Today's Liberal News

Equifax accused of misreporting credit scores and keeping it from hundreds of thousands of consumers

A class action lawsuit claims that the credit reporting agency Equifax provided inaccurate credit scores for hundreds of thousands of consumers seeking loans between March 17 and April 6. The fallout of what Equifax described as a “coding issue” within a “legacy, on-premise server environment” included credit and housing denials that may have otherwise been approved, according to the suit filed on Wednesday on behalf of plaintiff Nydia Jenkins.

The Secret History of Family Separation

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.I am appalled at the intentional cruelty and shocking incompetence that drove the Trump administration’s family-separation tragedy.But first, here’s more from The Atlantic.
What America’s great unwinding would mean for the world
Beach vacationers are doing it wrong.

The End of Manual Transmission

I drive a stick shift. It’s a pain, sometimes. Clutching and shifting in bumper-to-bumper traffic wears you out. My wife can’t drive my car, which limits our transit options. And when I’m at the wheel, I can’t hold a cold, delicious slushie in one hand, at least not safely. But despite the inconvenience, I love a manual transmission. I love the feeling that I am operating my car, not just driving it. That’s why I’ve driven stick shifts for the past 20 years.

Viktor Orbán Has Eroded Democracy in Hungary. Now He’s Being Embraced by CPAC & American Right

CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, ended Saturday in Texas with a speech by former President Trump, after kicking off with far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who just won a fourth term in office. Political scientist Kim Lane Scheppele says American conservatives look to populist leaders turned autocrats in foreign countries like Hungary, Israel and Brazil for strategies to undermine the constitutional democratic process and consolidate power.

“Horrifying”: Gaza Assault Kills 44 Palestinians, 15 Children. Will Ceasefire End Bloodshed?

The death toll from three days of an Israeli military bombardment on Gaza has reached at least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children. At least 350 Palestinians were wounded. Bombing has since stopped after Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group agreed on Sunday to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt, and border crossings reopened on Monday to allow bare necessities in.

Beach Vacationers Are Doing It Wrong

Ah, summertime! Right about now, you might be yearning or even packing for your dream vacation—one full of rest and relaxation. Long, languorous days of doing nothing, perhaps lying on the beach or holed up in a cabin somewhere far from the city. Imagine how happy you’ll be.Then imagine how bored you’ll be. Lying in the blazing sun on the beach, you’ll be stuck in your head with plenty of time to think about your problems.

Albert Woodfox in His Own Words on 43 Years in Solitary, the Black Panthers & Fighting Injustice

Albert Woodfox, who was held in solitary confinement longer than any prisoner in U.S. history, has died at the age of 75 due to complications tied to COVID-19. The former Black Panther and political prisoner won his freedom six years ago after surviving nearly 44 years in solitary over a wrongful murder conviction of a prison guard. Fellow imprisoned Panthers Herman Wallace and Robert King were also falsely accused of prison murders, and they collectively became known as the Angola 3.

Hungary PM Viktor Orbán Addresses CPAC as American Right Embraces His Authoritarian Rule

We speak with international affairs scholar Kim Lane Scheppele on the rise and fall of Hungary’s constitutional democracy and how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gained popularity among the American right ahead of his speech today at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Orbán presents, especially for the American right, a kind of irresistible combination of culture war issues,” says Scheppele.

News Roundup: Senate passes Inflation Reduction Act; Amnesty International report sparks outrage

The evenly divided Senate finally, finally passed the reconciliation package known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 today. The vote was 51-50 along party lines, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie breaking vote. The package provides at least a starting point for climate mitigation actions, and represents a much-scaled-back version of the climate bill that Sen. Joe Manchin killed earlier in the Biden administration.

Ukraine Update: Logistics, yet again; Amnesty International issues non-apology apology

Ukrainian fury over a report from Amnesty International released last week—a report that blames the Ukrainian military for fighting in urban areas, as they fight to keep Russia from capturing those same urban areas—doesn’t look like it will be abating anytime soon. Already a high-profile resignation has taken place, and there may be other fallout.

Watch/Listen: J and L pods come together for a sunny July visit to San Juan Island’s west side

FRIDAY HARBOR, Washington—So far, the summer of 2022 has been the most encouraging season in at least six years in terms of restoring the health of the Southern Resident killer whales’ native summer habitat in the Salish Sea. The last time the SRKWs visited as frequently as they have this year was 2016, a season that was shadowed by death and decline.  

In 2022, they’ve been frequent though not entirely regular visitors to the Salish Sea and the San Juan Islands.

History’s Greatest Obstacle to Climate Progress Has Finally Fallen

Updated at 5:19 p.m. on August 7, 2022
Climate change was born as a modern political issue in the United States Senate. On a hot June day in 1988, a senior NASA scientist warned a Senate committee that global warming, which was previously mooted only as a hypothesis, was not only real but already under way. “It is time to stop waffling so much and say that the evidence is pretty strong that the greenhouse effect is here,” James Hansen said.An auspicious start, and an ironic one.