Democrats Trash Findings From Biden’s Supreme Court Reform Commission
“This report is a disappointment to anyone who’d hoped for a hard-hitting effort to address the Supreme Court’s deep troubles,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
Today's Liberal News
The Children of Sperm Donors Want to Change the Rules of Conception
Damian Adams grew up knowing that his parents had used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive him, and as a teen, he was even proud of this identity. He considered donating to help other families have children. Becoming a father himself, however, changed everything. When his daughter was born 18 years ago, he cradled her in his arms, and he instantly saw himself in her and her in himself. He felt a biological connection so powerful that it made him reconsider his entire life up until then.
‘Just Looking Out!’: Capitol Cop Who Warned Rioter To Scrub Facebook Charged By Feds
Officer Michael Riley told a Jan. 6 rioter that he agreed with his “political stance” but suggested he remove photos taken inside the Capitol building.
The Perfect Horror Movie That Inspired Countless Imitators
The 1978 film Halloween, for all its notoriety, seems almost quaint compared with the countless slasher movies that have followed it. In John Carpenter’s singular masterpiece, we watch a masked serial killer named Michael Myers murder four people in the fictional town of Haddonfield. In the opening scene of Halloween Kills, the latest edition in this indestructible franchise, a group of plucky firefighters rescues Myers from a burning building. He promptly annihilates 11 of them.
The Books Briefing: The Fight Over What Kids Can Read
After the Capitol riot, Matt Hawn, a teacher from Tennessee, brought an Atlantic essay to class for his students to analyze: “The First White President,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Earlier the class had discussed a police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin; later in the year, they watched a performance of Kyla Jenée Lacey’s poem “White Privilege.
When Friendship Is a Family Matter
Each installment of “The Friendship Files” features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.This week she talks with two mother-daughter pairs whose families have been friends for three generations. It started with the grandfathers, who were best friends growing up in India, and raised their children together.
“Long March for Justice” Underway Across New Jersey to Demand Police Reform, Reparations
We get an update from New Jersey, where the People’s Organization for Progress is leading a 67-mile march to demand the state Legislature pass legislation to hold police accountable. The nine-day march wraps up Saturday, and activists are demanding passage of a state policy that would give police review boards subpoena power, ban and criminalize chokeholds, establish requirements for use of deadly force and end qualified immunity in New Jersey.
A Death Trap? As 12th Prisoner Dies at NYC’s Rikers Island, Calls Grow to Close World’s Largest Jail
We take an in-depth look at the growing humanitarian crisis at the world’s largest jail complex, Rikers Island in New York City. After touring the jail, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams describes it as “a disaster.” In response to mounting public pressure, most of the women and transgender people at Rikers are being transferred to two prisons, including a maximum-security facility, even as most are still awaiting trial.
“People vs. Fossil Fuels”: Over 530 Arrested in Historic Indigenous-Led Climate Protests in D.C.
This week over 530 climate activists were arrested during Indigenous-led civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C., calling on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop approving fossil fuel projects. Indigenous leaders have issued a series of demands, including the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose offices they occupied on Thursday for the first time since the 1970s. The protests come just weeks before the start of the critical U.N.
The Best Show on TV Is Stuck
Watching Succession’s second season, which to my mind is one of the most dexterous and enthralling seasons of television in recent history, was like an immersion in all the different ways tension can manifest on-screen: a loaded conversation between two people, a fraught family event, a hunting excursion during which executives literally scuffle to bring home the bacon. You perhaps remember less about the specifics of each scene than the visceral feeling of watching them.
The political peril that Biden didn’t see coming
The current inflation spike now appears to be on track to persist deep into 2022.
Social spending fight may claim progressives’ Medicare expansion
Progressives are closing ranks behind Medicare expansion because it represents the best chance of getting a sliver of their “Medicare for All” vision into law.
Wall Street’s wild party in jeopardy as Fed threatens aid cutoff
The central bank plans to begin yanking back assistance to the economy as early as next month, and many Fed officials are open to increasing interest rates next year.
Americans’ fortunes soared during the pandemic. Some lawmakers see lasting lessons.
