Today's Liberal News

The California Recall’s Warning for Democracy

Governor Gavin Newsom of California defeated yesterday’s recall election by a large enough margin to squash earlier Republican threats to challenge the results no matter the outcome. But the proliferation of those allegations of voter fraud before the election, including ungrounded claims from former President Donald Trump that the contest was “rigged,” points toward an ominous future in which more GOP candidates challenge the results of any election that they do not win.

Another Unpretentious, Melancholy Farewell From Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s first Hollywood swan song was 1992’s Unforgiven, a dark, bitter Western that bade goodbye to the genre that had made him famous. He was 62 at the time, and after some 30-plus years of riding horses on-screen, the actor-director seemed ready to retire from the fictional range. Since Unforgiven, Eastwood has made 23 more films, starring in 10 of them, and many of those projects could also be considered curtain calls.

Theranos and COVID-19 Testing Are Mirror-Image Cautionary Tales

Last week, prosecutors and defense attorneys made opening statements in the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, who is accused of defrauding investors and patients with false promises of cheap, rapid blood tests. The next day, the Biden administration announced a plan to purchase 280 million cheap, rapid COVID-19 tests—an action for which some lawmakers have been advocating for more than a year.

Forced Entry: NSO Group Spies Secretly Seized Control of Apple Devices by Exploiting Flaw in Code

Apple has released an emergency software update to fix a security flaw in its iPhones and other products researchers found was being exploited by the Israeli-based NSO Group to infect the devices with its Pegasus spyware. The security exploit exposes “widespread abuse that we have associated with NSO Group and other companies like it,” says Ronald Deibert, director of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which discovered the security flaw.

20 Years Later, Undocumented Immigrants Who Aided 9/11 Recovery & Cleanup Efforts Demand Recognition

Following the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, advocates are calling for lawmakers to establish a pathway for legal residency for as many as 2,000 immigrant responders and cleanup workers at ground zero. An estimated 6,000 undocumented immigrants took part in the recovery efforts after 9/11, but many didn’t seek medical help or went uncounted for their symptoms because they feared deportation.

U.S. Drone Killed 10 Afghans, Including Aid Worker & 7 Kids, After Water Jugs Were Mistaken as Bombs

We speak with reporter Matthieu Aikins about how his investigation for The New York Times found an August 29 U.S. drone strike, which the Pentagon claimed targeted a facilitator with the militant group ISIS-K, actually killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children and Zemari Ahmadi, an Afghan engineer who had worked since 2006 for an American aid group.

California Votes No: Governor Gavin Newsom Survives Republican-Led Recall Effort

Californians overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-led recall effort against Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday that cost close to $300 million in taxpayer funds. The failed recall was seen as a battle against the far right and a referendum on several key issues ahead of the 2022 midterms, including the pandemic, immigrant rights, the climate crisis and the related unhoused crisis.

Betrayal at Attica: NY Violently Crushed Attica Prison Uprising Amid Negotiations, Then Covered It Up

On the 50th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, we look at the cover-up that began immediately after New York state police stormed the prison and opened fire, killing 29 inmates and 10 hostages. David Rothenberg, a member of the Attica Observers Committee brought into Attica to help negotiate a peaceful resolution, says the prison was “an institution that only knew how to run by punishment,” laying the groundwork for the uprising.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom turns back recall effort by wide margin

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom decisively turned back a Republican attempt to oust him in Tuesday’s special recall election in California, with the “no” side leading 67-33 with 8 million votes counted as of this writing. While the margin may shift as more mail-in ballots are counted (they have until Sept.

Live coverage: California recall

Tuesday brings us our biggest election night of the cycle to date as voting concludes in California in the recall campaign against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and we’ll be liveblogging the results below. Additionally, preliminary elections for mayor are on tap in both Boston and Cleveland ahead of the November general election in both cities.

Results: CA Recall | Boston Mayor | Cleveland Mayor | IA House

Polls are now closed in both Cleveland and Boston.

Comedian Norm MacDonald has passed away after privately battling cancer for nine years

Today, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, many of us were surprised and saddened by the news that comedian Norm MacDonald had passed away “after a long and private battle with cancer.” MacDonald reportedly kept his diagnosis quiet from many family and friends, as well. MacDonald was best known as a player on Saturday Night Live, as a frequent talk show guest on Late Night with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. Norm was 61-year-old.

Iowa students protest in support of teacher they say was put on leave for coming out as bisexual

As the school year begins, parents have a fair number of concerns about COVID-19, safety precautions, and their children getting a safe and equitable education. Teachers and fellow staff also have extremely valid concerns about safety and job security amid the pandemic. As Daily Kos has covered, the pandemic is far from the top priority for a concerning number of folks. What else has parents upset? Apparently, the existence of openly LGBTQ+ teachers.

A Hinge Point for Voting Rights

Amy Klobuchar, Joe Manchin, and several of their Democratic colleagues in the Senate have produced the Freedom to Vote Act, a stellar election-protection compromise bill that safeguards both the right to vote and the integrity of future federal elections. Before skeptics start questioning whether the bill will attract the 10 Republican votes necessary to overcome a filibuster, let’s acknowledge key aspects of this achievement.