Today's Liberal News

An Off-Ramp from War? Russia Says It Pulled Back Some Troops from Ukraine Border as Talks Continue

Russia has announced plans to pull back some troops from the Ukrainian border in a possible effort to deescalate the standoff over Ukraine but still intends to continue with military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea. This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated on Monday the country may drop its bid to join NATO and the U.S. continues to urge U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine, warning a Russian invasion could come as soon as Wednesday.

The Seven Habits of COVID-Resilient Nations

The tweet has stuck with me for months now: a chart of cumulative COVID-19 deaths per capita in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. The U.S. and U.K. lines rise up like mountains relative to the valley of South Korea below. Even as Omicron-related deaths have increased in South Korea more recently, the picture hasn’t changed much.

“American Reckoning”: 55 Years After KKK Murder of Mississippi NAACP Leader, Case Remains Unsolved

This month marks 55 years since the assassination of an NAACP leader. The new documentary “American Reckoning” seeks justice in the cold case of murdered civil rights activist and local NAACP leader Wharlest Jackson Sr. in Natchez, Mississippi. No one was ever charged with his 1967 murder, despite evidence pointing to the involvement of the inner circle of the local Ku Klux Klan. It’s one of many unsolved crimes targeting civil rights activists.

Spotify Signed Joe Rogan for $100 Million But Won’t Hold Him Accountable for Spreading Misinfo, Hate

Comedian Joe Rogan has come under fire for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, using racial slurs and other harmful rhetoric on his Spotify podcast. Musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have pulled their music from the platform in protest of his $100 million contract reportedly paid by Spotify, raising questions how responsible audio platforms should be over hateful content.

News Roundup: EV goes (very) mainstream; Senate to finally patch up U.S. Postal Service

In the news today: As new Democratic infrastructure funding looks to fill out the nation’s roadways with a comprehensive map of new charging stations, car manufacturers looked to fill out Super Bowl commercial time with slick ads for vehicles that leave the combustion engine behind. Some actually good news out of the Senate, where lawmakers aim to undo one of the nastiest attempts to sabotage the U.S. Postal Service—but, of course, there’s a Republican complication.

QAnon Chronicles: Disney is the illuminati, baby! Epstein associate gives money to QAnon GOP

The Qronicles is a series that will collect some of the news, videos, and general mis/dis-information roiling around the conspiracy world of QAnon. You can cringe, you can laugh, but these folks are organizing and showing up at the polls!

This Qweek (see what I did there?!?!?!) on the QAnon Chronicles, we have Canadian truckers—or is it Canada truckers? (See what I did there???) Is the Disney corporation really a Satanic cult? The evidence might surprise you.

Lauren ‘Boebart’ gleefully accepts crass, sexist award, complete with a Red Lobster gift card

Everything about the image is perfect—in a way. If Donald Trump ever achieves his longstanding goal of turning America into a giant kleptocratic Chuck E. Cheese, this will be the new flag of Colorado—in honor of the state’s governor-for-life, Lauren J. “Le Petomane” Boebert.

It’s a perfect snapshot of America in the Year of Our Lord 2022. A crass deference to shallow values and superficial virtues? Check.

Is it really time to ‘open everything?’ Yes, writes Yascha Mounk for The Atlantic

This piece, written by Yascha Mounk and published this week in The Atlantic, has generated considerable debate (and engendered considerable angry pushback) on social media and in various outlets of widely varying political orientations, and because of its undeniable (if simplistic) appeal, it is probably worth bringing to people’s attention, if only for purposes of discussion.

Post-Omicron Life Can Be Downright Maddening

Of all the pandemic waves the United States has weathered so far, this one feels uniquely baffling. Omicron is on its way out, and states are relaxing their mask mandates, but close to 200,000 people are still testing positive each day. The country is more vaccinated than ever before, but not vaccinated enough to stop hospitals from filling up with COVID patients. And while we’re still dealing with this variant, another one capable of breaking through those defenses could still emerge.

The Oscar-Nominated Film That Offers a Master Class in Journalism

About an hour into the Oscar-nominated documentary Writing With Fire, a young man—slim, bearded, dressed in a saffron-colored pajama set—flicks his hair and smiles. Then he unsheathes a sword, a metallic echo lingering several seconds after it is drawn. Meera, the bureau chief for India’s Khabar Lahariya newspaper, is recording the young man on her phone.

The COVID Strategy America Hasn’t Really Tried

It is common knowledge that COVID risk goes up with age, but how steeply it rises is still astounding to see after two years of living and dying with this coronavirus. Compared with someone in their 20s, a person over 65 years old is not slightly more likely to die of COVID but at least 65 times more likely to die of COVID. Over age 75, they become 140 times more likely to die. Over age 85, they are 340 times more likely to die.

The Next Pandemic Could Start With a Terrorist Attack

In 1770, the German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele performed an experiment and noticed that he’d created a noxious gas. He named it “dephlogisticated muriatic acid.” We know it today as chlorine.Two centuries later, another German chemist, Fritz Haber, invented a process to synthesize and mass-produce ammonia, which revolutionized agriculture by generating the modern fertilizer industry. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918.

Climate & Punishment: How Incarcerated People Face Increasing Threat of Fires, Floods & Extreme Heat

A damning new investigation by The Intercept details the climate risks facing incarcerated people in more than 6,500 detention facilities across the country, including wildfires, floods and extreme heat. We feature a 10-minute video report that includes the stories of people behind bars and their families who are fighting for justice, and speak with reporter Alleen Brown, who says the climate crisis, coupled with the deterioration of detention facilities, places the U.S.

V-Day to Earth Day: How Women in 70+ Countries Are Rising to End Violence Against Women & Our Planet

Valentine’s Day kicks off a campaign by feminist leaders in 70 countries across the world to celebrate One Billion Rising, an initiative by V-Day to end violence against women — cisgender, transgender and gender nonconforming — girls and the planet. ”COVID has ushered in a very strange and perplexing time for women. We are on the frontlines everywhere,” says V-Day founder V (formerly Eve Ensler).