Today's Liberal News

“Not Doing This Is a Choice”: Biden Drags His Feet on Canceling Student Debt Despite Campaign Pledge

Students, campaigners and top Democrats have been pushing President Joe Biden to use executive authority to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt per person. Student loan debt in the U.S. stands at $1.7 trillion, with some 45 million people owing money. Filmmaker and organizer Astra Taylor, an author, documentary director and organizer with the Debt Collective, says Biden has clear legal authority to cancel student debt. “Not doing this is a choice,” she says.

How to Wear a Mask & When to Wear Two to Reduce COVID Transmission & Increase Vaccine Effectiveness

While COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations appear to be waning, the United States has a long way to go before people can safely return to everyday life without masks. Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says it’s vital to stay vigilant even as vaccinations ramp up. “If we can get our transmission down as low as possible, that is actually going to make the vaccines more effective.

Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week

Jessica Corbett at Common Dreams  writes—’Congress Must End This National Embarrassment,’ Says Sanders After CBO Reveals High Drug Prices for Medicare Part D:

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Listen: ‘A Disaster for Feminism’

Nearly a year ago, Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis predicted the pandemic would be “a disaster for feminism,” and far too many of her predictions have proven true. With women leaving the workforce at unprecedented rates, why has the pandemic’s burden fallen so much harder on them? And what can we, as a society, do about it?Lewis joins staff writer James Hamblin and comedian Maeve Higgins on the podcast Social Distance.

The Window for D.C. Statehood Won’t Be Open Forever

With one move, Democrats could reshape government and potentially lock in their majority in the Senate for years to come. Four of their own stand in the way.The party may have just a few months to make it happen—but leaders in the House and Senate are taking their time and arguing about the details.Advocates see statehood for Washington, D.C.