Key aspects of the economy are doing better than before the pandemic, which supporters say shows how government spending can help.
Why Biden isn’t hitting the panic button on the debt ceiling — yet
With the deadline looming, the White House is starting to ramp up pressure on Republicans.
Fed signals plan to pull back economic support even as virus looms
The central bank said it’s making progress toward its goals of averaging 2 percent inflation over time and reaching maximum employment.
“Missing in Brooks County”: Thousands of Migrants Denied Due Process at Border Have Died in Desert
We continue to look at the humanitarian crisis along the border, where more people are dying trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border than ever before, as President Biden has increased funding for border enforcement and militarization even as he vowed not to expand Trump’s border wall. We go to Brooks County in South Texas, which has recorded at least 98 migrant deaths so far this year, nearly triple the number from 2020.
News Roundup: Youngkin crowd pledges allegiance to insurrection; Trump as deadbeat
In the news today: Glenn Youngkin rally organizers caused quite a stir when they proudly brought in a flag waved by protesters at the violent January 6 insurrection for the crowd to pledge allegiance to. A bit too on the nose, maybe? On the other end of the insurrection, Trump strategist and Trump-pardoned grifter Steve Bannon remains defiant in the face of subpoenas issued by members of Congress he helped Trump supporters attack.
This state is taking big steps to recognize gender-affirming treatments as essential health care
As Daily Kos continues to cover, Republicans are narrowly focused on discriminating against and excluding trans folks. Transphobia is alive and well at all levels of power in the government, but we’ve seen a particular focus on anti-trans bills move up in state legislators.
Appeals court keeps Texas abortion law in place
The new decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extends a previous order that for now keeps in place the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8.
Green card installation represents hundreds of thousands of TPS families in need of permanent relief
Affected individuals and groups continue to demand the Biden administration and Democrats fulfill their promise to deliver legalization, on Wednesday installing hundreds of enlarged green cards in front of the U.S. Capitol. The 400 placards, which read in part “United States of America Permanent Resident,” symbolized 400,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and families who need permanent relief.
Bill Clinton Hospitalized In California, Is ‘On The Mend’
A spokesperson said the former president is “in good spirits” while being treated for a non-COVID infection.
Lauren Boebert uses Norway bow-and-arrow attack to launch very Republican rant against U.S. gun laws
Nothing is more sacred to right-wing Christian conservatives than their guns.
Newt Gingrich is a deadbeat with a $4.3 million debt—he doesn’t care
What is up with Republicans refusing to pay back their debts? We know Trump owes everybody money—possibly more than $1 billion—according to Forbes, but before Trump, there’s an old-school cheater, one whose debts go back a decade.
One-time GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich currently owes more than $4.6 million in unpaid bills thanks to those small firms that helped him run and supported his failed 2012 presidential campaign.
Judge Orders Trump To Give Deposition In Immigration Activists’ Suit
Protesters of Mexican descent accused the then-candidate and his security team of assaulting them during a 2015 rally against his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Mix-and-Match Vaccines: A Shopper’s Guide
In this week’s installment of the booster chronicles, the plot is picking up. An advisory committee to the FDA began a two-day meeting today to formulate recommendations for whether the agency should authorize additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. (The FDA still has to authorize, and the CDC still has to recommend, any new use of boosters before they’ll be readily available.
Texas School Official Suggests Teaching Both Holocaust Books And ‘Opposing’ Views: Report
The administrator’s comments came in response to a Texas law that seeks to limit how teachers discuss white supremacy and systemic racism in public schools.
FDA advisers endorse Moderna booster shot: Three takeaways
The panel recommended giving the shots at least six months after initial immunization. Its vote is not binding, but the FDA normally follows the recommendations of its advisory committees.
Confusion clouds FDA’s approach to e-cigarettes
E-cig manufacturers and anti-vaping groups alike are puzzled by the agency’s course so far.
He Attacked Cops At The Capitol. The FBI Interviewed Him. Then He Rejoined The Army.
James Mault was caught on film attacking officers during the Jan. 6 attack and lost his civilian job. So he rejoined the military while under FBI investigation.