Today's Liberal News

News Roundup: Supreme Court saves racist Trump policy; an Afghanistan stunt; schools ignore DeSantis

In the news today: The new Supreme Court finally broke its pattern of “shadow docket” decisions declaring that the Trump administration could do whatever it wanted. What broke it? A new president not wanting to do what Trump wanted. Two congressmen aren’t getting the rave reviews they expected after they snuck into Afghanistan to film the evacuation for themselves—a move that could have endangered themselves and others. And Florida’s Gov.

Anti-vaxxer attorney who represents numerous Jan. 6 defendants is hospitalized with COVID-19

I’ve seen chipmunks with their heads stuck in Mountain Dew cans that were better adapted to their environment than today’s lumpish throng of anti-vaxxers. Their reasons for eschewing the COVID-19 vaccines are as varied as they are stupid: Jesus will protect them, God gave them an immune system, the vaccine will kill half the population by October, the vaccine is the mark of the Beast.

High schoolers demand accountability after video of white students abusing Black doll goes viral

As students, teachers, and other school employees return to the classroom for in-person learning, many are worried about the novel coronavirus. Unfortunately (and frankly, unsurprisingly), COVID-19 is not the only horror people have to worry about. Racism is still alive and well in America’s school systems, with one recent example coming out of Salinas High School in Salinas, California.

Rep. Matt Gaetz finally discloses book profits and laughter ensues

After making headlines for allegedly being part of a sex trafficking investigation, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is making headlines again and not just for his marriage. Days after reports of Gaetz eloping with Ginger Luckey, the congressman who confirmed he was under investigation in April on allegations of trafficking a minor for sex made headlines this week for failing to report his book sales—a minor federal violation.

The Candyman Lives On

The 1992 original Candyman film, my favorite piece of horror cinema from that decade, is about an interloper. Helen Lyle (played by Virginia Madsen), a plucky, white graduate student researching urban legends in Chicago, is drawn to the city’s dilapidated Cabrini-Green projects, where she learns of a monster named the Candyman: a vengeful Black ghost who appears if you say his name five times while looking in a mirror. The movie becomes a tale of seduction and fascination.

‘We Were Going and I Am Not at All Sorry’

America’s hot vax summer began exactly how it was billed—less pandemic, more vacci-cations. Over the past few months, Americans have gone nuts with travel. Airbnbs are booked months in advance. Good luck finding a rental car. Even cruises are back … unfortunately. For a couple of days in July, airports were busier than they were at the same point in 2019.But you know what happened next.

It’s the Pandemic, Stupid

Losing a war undermines the public’s trust in any leader. But the setback causing the most damage to Joe Biden’s political standing likely isn’t the U.S. military defeat in Afghanistan—it’s the frustrating home-front struggle against the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.Support for Biden’s performance as president has tumbled in the most recent batch of polling.

Haiti’s Villages Continue to Be “Cut Off from Help” More Than a Week After Massive Earthquake

We speak with Stéphane Vincent, a Haitian citizen journalist who is helping the BBC to cover the aftermath of the devastating August 14 earthquake for the BBC and says the destruction in Les Cayes is reminiscent of the 2010 earthquake that struck the country. “To relive that again was very heart-wrenching,” he says. “The people have been feeling left out and abandoned by government.

Medea Benjamin: Afghanistan War Is “Cash Cow” for Pentagon. Biden Must End “Delusional” China Rivalry

We look at the situation in Afghanistan, and pressure on Biden to stay longer, with CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who for years has called for an end to the longest war in U.S. history. “We didn’t want it to end like this, and there should have been better planning in terms of getting people out of the country, but we were very clear we never wanted the U.S. to go in to begin with,” says Benjamin.

“Massacre of My Dreams”: Afghan Reporter Bilal Sarwary on Fleeing Kabul & Afghanistan’s “Brain Drain”

The United States has helped evacuate over 75,000 people since the end of July from the Kabul airport, but the Taliban is now allowing passage only to people with foreign passports or an invitation from the U.S. or one of its allies. President Joe Biden says U.S. troops are on pace to leave the country by the August 31 deadline, despite pressure from U.S. allies in the G7 to stay longer to help more people flee the country.

The Era of Easier Voting for Disabled People Is Over

It’s long been difficult for Americans with disabilities to vote. Inaccessible paths are an obstacle to people who use wheelchairs. Long lines are a huge hurdle to people with chronic pain. Voting machines without audio or large-print ballots are an impediment to those who are blind or who have low vision.

The Remote-Option Divide

On August 9, faculty and administrators in the Clark County School District—which serves Las Vegas and surrounding areas—welcomed students back to classrooms for full-time in-person instruction. And, at the beginning, leaders of the nation’s fifth-largest school district were cautiously optimistic; aside from difficulty with air-conditioning in some buildings, the first day went off without issue.Eight days after classes began, though, there was already a coronavirus outbreak.