don’t Show For New Session
More than 50 Democrats last month bolted to the nation’s capital, but the precise whereabouts of each of them is unclear.