Today's Liberal News

Nina Turner: Democrats Must Decide If They Are “Party of the Corporatists or Party of the People”

We look at the Democratic Party’s opposition to progressive challengers such as Nina Turner, former Ohio state senator who earlier this month lost her congressional primary challenge after facing massive spending and attacks by super PACs. Turner says the corporate wing of the Democratic Party seeks to consolidate the existing leadership’s power while shutting down champions of progressive policies like Medicare for All.

David Sirota: Progressives Win Key Primary Races Despite Millions Spent to Back Corporate Democrats

We look at Tuesday’s primary elections across five states, which could set the tone for this year’s midterm elections in November. Progressives won in some primary elections despite opposition from within the Democratic Party, as well as deep-pocketed outside groups. “What you’ve seen is a surprising backlash at the voter level to all of the money that flooded in,” says investigative journalist David Sirota of The Lever.

Abortion Activist Renee Bracey Sherman: Democrats Demand Our Votes But Fail to Protect Our Rights

Tens of thousands took to the streets across the U.S. Saturday to protest threats to abortion rights as part of a coordinated day of action, under the banner “Bans Off Our Bodies.” We speak with Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of pro-abortion group We Testify, about the racist history behind anti-abortion movements and the failure of Democrats to protect reproductive rights over the years.

John Fetterman (D-Vibes)

Even if you don’t know a single policy he supports, chances are good that you know what John Fetterman looks like. Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor is larger than life at 6 foot 8, distinctively bald with a salt-and-pepper goatee, draped in a baggy shirt or hoodie. Oh, and he’s a shorts guy too.Fetterman easily won today’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, and will run in November in a race that could decide control of the chamber.

Madison Cawthorn, a contender for most unhinged Republican in Congress, loses after just one term

North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, whose various scandals, embarrassing videos, unhinged rhetoric, and run-ins with the law made him one of the most notorious Republicans in Congress during his short time in office, has lost his bid for a second term. State Sen. Chuck Edwards, who pitched himself as a dependable arch-conservative alternative to the shameless, attention-seeking incumbent, defeated Cawthorn in the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 11th District by a 34-32 margin.

Live coverage: May 17, 2022 primaries in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania

Five different states are holding primaries tonight with major implications for November. We’ll be liveblogging the results here and also covering the returns closely on Twitter.

Polls close in the portion of Kentucky located in the Eastern Time Zone, which includes Louisville, at 6 PM ET. We’ll begin our liveblog at 7:30 PM ET when polls close in North Carolina.

The Intersectionality of Hate

“The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved.”These are not the words of the teenager who walked into a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday to hunt down Black Americans, although they might as well be. These are the words of Tom Buchanan, a rich, repugnant character in the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby.

How a SIDS Study Became a Media Train Wreck

Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, “will be a thing of the past,” according to Carmel Harrington, a sleep researcher at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, in Australia. A press release describes her new study, out this month, as a “game-changing” effort and a “world-first breakthrough” that could prevent future deaths from the tragic illness. Celebrations quickly spread on social media: “THEY FOUND THE CAUSE OF SIDS.

Frogs Keep Mating With the Wrong Things

Two years ago, Juan Díaz Ricaurte was hiking through the mountains of Brazil when a male yellow cururu toad affixed itself to his boot. Díaz Ricaurte gently detached the frog and set it back on the ground, several feet away; undeterred, it bounded back over and wrapped its arms around the shoe again. “It was super focused on grabbing Juan’s boot,” says Filipe Serrano, Díaz Ricaurte’s fellow biologist, who witnessed the meet-cute.

Why the Internet Hates Amber Heard

A shadow box above Rebecca’s dining-room table, hanging there since 2006, displays an autographed copy of the Pirates of the Caribbean script—signed by Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and Johnny Depp. Though Rebecca, at age 36, is emphatically no longer a Depp fan, she says she keeps the script on her wall as a conversation starter. If someone asks about it, maybe she’ll go into the full story, rather than pretending she never liked Depp.

Buffalo Massacre & Racist Manifesto Fuel Push to Regulate Social Media Platforms Where Hate Flourishes

Calls are growing for heavier restrictions on social media platforms after a white supremacist live-streamed his shooting spree in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, resulting in 10 deaths and three wounded. While the video was removed from Twitch within minutes, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allowed it to circulate for days and gain over a million views. The 18-year-old shooter was radicalized through online forums such as 4chan, according to a racist screed he authored.