Today's Liberal News

‘My life matters too’: Black migrants note disparate treatment under U.S. immigration policy

Reports last winter revealed that while the Biden administration was internally warned that Haitian deportations under Stephen Miller’s anti-asylum policy could violate human rights and international refugee law, they continued into the thousands. But just a few months later, the administration would then also issue a memo reminding U.S. border officers that they have the discretion to exempt Ukrainians from the policy.

That’s Not What Grooming Means

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Soon after, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Is Confident, Dorky Fun

When Sonic the Hedgehog made his theater debut two years ago, after decades as a famed video-game mascot, the cinematic equivalent of a ball and chain was placed around his speedy little legs. He still looked every inch the big-eyed blue speedster from Sega’s many games, but the movie made him spend all of his time palling around with a local cop in small-town Montana instead of battling alien robots in phantasmagoric, loop-de-loop-filled locations like the Casino Night Zone.

The Uncanny Prescience of Servant of the People

A charming, baby-faced man, somewhere in his late 30s or early 40s, rises to a governmental lectern flanked by blue-and-yellow flags. He is not a career politician. World leaders think of him as something of a joke. He looks at the gathered crowd, draws a breath, and, in Ukrainian, begins his inaugural speech.
The speaker is not Volodymyr Zelensky.

America’s Pandemic Orphans Are Slipping Through the Cracks

Losing a parent may be one of the most destabilizing events of the human experience. Orphans are at increased risk of substance abuse, dropping out of school, and poverty. They are almost twice as likely as non-orphans to die by suicide, and they remain more susceptible to almost every major cause of death for the rest of their life.Because of the pandemic, some 200,000 American children now face these stark odds.

Back from Kabul, Women’s Delegation Urges U.S. & Europe to Unfreeze Afghan Funds Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Women in Afghanistan are protesting a number of gender-based restrictions from the Taliban, including an order in March to shut down public high schools for girls. In response, U.S. officials canceled talks with Taliban leaders in Doha, continuing to freeze billions in Afghan assets while Afghanistan spirals into economic catastrophe. We speak with Masuda Sultan and Medea Benjamin, two co-founders of Unfreeze Afghanistan, a coalition advocating for the release of funding for Afghan civilians.

Washington Post Video Journalist Captures Ukrainian Stories as Russian Forces Leave Parts of Ukraine

As the Russian assault on Ukraine continues, more videos are emerging that show evidence of Russian brutalities and possible war crimes, such as executions and torture. Russian officials have denied the accusations, calling them Ukrainian propaganda. We speak with Washington Post video journalist Jon Gerberg, who has been filing video reports from the war for the past six weeks, and see extended interviews from civilians he interviewed.

Ukraine update: Meanwhile, in Kherson …

Since Russia collected what was left of their forces in northern Ukraine and made a run for the Belarus border, almost all of the attention has focused on the Donbas region. Which isn’t surprising, since Russia already announced that it was going to redirect its attention there.

The absolutely best outcome for Russia at this point would seem to be capturing more territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and completing the capture of Mariupol.

Anti-vaxxers borrow ‘Grand Jury’ concept from sovereign citizens to organize scapegoating ‘trials’

The COVID-19 con artists never miss a trick. Check out their latest scam: For just a small fee—well, or maybe not so small, depending on whether you want a hat and shirt or participate in the show proceedings in Nashville—you too can be seated on “America’s Grand Jury,” which plans to hold a mock trial for Dr. Anthony Fauci, accused in “the deaths of millions of people all over the globe.

‘Operate with impunity’: Internal email warns of risks facing asylum-seekers under Remain in Mexico

The GOP-led effort to resurrect the cruel Remain in Mexico policy continues to endanger the lives of asylum-seekers. BuzzFeed News reports that the State Department urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pause sending vulnerable people enrolled in the inhumane policy to a Mexican city where “heavily armed members of criminal group” have been operating “with impunity.

Naked Mole Rats Have a Very Strange Status Symbol

In naked-mole-rat societies, the royals do not wield scepters or don crowns. But that’s not to say that their majesty is subtle. The toothy, pruney rodents live in close-knit underground communities of up to about 300 members apiece, ruled by a tyrant queen that refuses to be mistaken for just another balding pleb.

Of Course Elon Musk Wanted Twitter

Updated at 8:40 p.m. ET on April 5, 2022.Long before the rockets and the electric cars, before the high-speed trains and the brain implants and the flamethrowers, Elon Musk was in the content business.In 1996, Zip2, the company he’d founded with his brother, started courting newspapers with a service that would allow them to build online directories of classified ads, real-estate listings, car deals, and entertainment events.