Biden nominates Califf as FDA chief
The selection ends the administration’s lengthy search for a permanent FDA commissioner.
Today's Liberal News
East Timor Massacre Remembered: U.S.-Armed Indonesian Troops Killed 270 Timorese 30 Years Ago Today
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, when Indonesian troops armed with U.S. M16s fired on a peaceful memorial procession in the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, killing more than 270 East Timorese. Indonesia had invaded East Timor in 1975 and maintained a brutal occupation until 1999, when East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence in a United Nations referendum.
Walkout: Outraged by New COP26 Pact, Civil Society Holds People’s Plenary & Leaves Climate Summit
As the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow concludes, activists staged a walkout Friday in response to late decisions made by negotiators to severely weaken commitments in the final agreement. While the earlier draft of the unbinding Glasgow Agreement called for “phasing-out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels,” the new draft calls for the phaseout of “unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.
Climate Crisis = Health Emergency: Air Pollution, Pandemics & Displacement Make the World Sick
Health leaders are warning governments of “unimaginable” health consequences from the climate crisis if world leaders don’t take decisive action to decarbonize. This week at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Climate and Health Alliance presented a letter to the COP26 president signed by 46 million health workers who are calling for global climate action on health.
Biden plan to make unvaccinated workers pay for Covid testing could backfire
The prospect of hitting businesses with new testing costs as many struggle to staff back up could harden opposition to Biden’s plan, and hamper the president’s latest push to end the pandemic.
Biden administration: Blocking vaccine mandate could cost ‘hundreds of lives per day’
The administration warned a federal court of the dangers of a stay of its vaccinate-or-test requirement for private employers.
Surgeon general defends embattled vaccine mandate
“It’s a necessary step to accelerate our pathway out of the pandemic,” Vivek Murthy said.
How Trump’s deal with Moderna hampers the global vaccine effort
Operation Warp Speed poured billions into Moderna and agreed not to share its vaccines abroad. Now the company is holding up the race to vaccinate low-income countries.
CDC endorses first Covid-19 vaccine for kids 5-11
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky quickly endorsed the use of shots, which could become available as early as Wednesday.
Investors sour on cannabis after Democrats fail to help industry
Plummeting stock prices and lack of federal action has soured investors
‘Back into gear’: Solid jobs report boosts Biden’s case for recovery
“This recovery is faster, stronger, fairer and wider than almost anyone could have predicted,” Biden said.
Powell is rolling back Fed aid to the economy. Here’s what comes next.
The long-awaited move signals both optimism about the pace of job growth and wariness about price surges that have pushed inflation up to its highest level in decades.
The Fed is ready to rein in its aid. Market tremors are already emerging.
Weaker-than-projected economic growth in the last quarter, a jobs slowdown and supply chain snags that are likely to continue into next year are sending warning signs for the economy.
“A Process of Violence”: Indian Author Amitav Ghosh on How Colonialism Fueled the Climate Crisis
As talks at the Glasgow U.N. climate summit accelerate, we look at how the roots of the climate crisis date back to Western colonialism with award-winning Indian author Amitav Ghosh, who examines the violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment in his new book, “The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis.
The Global Climate Wall: Wealthy Nations Prioritize Militarizing Borders Over Climate Action
The world’s richest countries have responded by militarizing their borders and treating the humanitarian crisis as a security issue. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended this year’s U.N. climate summit, marking the first time a top alliance leader came to the climate talks since they began. On Tuesday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at COP26 raised the issue of security during a press conference.
News Roundup: A Republican war on books; GOP silence on Gosar’s disgusting ‘attack’ video
In the news today: Book burning and celebrations of violence against political enemies, both brought into the news by a Republican Party that is ticking down the checklist of fascism’s defining markers without bothering to put up much of a smokescreen while doing it. In Virginia, conservative school board members call explicitly for “burning” books they intend to confiscate from school libraries. In Texas, Gov.
‘We killed Herman Cain’: ABC reporter’s book sheds new light on Trump’s Tulsa rally disaster
In a new excerpt from his upcoming book Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl notes that Donald Trump’s Spinal Tap-esque Tulsa rally marked “the worst day of his entire campaign.” Which is weird, because for me it was easily the best. In fact, its only serious competition was the fleeting moment during the first presidential debate when Joe Biden finally told Didgeridoo Donnie to STFU. That was pretty cool, too.
