Today's Liberal News

Listen: A remarkably soothing hourlong underwater symphony of humpback whales singing

Four years ago this month, a trio of humpback whales—two adults and a juvenile, sex unknown—decided to spend several hours hanging out along the western side of Washington State’s San Juan Island and vocalizing. No one could see them because it was late at night and moonless. But underneath the surface, they put on a performance that lasted well over an hour—and it was being picked up on a hydrophone.

When donating to your local food bank, don’t forget the spices (seriously)

If there’s one piece of advice people love offering up to low-income folks, it’s that you can save money by cooking at home. On the surface, that’s understandable—if you prepare your meal at home, you can (hypothetically) cook in bulk, avoid paying for a tip or delivery fee, and choose cost-effective ingredients. That’s all well and good, but it ignores structural barriers.

Trump refuses to concede, but finally admits he’ll leave the White House in January

Today in things that should in no way be news, but are, Donald Trump said he would leave the White House if (when) the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Trump took questions from reporters late Thursday afternoon after speaking remotely to military service members.

Asked about leaving the White House, he said “Certainly I will, and you know that.

After a decade of BS ‘war on …’ rhetoric, the Republican Party destroyed Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving. Like every holiday in the world, individuals and families celebrate it or don’t celebrate it in their own way. Christmas is similar—you may celebrate it, or you may not. But one thing is for sure: Whichever holidays you and yours celebrate together or apart, you do it differently than everybody else. This fundamental fact has always been the basic flaw in the conservative narrative that liberals were waging some kind of cultural war on Thanksgiving.

A moment of zen (or hours-long time suck) for your holiday

It’s that season: the season when you’re supposed to be counting your blessings, thinking of the things for which you’re thankful, and generally being full of peace and goodwill to all. Thinking about 2020 makes that a particularly surreal activity. It could make your brain hurt.

Trying to get all serious about this just made me exhausted.

Pandemic Data Are About to Go Sideways

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. Recently, over the course of just one week, the Houston Health Department received more than 110,000 lab reports of COVID-19 test results. In a city of 2.3 million people, “it’s quite a high volume,” says Beau J. Mitts, the department’s bureau chief.

A Tragic Beginning to the Holiday Season

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection . City health officials on Wednesday released a report estimating that one in 145 people in Los Angeles County—population 10 million—are infected with the coronavirus. A week ago, the report says, that metric was 1 in 250 people.

As COVID Devastates Native Communities, Indigenous Voters Played Key Role in Defeating Trump

As COVID-19 rampages through the U.S., we look at how the rapid spread of the disease is affecting Native American communities, which have already faced disproportionate infection and death rates throughout the pandemic. We speak to Jodi Archambault, a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and former special assistant to President Obama for Native American affairs. We also speak with Protect the Sacred founder Allie Young of the Navajo Nation.

When Your Hometown Team Gets a New Identity

Three years ago, the Washington Football Team hosted its first-ever Thanksgiving Day game. The franchise had played—and lost—on the holiday many times before. But the 2017 game wasn’t notable just because the team, then known as the Redskins, actually won. That afternoon, a small group of Native American activists gathered outside FedEx Field, the Maryland arena where Washington plays, to educate D.C.

Denial Isn’t Working Out for College Football

College football is now the epitome of the way dysfunction becomes normalized in America. Fans of the sport woke up to the news Saturday morning that the Clemson–Florida State game was postponed because a Clemson offensive lineman had tested positive for the coronavirus the day before. The matchup was one of 18 games that had to be canceled or postponed last week because of COVID-19.