Today's Liberal News

Heartbeat bills aren’t just a war on women, but an attack on the right to privacy

I’ve spent most of my life no more than 20 minutes from the border of South Carolina. But there are times when the distance between my home in Charlotte and the South Carolina line feels more like two different worlds. One of those times came in February, when Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill that had the effect of banning almost all abortions in South Carolina.

The bill, which can be read in full here, is the latest attempt at a “heartbeat bill.

The Surprising Comedic Genius of Daniel Kaluuya

Who’s afraid of Daniel Kaluuya? According to the actor, that would be the British monarchy. “I’m Black and I’m British,” he explained in his opening monologue during last night’s Saturday Night Live. “Basically I’m what the Royal Family was worried the baby would look like.

Vaccine Cheat Days Are Adding Up

A few weeks ago, my partially vaccinated partner and my wholly unvaccinated self got an invitation to a group dinner, held unmasked and indoors. There’d be Thai food for 10, we were promised, and two über-immunized hosts, more than two weeks out from their last Moderna doses. And what about everyone else? I asked. Would they be fully vaccinated, too?Well, came the response. Not really. Some would be, some wouldn’t.

As From a Quiver of Arrows

Carl Phillips, the former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, has often described poetry as a way to wrestle with ambiguity—to attempt to contain it. “Poetry is a form of control,” he once said. So Phillips chooses subjects—love, power, freedom, grief—that are particularly hard to grasp.

Research Proves It: There’s No Such Thing as Noblesse Oblige

Paul Piff just landed on Park Place. I own it. “Shit,” he says.I also own three railroads, a couple of high-rent monopolies, and a smattering of random properties. Piff is low on cash. He’s toast.We’re playing Monopoly on a sunny pre-pandemic afternoon in Piff’s modest office at UC Irvine. The 39-year-old psychology professor is an expert on how differences in wealth and status affect people’s values and behavior.

The Atlantic Daily: What the New CDC Travel Guidance Means—And Doesn’t

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.Today, the CDC updated its domestic travel guidance to say that fully vaccinated people can travel safely—but that doesn’t mean the agency is recommending it.  Why is that? We called up Katherine, a staff writer who is covering the vaccine rollout, to find out.

The Threat That COVID-19 Poses Now

After more than a year of pandemic, after months of an aggressive vaccination campaign, the United States should finally be better positioned to protect itself against the coronavirus. Nearly all of our long-term-care residents are vaccinated. Tens of millions of other people have been vaccinated, and tens of millions more have some level of immunity from previous infection.

Florida Man

Florida man, Florida man,
great head of hair, studio tan,
if I were hitching in the Everglades
and you pulled up, I’d be afraid.I wouldn’t climb into your minivan,
your swampmobile, O Florida man.
I’d wait for a ride with an honest trucker.
Anyone but you, you sleazy fucker.