Today's Liberal News
Biden administration readies battle plan as Covid variants reach the U.S.
Biden’s quest to beat back the pandemic is at a critical juncture.
Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66% effective in global study
The one-shot vaccine provides “complete protection against COVID-related hospitalization and death,” the company says.
Forgive Me for Not Celebrating the Quirky Second Daughter Landing a Modeling Contract
Armpit hair and tattoos are not revolutionary.
Dear Care and Feeding: My Therapist Insists My Great-Grandmother’s Spankings Were Abuse. I’m Not So Sure.
Parenting advice on abuse disagreements, gift inequality, and birthday disappointment.
Is COVID Really Causing a Baby Bust?
Early signs point to a decline—but how low will the birthrate go?
The Ethical Human Cannibals of the World Would Like the Armie Hammer News Cycle to End, Too
“I don’t think a lot of people who are into consensual cannibalism would have a foot taco.
Fed’s Powell warns U.S. economy ‘long way from a full recovery’
“There’s nothing more important to the economy now than people getting vaccinated,” Jerome Powell said.
Wall Street shrugs at Washington’s debt pileup
The debt poses no imminent danger to U.S. finances, economists say, so the more pressing concern should be jump-starting the economy.
U.S. jobless claims decline to a still-high 900,000
The government said that 5.1 million Americans are continuing to receive state jobless benefits, down from 5.2 million in the previous week.
30 Things Donald Trump Did as President You Might Have Missed
Trump’s presidency may be best remembered for its cataclysmic end. But his four years as president also changed real American policy in lasting ways, just more quietly. We asked POLITICO’s best-in-class policy reporters to recap some of the ways Trump changed the country while in office, for better or worse.
U.S. loses 140,000 jobs in first monthly loss since spring
At the same time, the unemployment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April.
My Name is Pauli Murray: New Film on Black Queer Legal Pioneer Who Inspired RBG & Thurgood Marshall
We spend the hour looking at the life of one of the most pivotal figures in the history of struggle for gender equality and racial justice, Pauli Murray, whose story is told in the new documentary “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.
Exposed: Proud Boys Hate Group Leader Enrique Tarrio Was “Prolific” FBI & Police Informant
We speak with Reuters investigative journalist Aram Roston, who has revealed a leader of the extremist hate group the Proud Boys, which played a key role in the Capitol riot on January 6, has a prolific history of cooperating with law enforcement. Court records show Enrique Tarrio was an FBI and police informant in Florida who went undercover in multiple drug and illegal gambling investigations after he was arrested in 2012.
Share the Technology: Experts Say We Must End Big Pharma Monopoly on COVID Vaccine Supply & Price
As rich countries race to roll out their vaccination programs, leaders in the Global South and global health advocates are increasingly decrying vaccine hoarding that has pushed poorer countries to the back of the line during the pandemic. Some rich countries have secured enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their populations several times over, while poorer countries struggle to secure enough doses, almost certainly prolonging the pandemic by months or even years.
Dr. Peter Hotez: “Globalized Anti-Science Movement” Threatens Pandemic Response & Public Health
The Biden administration has vowed to increase the rate of vaccinations as COVID-19 continues to spread uncontrollably across the entire U.S., with 90,000 people predicted to die in the next four weeks. President Biden announced plans to acquire another 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech and is devising ways to allow retired nurses and doctors to administer vaccines. Dr.
Russian Intelligence Cultivated Donald Trump for Decades, Says Former KGB Agent
And the Kremlin was delighted with the results, former KGB major Yuri Shvets tells The Guardian.
Saturday Night Owls: Rep. Katie Porter releases report on the unhealthiness of Big Pharma mergers
Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
Brett Wilkins at Common Dreams writes—New Report From Rep. Katie Porter Reveals How Big Pharma Pursues ‘Killer Profits’ at the Expense of Americans’ Health. “It’s time we reevaluate the standards for approving these mergers. It’s time we pass legislation to lower drug prices.
This Tennessee district hasn’t gone blue since before the creation of the Republican Party
Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide goes to Tennessee, which once again was one of Donald Trump’s strongest states. You can find our detailed calculations here, a large-size map of the results here, and our permanent, bookmarkable link for all 435 districts here.
Trump Loses Lead Impeachment Lawyers A Week Before Trial
Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, both South Carolina lawyers, have left the defense team in what one person described as a “mutual decision.
Farmworker advocate tackles food insecurity in Central California’s Oaxacan community
In the early 2000s while writing her book, The Farmworkers’ Journey, which explores the farmworkers’ binational circuit that stretches from the west central Mexico countryside to central California, Dr. Ann López said she remembers having an epiphany at her computer. “Surely if the American public knew how farmworkers were treated, they wouldn’t tolerate this horrific abuse, right?” Sadly, this remains to be seen.
Lincoln Project Threatens Lawsuit After Rudy Giuliani Falsely Links Group To Capitol Riot
It’s difficult to sue for defamation, but “our lawyers are telling us that Rudy is well across the line, so we’re thrilled about this,” said co-founder Steve Schmidt.
Wellness for Activists: The amazing (science-backed) benefits of practicing kindness
Welcome to my weekly feature covering ways us activists can lead healthier lives. For a full explanation check out the inaugural edition here, but in short, most of us do a terrible job of taking care of our minds and bodies. This is a science-based exploration of how to change that, so we can be around for many years of fruitful activism.
I was a sullen, tortured teenager, bitter and angry at the world, as teens often are.
Creator Of ‘Bernie’ Mittens Partners With Vermont Teddy Bear Maker
Jen Ellis is partnering with the Vermont Teddy Bear Company to create a mitten line, with some of the proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Vermont.
Six dead in Georgia poultry plant liquid nitrogen leak, this week in the war on workers
Six people are dead after a liquid nitrogen leak at a Georgia poultry plant and 11 others were hospitalized, with at least three in critical condition. Two of the people killed were Mexican citizens, and those injured included at least four firefighters.
“When leaked into the air, liquid nitrogen vaporizes into an odorless gas that’s capable of displacing oxygen,” the Associated Press explains.
Texas City Councilman Posted Photo Of Noose After Insurrection, Saying ‘Let ‘Em Hang’
Martin Holsome, a city councilman running for governor, is part of a growing group of Republicans embracing right-wing extremism and cheering the Capitol riot.
Maryland confirms case of Covid-19 variant from South Africa
The news comes after South Carolina announced the first two U.S. cases of the variant Thursday.
They Called for Help. They’d Always Regret It.
Photographs by Arlene Mejorado and Carlos ChavarríaWhen Antonietta Zuñiga woke up to smoke pouring through her bedroom window, everything she had learned about how to care for her grandson completely left her mind. It was November 2019, in the Los Angeles County city of Pico Rivera. Antonietta’s grandson, Carlos Zuñiga Jr., is schizophrenic; she had the number for ACCESS, L.A. County’s mental-health hotline, taped to her fridge for moments precisely like these.
CDC issues rule requiring travelers to wear face masks
The CDC’s new order goes further than an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last week.
The Explosive Song That Liberated Tina Turner
Jack Robinson / Hulton Archive / GettyBefore a concert one night in 1968, shortly prior to recording the song that would launch her into superstardom, Tina Turner swallowed sleeping pills and lay down to die. “People backstage noticed something was very wrong with me and rushed me to the hospital, which saved my life,” she writes in her book Happiness Becomes You, published in the fall. “At first I was disappointed when I woke up and realized I was still alive.