Biden’s bubble risk: A reckoning in markets as the economy recovers
“I mean, Shaq has a SPAC. What could go wrong?” one economist says of the euphoria rippling through Wall Street and raising a new round of worries.
Today's Liberal News
Biden targets smallest businesses with exclusive aid window
Only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for aid through the massive Paycheck Protection Program.
Biden’s economic point man draws praise — and pushback
Allies laud Brian Deese’s leadership on the stimulus negotiations, but he’s rubbed some the wrong way.
Biden aims to isolate China on coal — but it could blow back on the U.S.
The U.S. wants to stop new coal projects, but risks losing poor countries to Beijing’s “Belt and Road” agenda.
‘Clearly not healthy’: Markets are giddy about reopening — and that’s the problem
Investors are pumping up bubbles across markets, with excitement growing about more stimulus and widespread vaccinations.
Anti-Choice Forces Use Pandemic to Slash Abortion Access in Preview of Post-Roe v. Wade World
We look at how people across the U.S. have struggled to access abortions during the pandemic with reporter Amy Littlefield, who says that even before the COVID-19 outbreak, many states had restrictions, including three-day waiting periods and counseling sessions filled with misinformation. Then, many tried to use the pandemic as a pretext for banning abortion as a nonessential service.
House Passes Landmark Voting Rights Bill, Setting Up First Major Filibuster Fight
The sweeping reform bill would nullify the new wave of voter restrictions that Republicans are pushing at the state level.
House Democrats just passed the most important democracy reforms since the 1965 Voting Rights Act
On Wednesday, House Democrats voted 220-210 to pass H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” which is the most important set of voting and election reforms since the historic Voting Rights Act was adopted in 1965.
Republicans plot their poison pills to delay critical COVID-19 relief from reaching Americans
Senate Republicans are openly plotting how to make passing vital COVID-19 relief—which is still supported by 77% of all voters, including 59% of Republicans—complete hell for Democrats. That includes Sen. Ron Genius Johnson of Wisconsin proposing they extend the voting for “days on end.
Forceful testimony from commander of D.C. National Guard highlights unexplained delays on Jan. 6
At a joint Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, an array of intelligence and defense officials—including the commander of the Washington, D.C. National Guard—gave testimony concerning events leading up to and during the Jan. 6 insurgency. Much of the focus of the questions and answers remained around the timing of events, including when the National Guard was authorized, and on the clear failures of intelligence to anticipate the violent events of that day.
Under Biden, early polling shows Americans’ confidence in U.S. pandemic response is increasing
For the first time in nearly nine months, a national Harris tracking poll found that Americans’ fears of contracting the coronavirus and dying have dipped below a majority share of the public.
When given a binary choice between “I fear I could die as a result of contracting coronavirus” and “I do not fear I could die as a result of contracting coronavirus,” 48% said they harbor that fear while 52% said they did not fear such a death.
The Supreme Court is ready to gut what’s left of voting rights. How will Manchin and Sinema respond?
“What’s the interest of the Arizona RNC in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct ballot disqualification rules on the books?” Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Michael Carvin, the lawyer arguing before the Supreme Court Tuesday on behalf of Arizona Republicans that two of the state’s voter suppression laws should be upheld. He answered truthfully: “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats. Politics is a zero-sum game.
Criticism Grows After Texas Lifts COVID-19 Restrictions, Top Health Official Not Consulted
Gov. Greg Abbott did not speak with three of his four COVID-19 medical advisers before the move, according to reports.
New mask wars threaten Biden’s pandemic response at critical moment
Texas and Mississippi lifting restrictions comes at a particularly sensitive moment.
When it comes to Covid, ‘hot spot’ isn’t just a metaphor
Heat, environmental problems and the pandemic concentrate in certain neighborhoods. Here’s a new idea for what to do about it.
Now Streaming: Wild and Wise, the New Show With Jamilah Lemieux
Jamilah and williambryantmiles take on the topic of colorism.
CDC delays guidelines for vaccinated people
The CDC guidelines were expected to be released Thursday but the CDC was told to hold their publishing.
Senate Republicans Threaten To Delay Passage Of COVID-19 Relief Bill
The $1.9 trillion plan is broadly popular, but that isn’t stopping GOP members of Congress from lining up against it.
Self-Proclaimed Billionaire Trump Now Begging Small-Dollar Donors For Money
The lies Trump told at CPAC about the election and his record were not new, but his request for supporters to give money to his new political committee was a first.
A New Wave of Anti-Trans Legislation Sure Looks a Lot Like Eugenics
State-level bills around women’s sports and adolescent medical care would seem to share a common goal.
After 15 Year of Marriage, I Can’t Deny the Truth About Sex With My Wife
I don’t know how to make my desires “normal.
The Weekly Planet: Why a Political Philosopher Is Thinking About Carbon Removal
Jared Rodriguez
Every Tuesday, our lead climate reporter brings you the big ideas, expert analysis, and vital guidance that will help you flourish on a changing planet. Sign up to get The Weekly Planet, our guide to living through climate change, in your inbox.Until a few years ago, the idea that humanity could suck carbon pollution out of the atmosphere at an industrial scale was deemed implausible, if not impossible.
The Atlantic Daily: How Our Pandemic Public-Health Messaging Backfired
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.America’s recent streak of good vaccine news continues: According to the Biden administration, the country will have enough doses by the end of May to vaccinate all adults.This is a welcome development for those wearied by this strange vaccine purgatory.
The Shadowy, Widespread Effort to Erase Trans Youth
The overwhelming majority of Americans support transgender rights. But some hate groups are pursuing a craven legal strategy.
An Ice-Covered Russian Ghost Town
Earlier this week, the photographer Maria Passer visited some of the ice-covered abandoned buildings of Vorkuta, a dwindling coal-mining city north of the Arctic Circle, in Russia’s Komi Republic. Temperatures in Vorkuta can drop as low as -58 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest winter months.
Democrats Have Decided to Send Checks to Fewer People for No Actual Good Reason
Raise a glass for comity and moderation.
Antarctica Is Running Out of Wilderness
In almost every sense of the word, the Palmer Archipelago in Antarctica is wild. Humpback whales, elephant seals, and the wandering albatross, a seabird with a wingspan as long as a male great white shark, all call this area home. Towering glaciers and blue-tinged icebergs dot the landscape, and sunsets last for hours.This empty, untamed place also has a gift shop.
MAGA Mom Whose Son Stormed Capitol Feels ‘Stupid’ For Buying Trump’s Voter Fraud Lies
Alise Cua, the mother of 18-year-old Capitol insurrectionist Bruno Cua, pled with a judge to release her son from custody while he awaits trial.
Biden Needs Unions to Force His Hand
Joe Biden did an extraordinary thing for an American president earlier this week: Without qualification, he supported the right of workers to form a union. Biden didn’t just weigh in on behalf of those seeking to unionize an Amazon distribution facility in Bessemer, Alabama. He also affirmed the importance of unions for all workers and for the good of the country. Conservatives and centrist media outlets often assume that the Democratic Party is “beholden” to “Big Labor.
Senate panel deadlocks on advancing Biden’s pick for health secretary
Still, barring any unexpected Democratic defections, Xavier Becerra is likely to be confirmed as early as next week.