The renowned filmmaker Ken Burns has a new project called UNUM, about the sources of connection rather than separation in American life.His latest segment involves “Communication” in all its aspects, and it combines historical footage with current commentary. Some of the modern commenters are Yamiche Alcindor, Jane Mayer, Megan Twohey, Kara Swisher, and Will Sommer. You can see their clips here.
Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke’s nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote.
Rochelle Walensky also said vaccinated parents and teachers “may want to continue wearing masks to model behavior” for unvaccinated children.
Palestinian scholar Hanan Ashrawi says Israel’s latest assault on Gaza is turning life in the besieged territory into “sheer hell,” aided by U.S. military and diplomatic support. “Israel has total license to use unbridled power to kill and destroy and maim and get away with it,” Ashrawi says.
As the death toll in Gaza reaches at least 119 amid Israel’s escalation of its aerial assault, Congressmember Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress, delivered a powerful speech on the House floor Thursday to denounce the violence and attempted erasure of the Palestinian people. “I am the only Palestinian American member of Congress now,” Tlaib said. “I am a reminder to colleagues that Palestinians do indeed exist.
As MOVE family members and hundreds of supporters held a memorial Thursday to mark the deadly May 13, 1985, police bombing of their home in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney announced the resignation of the city’s top health official over stunning new revelations he cremated some of the bombing victims’ remains, including bone fragments, without the knowledge or permission of the families.
Things are getting weird in the late-pandemic economy.
I want to leave, but he wouldn’t have any income.
Biden toilet paper is now outselling Trump toilet paper, “which is not good for me,” one presidential butt-wipe mastermind says.
The former president may have hated the press, but he certainly boosted its business.
Gov. Mike DeWine said the lotteries would be paid from existing federal coronavirus relief funds.
The CDC panel voted 14-0 with one recusal on Wednesday in favor of expanding use of the shot, days after the FDA authorized its use in the same age group.
“We still have a lot to do in order to get to the concept called herd immunity to get to a point where we can resume life,” said Florida Department of Health’s deputy secretary for health.
She found something different than skepticism.
Parenting advice on broken tablets, best friends, and baseball.
Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed says things should get better as people overcome fears related to the pandemic.
“There were elements of growth in the balance from what I can see and understand,” Carney said in a long response that didn’t directly answer the question.
Chrystia Freeland uses Budget 2021 to reveal Canada’s new emissions target.
“I experienced the most brutal, savage … combat of my entire life,” said Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone, who’s angry the GOP wants to rewrite history.
In the news today: The COVID-19 crisis in India continues. Veterans groups are asking President Biden to rescue Afghans who partnered with the U.S. military in the fight against terrorism and the Taliban. And the still-not-ousted Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to make the U.S. Capitol a circus of delusion, paranoia, and hate.
Sometimes making fun of Republicans is like shooting fish in a barrel. Actually, no. They’re not fish so much as some kind of animal that can’t swim … or crawl out of a barrel. It’s like watching a drunk, elderly orangutan drown in a barrel. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I just add the color commentary.
Big news today for the fully vaxxed: You can ditch your mask (in most circumstances)!
(As an erudite consumer of this missive, you are no doubt well on your way to or already at full vaccination activation, health/personal circumstances permitting.)
As someone whose face is basically its own emoji, I’m extremely excited about this (though I’m kissing my professional poker playing dreams goodbye).
As the nation continues to face the novel coronavirus pandemic, Republican lawmakers in Texas have established a truly baffling set of priorities. As Daily Kos continues to cover, for example, Texans are facing an onslaught of anti-trans bills at the state level, including girls’ sports and gender-affirming health care.
Here at Daily Kos, we have a strong and consistent focus on state and local elections. Midterm elections are huge, but as we know, don’t tend to get the same attention from national media outlets (or voters) as the presidential election does. Why does this matter now? As reported by the Associated Press, Democratic officials at both the state and national level have reached a fundraising agreement in order to get more aid to state parties.
When the Biden administration announced support for waiving COVID-19 vaccine patents last week, it was met with praise, relief, skepticism, and alarm by different groups—but surprise all around. Pharmaceutical giants have long fought efforts to have their intellectual property released to meet international needs. And they’ve backed it up with immense political muscle.
The announcement seemed to catch everyone off guard: Early Thursday afternoon, the government told Americans that if they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, they did not need to wear a mask—indoors or outside, in groups small or large.People who have gotten their shots, Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House press briefing, “can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
Florida law would let the governor intervene if Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance Jr. seeks to extradite Trump after his investigation into possible banking and tax fraud.
A former aide to Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn said he was fired for “seeking to protect employees from unsafe conditions.
Exasperation among diplomats reflects global pressure on the U.S. to begin sharing some of its Covid-19 vaccines.
