Today's Liberal News

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.

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.

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.

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.

Why More Americans Aren’t Happy for Gregg Popovich

From time to time, Gregg Popovich, the coach of the United States men’s national basketball team—which won a gold medal last night at the Tokyo Olympics with an 87–82, as-close-as-it-sounds victory over France—suggests a mad poet howling from a windy hillside.

Where Did ‘Synchronized Swimming’ Go?

If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have noticed that synchronized swimming has a new name. In July 2017, the International Swimming Federation, or FINA, announced that the sport would be called “artistic swimming,” effective immediately. Not everyone was a fan—to put it mildly.

‘The Revelation Was That I Was the Problem’

Genetically, Xand and Chris van Tulleken are clones. Yet the 42-year-old twins do not look identical, because Xand is more than 30 pounds heavier than Chris. That is the biggest weight difference recorded in the long-running twin study at King’s College London.The van Tullekens live in London. They argue about food—specifically, how much Xand eats—all the time. They are also both medical doctors, and they present British television shows on health and diet.

How Much Longer Can the Olympics Survive?

When Tokyo bids farewell to the Olympics this weekend, few people there will be sad to see it go. The Japanese public overwhelmingly opposed hosting the postponed Summer Games, fearing that it could exacerbate the country’s COVID-19 outbreak. In the final week of the competition, Japan broke a record no one wanted, reporting more than 14,000 cases a day—its highest since the pandemic began.