Today's Liberal News

Workers Beg Joe Manchin to Save West Virginia Pharma Plant as His Daughter Walks Away with $31M

More than 1,400 workers in West Virginia are set to lose their jobs this week when the Viatris pharmaceuticals plant in Morgantown shuts down and moves operations overseas to India and Australia. Workers say they’ve had no response to their urgent requests for help from their Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, who is often called the most powerful man in Washington. Viatris was formed through a merger between two pharmaceutical companies, Mylan and Upjohn.

NAACP Head Derrick Johnson Remembers Bob Moses as Key “Strategist” of Civil Rights Movement

We look at the life and legacy of civil rights icon Bob Moses, who recently died at the age of 86, with NAACP President Derrick Johnson, who formerly headed the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, where Moses served as field secretary for SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and helped register thousands of voters across the state. “Bob Moses was one of the most profound strategist leaders of the civil rights movement across the country,” says Johnson.

News Roundup: New vaccine rules for federal workers; bipartisan infrastructure deal falls short

In the news today: As COVID-19 cases continue to soar among unvaccinated Americans, President Joe Biden announced new vaccine requirements for federal workers, with a military vaccine mandate likely to follow. The Senate voted yesterday to begin debate on a “bipartisan” infrastructure plan. What’s the bipartisan part? That it’s less ambitious than needed and reeeeeally sketchy about its numbers.

Trump’s aides reportedly fretting over his potential toxic touch in future endorsements

Donald Trump is a colossal, outsized, Brobdingnagian loser. You might even say he’s a “yuge” loser. And while he’s always been a loser (see also: multiple bankruptcies), his loser bona fides are shining particularly brightly these days.

He lost the popular vote in 2016. He lost the presidency in 2020, conspicuously becoming the first loser incumbent in nearly 30 years. Under his “leadership,” Republicans lost the House.

Black woman’s travels with white adoptive sister end in police questioning

A Black woman was accused of trafficking her adoptive sister, a white 4-year-old girl, when she traveled to Texas with the child last Tuesday, according to The Denver Channel. Lakeyjanay Bailey, a 21-year-old woman from Aurora, Colorado, was targeted when she flew Frontier Airlines and learned after landing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport that another passenger on the plane was suspicious of her, the ABC-affiliated news station reported.

Missouri isn’t just the heart of the new COVID-19 outbreak, it’s a political disaster zone

For some reason, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt believes that protecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the threat of masks is his top priority. And this week he has demonstrated that belief both by refusing to meet with the mayor of Kansas City and by filing a lawsuit against St. Louis that’s not just factually incorrect, but riddled with lies meant to disguise Republican failings.

Schumer makes bold promises on climate, he can’t let Sinema break them

Following the advancement of the bipartisan infrastructure package, one which drastically reduced the commitment in President Joe Biden’s original American Jobs Plan to combat climate change, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a bold claim: “As Majority Leader, I will not pass an infrastructure package that does not reduce carbon pollution at a scale commensurate with the urgent climate crisis we face. And that’s exactly what Democrats will do.

Simone Biles’s Critics Don’t Understand This Generation of Athletes

Simone Biles was expected to be the story of the Tokyo Olympics because of her long series of jaw-dropping performances up to now. Instead, she’s become the story of these Olympics because she’s not performing. Citing her mental health, Biles removed herself from the women’s gymnastics team final after one rotation on Tuesday night. A day later, she withdrew from the individual all-around competition.

Do Olympic-Level Achievements Make People Happy?

The appeal of the Olympics is that they decide who can claim the title of best in the world. They also, less gloriously, decide who can claim the title of second best in the world.Despite beating out every competitor on Earth but one, silver medalists can feel a special type of disappointment. In a study that analyzed footage from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, they were consistently judged to look less happy than bronze medalists, both right after competition and atop the medal podium.

The MyPillow Guy Really Could Destroy Democracy

When you contemplate the end of democracy in America, what kind of person do you think will bring it about? Maybe you picture a sinister billionaire in a bespoke suit, slipping brown envelopes to politicians. Maybe your nightmare is a rogue general, hijacking the nuclear football. Maybe you think of a jackbooted thug leading a horde of men in white sheets, all carrying burning crosses.

“This Is Not a Climate Bill”: Leah Stokes on Why Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Senate Democrats have announced that they have joined with 17 Republicans to vote in favor of taking up a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal. The plan includes new spending on climate and environment measures, but critics say it falls far short of what is needed. Democrats say they hope to include additional climate measures in a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that could advance without being blocked by a Republican filibuster if it is backed by all 50 Democrats.