Today's Liberal News

Caribbean Matters: Congratulations to Barbados, a republic after nearly 400 years

In a dramatic overnight ceremony and celebration in Barbados, which began Monday, Nov. 29, and continued into Tuesday, Nov. 30, the sun set on Barbados’ status as a colony of the British Empire, with Queen Elizabeth as its titular head of state. Barbados is now a parliamentary republic and though it will retain membership in the commonwealth, after close to 400 years of being a colony, the island will no longer bow to royalty.

Omicron Won’t Ruin Your Booster

If it doesn’t happen with this variant, it’ll happen with the next one, or maybe the next. Some version of this coronavirus is bound to flummox our vaccines. In the past two years, SARS-CoV-2 has hopscotched across the globe, rejiggering its genome to better coexist with us. The latest coronavirus contender, Omicron, has more than 50 mutations, making it the most heavily altered coronavirus variant of concern that researchers have identified to date.

Republicans Hope Their Assault on Democracy Will Stop a Post-Roe Backlash

Women’s constitutional right to decide whether to bear children appears to be hanging by a thread. At yesterday’s oral argument in the case of ​​Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed justices displayed an eagerness to overturn Roe v. Wade, the legal precedent that prevents states from banning abortion.

The Struggle to Overcome Mass-Shooting Cynicism

At first, the footage offers a perspective we’ve seldom seen: an inside-the-classroom view of high-school students trying to evade an active shooter. Kids crouch below their desks and strategize in hushed tones. The lights are off. Fearing that the voice on the other side of the door is that of a killer, they flee. Then, as teenagers push open a window and thrust themselves to safety, the scene starts to look familiar.

As France Honors Black Artist Josephine Baker, Far-Right Pundit Éric Zemmour Launches Presidential Bid

On the same day France celebrated the induction of American-born singer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker into the Pantheon, far-right xenophobic writer and pundit Éric Zemmour announced he will run for president of France in the upcoming April 2022 election. Many have pointed out the contradiction in these opposing events, even in President Emmanuel Macron’s speech that painted Baker as a model of colorblind unity, when in reality she was outspoken about racial justice.

​​Planned Parenthood CEO: If SCOTUS Restricts Abortion Access, Marginalized People Will Be Hurt Most

We speak to Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, about the Supreme Court hearing Wednesday, in which the conservative majority on the court seemed to indicate that they support upholding the restrictive Mississippi law that bans abortion starting at just 15 weeks of pregnancy, and potentially overturn Roe v. Wade.

Abortion Under Attack: Supreme Court Hints It Will Uphold Mississippi’s Ban, Threatening Roe v. Wade

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court indicated it would uphold a restrictive Mississippi law that bans abortion starting at just 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case threatens to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. We feature excerpts from the two hours of oral arguments and speak with lawyer and bioethics professor Katie Watson. “The statute itself simply says abortion after 15 weeks is ‘barbaric.

Why Biden picked Powell

In the end, President Joe Biden did what many close to him expected: He took a longer-than-anticipated amount of time to arrive at a reasonable, moderate decision that thrilled few but carried limited risk.

Get Off Our Territory: Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders Condemn Canadian Police Raid on Pipeline Protest

Canadian police continue to arrest Indigenous land defenders blocking construction of Coastal GasLink, a 400-mile pipeline that would carry natural gas through Wet’suwet’en land. Police arrested two people Monday for blockading an access road, less than two weeks after arresting more than 30 in a violent raid on Coyote Camp and elsewhere that ended a 56-day blockade of a drilling site.

Michigan anti-vaxxer, election canvasser, and Big Lie proponent is dead from COVID-19

Here come the Oompa Loompas to roll another purpling anti-vaxxer carcass down to the boneyard. By now, the Oompa Loompas are tired of singing their cautionary tunes—they obviously aren’t helping. So they’re just sallow-faced, hollow-eyed funeral home gofers now. Sad!

Okay, so this isn’t your run-of-the-mill, daisy-pushing anti-vaxxer. This guy was a real piece of work. (More on that in a bit.

Over a year after the 2020 uprisings, federal charges continue to loom over protesters

by Tamar Sarai Davis

This story was originally published at Prism.

In the wake of the historic demonstrations against police brutality after George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, advocates are sounding the alarm that an escalation in federal law enforcement means some protesters are facing the possibility of life imprisonment solely for property damage.

300,000 U.S. citizens kids have at least one parent protected by DACA program, updated data shows

Should pro-deportation Republicans ultimately succeed in their lawsuit seeking to terminate the popular and successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, that ruling will have devastating repercussions going far beyond the beneficiaries themselves.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) said in updated data that over 1.3 million people live in the same household as a DACA recipient, including 300,000 U.S. citizen children.

The End of Roe

Anyone listening to today’s oral argument on abortion could not miss that something historic was happening. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, involves a Mississippi law that bans abortion at 15 weeks. Such a ban is clearly unconstitutional under current law—Roe v. Wade and its successor case, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, recognize a right to choose abortion until fetal viability, which is at roughly 24 weeks.