Today's Liberal News

News Roundup: Cuomo probe documents years of sexual harassment; COVID again spreads in Senate

In the news today: New York and national Democrats are demanding the resignation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after an independent investigation concluded that Cuomo engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment, including abusive and retaliatory behavior. A watchdog group alleges that federal immigration officials have deported as many as 70 American citizens in recent years. Another senator is in self-quarantine for a COVID-19 infection.

Why is U.S. infrastructure such a mess? Economics, corruption, and racism are just a few reasons

There are over 4.1 million miles of public road in the United States. These paths of concrete and asphalt are the legacy of President Eisenhower’s Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which created the Interstate Highway System as well as being the impetus for other roads to support the expansion it caused.

This had massive economic and cultural reverberations, with estimates linking the highway system to significant direct and indirect job growth.

Laurel Hubbard makes history as first openly trans woman to compete in Olympics

If there’s one point of hysteria Republicans have gathered behind in 2021, it’s the hateful mission to keep trans girls out of sports. Lawmakers have used a number of thinly veiled arguments to cover up their transphobia, arguing that banning trans girls from competing in girls’ sports is about protecting [cisgender] girls and keeping things “fair.” In reality, of course, trans girls are girls and thus deserve to be on the girls’ team.

You’ve Never Seen Legs Like These

Let’s start with what harvestmen are not. They are not men, nor do they harvest; they probably get their name from the time of year they’re commonly spotted, in late summer or early fall. Though eight-legged, they are not spiders, but they are part of the broader arachnid group, which also includes ticks and mites. And despite some truly slanderous rumors, they are not venomous and pose absolutely no threat to us who walk upright.

The Infrastructure Deal Is Not Not a Climate Bill

Last week, Senate negotiators released the text of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal. For the first time since the deal was announced in June, we can actually see what’s in it.On its face, this isn’t a climate bill. It invests significantly in a federal road and highway system that encourages fossil-fuel-based travel in private cars and trucks.

What the Ohio Special Election Actually Means

In just a few hours, Americans will start reading headlines announcing all the lessons learned from today’s Democratic primary in Ohio’s Eleventh Congressional District. Political writers will treat the race as a parable: a warning for progressives or an admonishment of the Democratic Party’s establishment wing. Twitter pundits will publish threads about the winning candidate’s strategy to woo working-class voters.

American Shoppers Are a Nightmare

In May, I stood in the rear galley of an airplane and watched as a line formed to berate the flight attendant next to me. We were at a gate at LaGuardia, our flight half an hour delayed, and the air inside the cabin was acrid with the aromas of anxiety sweat and bags of fast food procured at the gate.

Hot Vax Summer Crumbled Before My Eyes

The first time I heard there was a problem, I was hanging out in a leather bar.A friend texted with news that Provincetown, Massachusetts, the queer beach town where I’d been vacationing, had experienced a spike of COVID-19 cases among vaccinated people. He asked about the mood in town. I looked around the room and saw burly guys—it was Bear Week—chatting over beers.

Palestinians Reject Israeli Court’s Deal That Would Put Them at “Mercy of Settlers” in Sheikh Jarrah

The Israeli Supreme Court this week offered Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah a compromise in their ongoing fight to block Jewish settlers from forcibly expelling them from their own homes. The high court proposed that Palestinian families could stay in their homes for now if they begin paying rent to the Jewish settler group that claims ownership over the properties — a deal the families rejected, insisting they are the legal owners.

Refugees Continue to Face “Extreme Danger” in Mediterranean Sea as Aid Groups Scramble to Respond

The number of refugees trying to reach European soil continues to grow due to worsening poverty, violence and the climate crisis, and over 1,100 refugees have perished crossing the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the United Nations. We speak with Laurence Bondard of SOS Méditerranée, a humanitarian group that rescues migrants at sea, who says there is a severe shortage of search-and-rescue resources in the area to address the crisis.