Today's Liberal News

Watch out for Republicans trying to claim credit for American Rescue Plan’s state and local aid

State and local governments hemorrhaged jobs in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, and the damage remains: Employment in that area remained at 1.4 million jobs, or 7%, lower in February 2021 than it was in February 2020. Three states—New Hampshire, Nevada, and Maine—have seen state and local government jobs drop by 10% or more. In a majority of states, it’s 5% or more.

Why the Pandemic Experts Failed

A few minutes before midnight on March 4, 2020, the two of us emailed every U.S. state and the District of Columbia with a simple question: How many people have been tested in your state, total, for the coronavirus?By then, about 150 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States, and 11 had died of the disease. Yet the CDC had stopped publicly reporting the number of Americans tested for the virus.

Scenes From the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Earlier this morning, Dallas Seavey and his team crossed the finish line near Willow, Alaska, to win the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, claiming his fifth title. Seavey is now tied with Rick Swenson, the only other musher to have won five titles. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the race took place on a modified 832-mile course called the Gold Trail Loop, staying in the wilderness, avoiding villages, and forgoing the normal ceremonial start in Anchorage.

I Want to Look Damn Good When the World Sees Me Again

All pandemic long, I’ve been hunting for a way—please, literally any way—to bludgeon myself into exercising with some kind of regularity. The quarantine life has turned me into an Indian Gollum. My arms, never quite jacked but at least semi-toned, currently have about as much bulk as overcooked linguini. Whatever seedlings of abs I had last March are now buried deep beneath a permafrost of flab.

The Odd Pattern That Keeps Happening at the Grammys

One year into fussing with Zoom backgrounds, who can’t relate to Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B twerking in front of a digital wallpaper of purses, diamonds, big-rig trucks, and the rappers’ own faces? At last night’s Grammys, two of hip-hop’s top talents put on a digital-meets-physical hallucination that turned out to be the best entertainment of the night. A stiletto heel doubled as a stripper pole. Cardi and Megan cavorted in a bed as big as a house.

This Tiny Fish Can Withstand Almost Anything

Originating in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia, just south of the Chesapeake Bay, the Elizabeth River is turbid and brackish, its banks redolent with the nose-wrinkling stench of rotting vegetation. These muddy, pungent waters support an array of life—oak and maple trees, herons, otters, and oysters.

A Bug’s Life

Photographs by Tine PoppeThis article was published online on March 13, 2021.When you are an ant, the stakes are always high. There are those who would eat you—birds, snakes, bigger bugs—and those who could trample you and your environment in a single sneakered step. These enormous beings may not mean you any harm, but it is impact, not intention, that matters most.