Today's Liberal News

Prosecutors make closing arguments in historic Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial

For more than a month, prosecutors have worked to convince jurors that when Oath Keepers, led by their founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, descended on Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, they arrived heavily armed and with a plan to forcibly stop a tradition in the U.S. that has been unbroken for more than 200 years: the nation’s peaceful transfer of presidential power. 

The charge of sedition is not frequently prosecuted and when it is, it is rarely prosecuted successfully.

It took House GOP just one day to show why Democrats need to bomb-proof everything while they can

It’s going exactly how Republicans promised it would if they took the House: vengeance. Nothing but vengeance. Policy agenda? As if.

The first press conference of their majority Thursday, was from the Oversight and Judiciary Committee chairs laying out the number one target for their vendetta. It was all Hunter Biden’s laptop, all the time. A thing that is entirely not real.

On the second day of their majority, Rep.

Garland appoints special counsel to determine whether Trump should face charges

UPDATE: Friday, Nov 18, 2022 · 7:31:21 PM +00:00 · Kerry Eleveld

UPDATE: Garland has named Jack Smith, the department’s former public integrity chief, as special counsel.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed a special counsel to examine whether Donald Trump should be indicted on federal charges related to several Justice Department investigations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Democracy’s Dunkirk

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.The authoritarians at home and abroad have faced some reversals, but Americans should consider the midterm elections as only a respite. Liberal democracy remains in danger in the United States and around the world.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

How Taylor Swift Broke Ticketmaster

Make no mistake: Ticketmaster deserves the scorn that it is currently receiving from Taylor Swift’s listenership, a population of such size and power that it probably merits a spot in the United Nations. Earlier this week, the company’s just-for-fans presale of tickets to Swift’s 2023 concert tour was ridden with bugs and delays.

How Close Are We to Nuclear War?

On Tuesday, a missile landed in Przewodów, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine. Two people were killed in the blast. Their deaths were a direct consequence of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, though in the fog of war it was not immediately clear which side was to blame. Initial theories held that the missile had been fired by Russia at Ukraine and gone astray, though later U.S.

What Do Children Owe Their Parents?

Our first relationship in life is usually with a parent. This early experience sets the blueprint for how we approach people for the rest of our lives—the traits we value, our tolerance for vulnerability, and the walls we build up.But parent-child dynamics are more complicated than people are willing to admit, especially parents. And when they’re a burden, they’re often one that a child shoulders alone, as the actor Jennette McCurdy did.

Exiled Russian Environmentalist: Russia’s Uranium Sales to U.S. & Europe Help Putin Fund Ukraine War

We continue our coverage from the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with prominent Russian environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak, co-chair of the Russian environmental organization Ecodefense and winner of the 2021 Right Livelihood Award for defending the environment and mobilizing grassroots opposition to the coal and nuclear industries in Russia.

“Fossil Fuels Fund Dictatorships”: Ukrainian Climate Activist Suspended from COP27 over Russia Protest

Ukrainian climate activist Svitlana Romanko joins us after she was suspended from the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, when she accused Russian officials of war crimes and genocide at an event on Wednesday. Romanko is the founder and director of Razom We Stand, an organization demanding a total permanent embargo on Russian oil and gas.

“A Near-Death Experience”: U.K.-Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah Almost Dies on Prison Hunger Strike

The family of imprisoned British Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah visited him on Thursday for the first time since he ended his full hunger and water strike, which they say occurred after he collapsed inside his prison shower last week. El-Fattah had intensified his strike on the first day of the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh to draw international attention to the country’s human rights violations and protest his seemingly indefinite imprisonment.

“A Carbon Bomb”: Movement Grows Against EACOP East African Pipeline Funded by France’s Total & China

COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has been called the African COP, but many African climate activists cannot afford to attend. Broadcasting from the summit, we speak to Omar Elmawi, campaign coordinator for Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, about the push to stop the construction of a major pipeline that would stretch 900 miles from Uganda to Tanzania.

GOP holds first press conference and says it only wants to talk about Hunter Biden’s laptop

Guess who may have made up to $640 million from ‘outside income’ while in the White House? It has been less than 24 hours since the Republican Party became the official majority party in the coming term. And while this majority is slim and restricts their abilities, while leaving open the possibilities of some legislative actions for Democrats to continue pursuing, what it does allow them to do is investigate stuff using congressional committee oversight powers.

‘Right track’ polling numbers jump following GOP’s lackluster midterm showing

As the ‘red wave’ narrative took hold in the Beltway, many prognosticators cited the country’s abysmal right track/wrong track numbers as evidence Democrats were destined for heavy losses.

It’s true that, heading into Election Day, the numbers were spectacularly bad, according to Civiqs tracking of the issue. Just 21% of registered voters said the country was on the “right track” compared to 68% saying it was on the “wrong track.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announces she’s stepping down from leadership

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is opening the House floor session Thursday, and will announce whether she will remain leader of the House Democrats, or step back following the narrow defeat of Democrats in the 2022 midterms. Pelosi is undoubtedly also weighing her decision on her husband Paul’s recovery from an attack in the couple’s California home before the election, an assassination attempt in which she was the target.