Mitch McConnell’s Relief Offer Is Actually Worse Than Doing Nothing
The majority leader wants to send Americans a big lump of coal.
Today's Liberal News
Fauci: U.K. ‘really rushed through that approval’ of Pfizer vaccine
The British government “kind of ran around the corner of the marathon and joined it in the last mile,” he said.
Zients, Murthy tapped to head up Biden’s Covid-19 response
Marcella Nunez-Smith has been selected for a top role focused on health disparities
Raimondo emerges as frontrunner for HHS secretary
New Mexico’s governor is no longer the favorite to lead the department at the center of Biden’s pandemic response.
Biden’s other health crisis: A resurgent drug epidemic
Joe Biden will emphasize treatment and prevention, not law enforcement, in addressing a drug epidemic that’s only grown more dire during the pandemic.
Governments around the world weigh thorny question: Who gets the vaccine first?
Different countries are coming up with different answers to that question.
Why Some Libraries Are Ending Fines
When I was a kid, the sin of returning books late to the public library populated a category of dread for me next to weekly confessions to the Catholic priest (what can an 8-year-old really have to confess?) and getting caught by the dentist with a Tootsie Roll wrapper sticking out of my pocket. So decades later, when I heard about libraries going “fine-free,” it sounded like an overdue change and a nice idea.
No, Elliot Page Is Not “Abandoning” Lesbians
The actor’s announcement that he’s transmasculine has some lesbians upset. But there’s no need for division.
Dear Care and Feeding: My Husband Insists That I Wear a Bra Around My Stepson at Home
Parenting advice on bothersome bras, Santa struggles, and divorce drama.
Flash Games Will Soon Fade From the Internet. But Not From My Heart.
As support for the low-tech games ends, a eulogy for how they once supported me.
Biden top economic adviser facing accusations of mismanagement, verbal abuse
A former high-level employee at Heather Boushey’s think tank publicly aired the accusations on Tuesday night.
Biden backs up Tanden as Republicans attack her tweets
“That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90 percent of the administration,” the president-elect said of GOP criticism.
How climate change could spark the next home mortgage disaster
Taxpayers are backing more than a trillion dollars in home mortgages, but the agencies buying them are neglecting to consider climate risks.
Deese to be Biden’s top White House economic adviser
Brian Deese is an executive at investment giant BlackRock.
Biden unveils diverse economic team as challenges to economy grow
The president-elect intends to name Cecilia Rouse, Neera Tanden and Wally Adeyemo to senior roles in his administration.
Colonization Fueled Ebola: Dr. Paul Farmer on “Fevers, Feuds & Diamonds” & Lessons from West Africa
We continue our conversation with medical anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer, whose new book, “Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds,” tells the story of his efforts to fight Ebola in 2014 and how the history of slavery, colonialism and violence in West Africa exacerbated the outbreak. “Care for Ebola is not rocket science,” says Dr. Farmer, who notes that doctors know how to treat sick patients.
Dr. Paul Farmer: Centuries of Inequality in the U.S. Laid Groundwork for Pandemic Devastation
As the United States sets new records for COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, we speak with one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases, Dr. Paul Farmer, who says the devastating death toll in the U.S. reflects decades of underinvestment in public health and centuries of social inequality. “All the social pathologies of our nation come to the fore during epidemics,” says Dr.
Indian Farmers Lead Historic Strike & Protests Against Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism & Inequality
As COVID rages through India, which has the second-highest number of reported cases worldwide, hundreds of thousands of farmers are converging on the capital New Delhi to demand the government repeal new laws that deregulate agricultural markets, saying the reforms give major corporations power to set crop prices far below current rates and devastate the livelihoods of farmers. Agriculture is the leading source of income for more than half of India’s 1.3 billion people.
Ethnic Cleansing Feared as Ethiopia Wages War on Tigray Region Amid Communication Blackout
The United Nations has reached a deal with Ethiopia’s government to allow humanitarian access to the northern Tigray region and start providing aid. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military action against regional forces one month ago, setting off a bloody conflict and adding to the already alarming number of displaced people and refugees in the country and neighboring nations.
Saturday Night Owls: Reporters of color are fighting against journalism seen only via white filters
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
Anna Kim at The Washington Monthly writes—Reporters of Color Are Declaring Independence. A new crop of outlets is making journalism more diverse.
In 1968, a report issued by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—better known as the Kerner Commission—excoriated the national press for its role in the racial unrest that rocked America in the summer of 1967.
A couple boarded a plane to Kauai despite positive COVID-19 tests. They were arrested when it landed
As cases of the novel coronavirus increase nationwide, individuals are still traveling from state to state despite advisories not to from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While airlines are reminding individuals to quarantine and stay home if feeling sick or exposed to someone who has been, some people do not care and are still traveling.
Trump Presses Own Election Grievances At Rally For Georgia Senators
Trump rallied thousands of largely maskless supporters in Valdosta for Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, but focused much attention on his own election.
New Jersey Governor Lashes Rep. Matt ‘Putz’ Gaetz Over Potential Superspreader Event In His State
“Matt — You are not welcome in New Jersey, and frankly I don’t ever want you back in this state,” blasts Phil Murphy after packed “gala” broke the rules.
Ohio’s decade-old gerrymander still performed exactly as the GOP intended in 2020
Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide goes to O-H-I-O. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available.
Despite Democratic hopes, Donald Trump’s 53-45 win in Ohio matched his 52-44 performance in this one-time swing state four years ago.
Harry Styles gives Candace Owens exactly the response she deserves, a barely there one
GOP political pundit Candace Owens took aim at an unlikely source in singer-songwriter Harry Styles when the English musician became the first man to grace the cover of Vogue magazine alone this month. Styles appeared in a dress, blowing up a blue balloon, which seemed to trigger Owens as if she didn’t know she could wear dresses and blow up balloons, too. “There is no society that can survive without strong men,” Owens tweeted on Nov. 14.
Trump’s ‘Stupid’ Gov. Kemp Call ‘Bordered On Criminality’: Former Senate Leader Harry Reid
Trump is “out of touch with reality,” Reid declared after the president again pushed Georgia’s Republican governor to nullify voters’ decision backing Joe Biden.
Democratic economic policies are popular. Biden should act like it, this week in the war on workers
The fight is on to bring President-elect Joe Biden into office with a Democratic Senate majority to add to the Democratic House majority. But if Mitch McConnell controls the Senate and can continue to block legislation at will, no matter how popular it may be … Biden shouldn’t give up. He should keep pushing, and he should make sure voters know about it.
That’s Bryce Covert’s message in The New York Times.
Georgia Gov. Pushes Back Against Trump’s Last-Ditch Attempts To Subvert Election
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp reportedly refused the president’s demand for a special legislative session to overturn Georgia’s election result.
Rudy Giuliani’s ‘Voter Fraud’ Witness Accused Of Framing Woman For Stealing Sex Videos
Mellissa Carone, aka Mellissa Wright, was until recently on probation after reaching a plea deal in a case in which she made false allegations.
Hollywood Is Preparing to Sacrifice Movie Theaters
This week, a seismic shift hit the cinema industry. WarnerMedia, one of the world’s biggest movie studios, announced that all of its 2021 films, including blockbusters such as Dune and The Matrix 4, would debut on HBO Max and in theaters at the same time. Each movie would stream for one month before leaving the platform, an unusual arrangement seemingly geared toward giving subscribers a stream of new films, while also allowing movies to play in theaters.