Today's Liberal News

Contractor running camp for migrant kids is fire and water damage repair company, report reveals

The private contractor managing the Fort Bliss prison camp near El Paso, Texas, is a fire and water damage repair company with absolutely zero experience in child welfare, two federal workers who volunteered there have revealed in a shocking whistleblower report. The document, released by a whistleblower advocacy organization, comes just weeks after nearly 20 children revealed disturbing conditions at the unlicensed camp.

The Democrats’ New Voting-Rights Obstacle

There is a gnawing anxiety among voting-rights advocates that even if Democrats find a way to roll back the Senate filibuster and pass new federal legislation safeguarding access to the ballot, the Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court might still strike it down.

The Story of Songbirds Is a Story of Sugar

Australia’s unique forests are the birthplace of birdsong. The plants there are drenched in sunlight and can readily mass-produce sugars through photosynthesis. But with few nutrients in the soil, they struggle to convert those sugars into leaves, seeds, and other tissues. They end up with excess, which they simply give away. Flowers overflow with nectar. Eucalyptus trees exude a sweet substance called manna from their bark.

“Police State Without the State”: Palestinian Authority Faces Protests over Critic’s Death in Custody

We look at growing opposition to the Palestinian Authority after the killing of a prominent activist, Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of the ruling body who died in PA custody after security forces violently arrested him at his home. Banat’s killing has sparked protests calling for President Mahmoud Abbas to step down. “The Palestinian Authority now is acting like a police state without the state,” says Palestinian writer Mariam Barghouti.

Haiti in Chaos After President’s Assassination as Activists in U.S. Urge Biden to Stop Deportations

The interim prime minister of Haiti has declared a state of siege and imposed martial law following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, who died in an armed attack on his home. The first lady of Haiti was injured in the attack and airlifted to a hospital in Miami, where she is reportedly in stable but critical condition. Haitian authorities say police have killed four suspects and detained two others, but the individuals have not been identified.

Haiti and the Trump Illusion

Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET on July 8, 2021.Not in more than 100 years had a Haitian president died by violence. That previous assassination was of a repressive leader who was beaten lifeless by rebels in 1915, a murder that preceded and substantially prompted an American invasion and occupation of Haiti that ultimately lasted until 1934.The murder of President Jovenel Moïse yesterday seems unlikely to yield such dire results.

The Court’s Voting-Rights Decision Was Worse Than People Think

The Voting Rights Act regime as we knew it is gone, and it’s not coming back.Once thought of as the crown jewel of the Second Reconstruction, the VRA has lost its luster. For the past decade or so, the Supreme Court has systematically reduced the scope and reach of the law. The Court’s decision last week in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee is only the latest case, and certainly will not be the last, to interpret the act in a manner that will sideline it—permanently.