Today's Liberal News

News Roundup: Republican attacks on democracy cannot go unanswered

In the news today: Texas Democrats were able to stall a racist bill again targeting voting rights in the state, but without federal action such victories will be short lived. After Senate Republicans refused, as “favor” to Sen. Mitch McConnell, to allow a special prove of the January 6 insurrection, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intends to push a probe forward by other means.

No Republican is going to save the Republican party from itself

The media has focused a lot of attention on those few Republicans—Liz Cheney, for example—who have spoken out publicly as the GOP transformed itself before our eyes into an authoritarian Trump cult, committed to overturning fair elections while disenfranchising as many Americans as possible in the process.

Wall Street’s ‘Monumental’ Skirmish With Exxon

Every week, our lead climate reporter brings you the big ideas, expert analysis, and vital guidance that will help you flourish on a changing planet. Sign up to get The Weekly Planet, our guide to living through climate change, in your inbox.Here’s a question that has recently become surprisingly important in the battle against climate change: What is a company?There’s a legal answer, of course.

Illinois anti-discrimination bill inspired by 4-year-old Black student heads to governor’s desk

Systemic and structural racism are, unfortunately, and disturbingly, long integrated into life in the United States. In recent years, mainstream media and elected officials have spoken openly about police violence against people of color—and specifically, Black Americans—as well as the intersection of race with a number of issues, like wage equality, job opportunities, and unhoused populations.

Elephants Can Suction Up Their Food

The trunk of an African elephant is an evolutionary marvel. Clocking in at weights well over 200 pounds, it ripples with thousands of individual muscles that help the superlong schnoz lift barbells, uproot trees, and fling bothersome lions into the air.
A tortilla chip is an embarrassment of engineering.

The Frightening New Republican Consensus

Former President Donald Trump has been speaking publicly about running to reclaim the White House in 2024, but he’s also reportedly expecting to make a comeback before then. “Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August,” Maggie Haberman, the New York Times’ ace Trump reporter, tweeted Tuesday.

The Porn Crisis That Isn’t

If you ask some people, America is in the middle of a public-health crisis. No, not that one.Legislators in 16 states have passed resolutions declaring that pornography, in its ubiquity, constitutes a public-health crisis. The wave of bills started five years ago, with Utah, which went a step further this spring by passing a law mandating that all cellphones and tablets sold in the state block access to pornography by default.

“There Are Many Others”: 215 Bodies Found at Canadian Residential School for Indigenous Children

The Canadian government is facing pressure to declare a national day of mourning after the bodies of 215 children were found in British Columbia on the grounds of a school for Indigenous children who were forcibly separated from their families by the government. The bodies were discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which opened in 1890 and closed in the late 1970s.

Report Documents 32,542 Police Killings in U.S. Since 2000 with Vast Undercount of People of Color

A major new report on police killings suggests far more people of color have died in police custody than previously known. The report by the Raza Database Project and UnidosUS found that deaths of Latinos, Asian and Indigenous peoples have been historically undercounted. Researchers documented the deaths of 32,542 people who have been killed by police since 2000, 60% of whom constitute people of color, who make up just 40% of the U.S. population.

Walk Out: Texas Democrats Block Passage of Voter Suppression Bill by Leaving Capitol Ahead of Vote

Democratic lawmakers in Texas staged a dramatic walkout to prevent the Republican-controlled Legislature from passing a sweeping bill to rewrite election laws in the state. Critics say the bill will lead to mass voter suppression, especially of Black and Latinx voters, by eliminating drive-thru and 24-hour voting, as well as ballot drop boxes. The Republican bill would also make it easier for elections to be overturned even if there is no evidence of fraud.