Mitch McConnell’s Angry Op-Ed About The Supreme Court Leaves Out A Key Detail
The Senate minority leader failed to mention his years-long campaign to strong-arm the nation’s judiciary to the right.
Hospitalized for a month with COVID-19, man returns to apologize to ICU staff for being unvaccinated
One of the hardest things to do in life is to admit you’ve made a mistake. Admitting mistakes strikes directly at our notions of identity and self-worth; it’s why people double down when faced with irrefutable evidence that they’re wrong, and it’s why telling people they’re wrong will render futile most efforts to change their minds about something.
This Week in Statehouse Action: Icy Hot edition
It’s getting brisk out there.
Temperatures are dropping (don’t get it twisted, the earth is still warming at a terrifying rate), and autumn is in full swing.
And even though the Virginia elections are still on folks’ minds (… or maybe just mine), it’s important to remember that there’s still a lot of trash being perpetrated by GOP state lawmakers across the rest of the country.
Biden’s infrastructure bill promises to address ‘racist infrastructure.’ Here’s what that means.
by Lakshmi Gandhi
This story was originally published at Prism.
Urban planners and community advocates have long noted that the interstate highway system was designed to separate and isolate poor Black and brown communities from the economic hearts of their cities.
White House Mocks ‘Active Imagination’ That Trump’s Still Conducting Foreign Policy
The former president claimed he was sending his “envoy ambassador” to the Kosovo-Serbia border. The White House said he doesn’t have one.
Defense Attorney In Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial Wants Al Sharpton Out Of Courtroom
“We don’t want any more Black pastors in here,” said the lawyer defending the white men who chased and shot a 25-year-old Black man in Georgia last year.
‘Thank You, Brandon’ Is Just Embarrassing
An underrated joy of modern life is that you don’t have to watch live TV to see all of the uncomfortable situations people find themselves in on live TV. I don’t even own a television, nor would I ever watch NBC Sports coverage of a NASCAR race, yet I still got the chance to see the October 2 clip of the reporter Kelli Stavast attempting to interview the race-car driver Brandon Brown after an unexpected victory while the crowd behind them chanted “Fuck Joe Biden.
CNN Legal Analyst Hilariously Compares Donald Trump To Pig Pen
Trump is saying he has “a cloud of executive power that follows him wherever he goes,” just like the “Peanuts” character, Asha Rangappa explained.
The Atlantic’s 2021 “Report on Diversity & Inclusion”
The Atlantic has released its 2021 “Report on Diversity & Inclusion,” an annual report showing gender and race metrics across the company. The data represent the composition of The Atlantic’s staff as of June 30, 2021, which was the baseline date established with last year’s report. We will continue to run and release this report annually.
Donald Trump Asks Court To ‘Pause’ Production Of Jan. 6 Documents
Hundreds of records are set to be released this week to the House committee investigating the Capitol riot.
The Problem With Emily Ratajkowski’s My Body
Rewatching the music video for “Blurred Lines,” the totemic Robin Thicke song, is an interesting project. In 2013, when it was released, the song spawned a new microeconomy of commentary denouncing it as a distillation of rape culture, or fretting over whether enjoying its jaunty hook was defensible. (“I know you want it,” Thicke croons presumptively over and over, even though honestly, no, I do not want it at all.
What Will Become of America’s Veterans’ Halls?
Photographs by Maureen DrennanA sign in the entrance of the Michael A. Rawley Jr. American Legion Post advertises the space as “members only,” but the Brooklyn-based photographer Maureen Drennan has warned me in advance to ignore it. Drennan has often entered these establishments unannounced: Since 2018, she’s photographed American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts across the northeastern United States, drawn in by what she calls their “lonely poetry.
How Wealth Inequality Fuels the Climate Emergency: George Monbiot & Scientist Kevin Anderson on COP26
The United States and China made a surprise announcement on Wednesday at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow on a joint pledge to reduce methane emissions and slow deforestation. The United States is the largest historical emitter of carbon emissions, while China has been the largest emitter in recent years.