Today's Liberal News

Alan Lowenthal retiring from blue California House seat after long career in Long Beach politics

Democratic Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a longtime elected official in the Long Beach area, announced Thursday that he would not seek a sixth term in California’s 47th Congressional District. The current incarnation of Lowenthal’s constituency, which includes most of Long Beach as well as nearby communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties, is solidly blue turf at 62-35 Biden, though the state’s independent redistricting commission is still completing the new map.

Three companies indicted for negligence in Orange County oil spill

A federal grand jury indicted three companies on Wednesday for their role in the October pipeline rupture in Orange County, California that spewed 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach. Amplify Energy Corp. and two subsidiaries—Beta Offshore and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co.—face one misdemeanor count of negligent discharge of oil.

MyPillow guy says he’s spent $25 million trying to prove Trump won the election Trump lost

Mike Lindell, CEO of the MyPillow thing, is supposedly spending a lot of his own money in pursuit of overturning our democracy—at least according to famed liar Mike Lindell. He told CNBC that he has spent $25 million of his own money since Nov. 3, 2020. That’s the day that America voted to make sure Donald Trump couldn’t continue to run our country into the dirt.

The Death Toll Says It All

In late May of 2020, the U.S. hit one of what has become so many grim pandemic milestones: our first 100,000 dead from COVID-19. I remember how heartbroken I was then—and how frustrated. The novel coronavirus, a stealthy pathogen, was bound to take a toll no matter how perfect Americans’ response was to the crisis. But Americans’ response was far from perfect. I was frustrated by people who refused to wear a mask.

The CDC’s Flawed Case for Wearing Masks in School

The debate over child masking in schools boiled over again this fall, even above its ongoing high simmer. The approval in late October of COVID-19 vaccines for 5-to-11-year-olds was for many public-health experts an indication that mask mandates could finally be lifted. Yet with cases on the rise in much of the country, along with anxiety regarding the Omicron variant, other experts and some politicians have warned that plans to pull back on the policy should be put on hold.

The Spectacular Vindication of BTS

For 20 months, I was haunted by two fears: that some things (the pandemic, isolation, anxiety) would last forever, and that others (dreams, loved ones, entire years) would be lost forever. Time warped around me, as it did for so many people. Some days, it moved like molasses. On others, like when I saw family and friends, it seemed to flow like a river that I couldn’t stop or outrun.Then, for two weeks at the end of 2021, I tried to control time for myself.

Fox Hosts Knew—And Lied Anyway

According to right-wing media figures, the January 6 sacking of the Capitol that disrupted the counting of the 2020 electoral votes was “a false-flag operation.” It was just “politicians” having their “jobs disrupted for two hours.” It was “mostly peaceful.” It was a “setup,” or perhaps it was the work of “antifa,” but those who were arrested and prosecuted are definitely “political prisoners.

“No Food Available”: Afghanistan Faces Catastrophe as Donors Cut Humanitarian Aid to Taliban Gov’t

Afghanistan under the new Taliban government faces a humanitarian catastrophe this winter as the United States and other donors have cut off financial aid. The United Nations warns nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan — or more than half the population — face potentially life-threatening food shortages, with nearly 9 million already on the brink of famine. In addition, people face lack of proper healthcare, unemployment and housing shortages.

Steve Coll on How the U.S. Pursued Withdrawal Over Peace in Afghanistan & Let the Taliban Take Over

As Afghanistan spirals into a humanitarian crisis after the abrupt U.S. withdrawal earlier this summer, we look at years of failed U.S. diplomacy that allowed the Taliban to seize power and leave the small nation in a state of disrepair. A New Yorker magazine investigation shows how the U.S. repeatedly undermined the Kabul-based government in a rush to leave the country. “I’ve been reporting in general and around Afghanistan for a long time.

As Omicron Spreads, 100+ Firms in Africa, Asia & Latin America Can Make mRNA Vaccine If Tech Shared

As the coronavirus variant Omicron spreads across the world at an unprecedented rate, a group of vaccine experts has just released a list of over 100 companies in Africa, Asia and Latin America with the potential to produce mRNA vaccine. They say it is the one of the most viable solutions to fight vaccine inequity around the world and combat the spread of coronavirus variants, including Omicron. We speak to Achal Prabhala, one of the vaccine experts who compiled the list.

If Democrats don’t act now, Republicans plan to hold the entire U.S. economy hostage in 2023

If Republicans take over the House of Representatives in 2023, they intend to force the Biden administration into making drastic cuts to domestic social programs in exchange for “agreeing” to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Goaded by Donald Trump, their plan is to hold the country hostage, threatening to push all of us over the brink into an unprecedented fiscal calamity if their demands are not met.

There’s one last fervently anti-choice Democrat in the House. It’s time to give him the heave-ho

After Texas Republicans enacted their virtual ban on abortion known as SB8, one of the ways Democrats in Congress responded was to pass a bill that would codify the constitutional rights laid out in Roe v. Wade into law. In the face of universal GOP opposition, the Women’s Health Protection Act passed the House on a strictly party-line vote … almost.

There was one Democrat who sided with Republicans in their escalating assault on reproductive rights: Henry Cuellar.

Former Houston cop faces 20 years in prison for driving man off the road due to election conspiracy

On Tuesday, former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for his 2020 attack on and air conditioning technician he believed was secretly transporting 750,000 “harvested ballots.” In the middle of the day, the 64-year-old Aguirre reportedly slammed his SUV into the technician’s work truck and then rushed upon him and pressed a gun to his head.