Today's Liberal News

One Bad Algorithm? Advocates Say Facial Recognition Reveals Systemic Racism in AI Technology

The controversy over police use of facial recognition technology has accelerated after a Black man in Michigan revealed he was wrongfully arrested because of the technology. Detroit police handcuffed Robert Williams in front of his wife and daughters after facial recognition software falsely identified him as a suspect in a robbery. Researchers say facial recognition software is up to 100 times more likely to misidentify people of color than white people.

The End of Asylum? Supreme Court Sides with Trump Administration on Fast-Tracking Deportations

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory Thursday when it ruled the government can fast-track deportations of asylum seekers without first allowing them to fight for their cases in front of a judge. The ACLU’s Lee Gelernt argued the case in court on behalf of Tamil asylum seeker Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam. “It’s a very serious decision and will adversely affect many, many asylum seekers,” says Gelernt.

Repair & Revive: Rev. William Barber on Fighting Racism, Poverty, Climate Change, War & Nationalism

The Poor People’s Campaign offered a counterpoint to President Trump’s sparsely attended Tulsa campaign rally with a mass digital gathering that unveiled a policy platform to spur “transformative action” on five key issues of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and the threat of religious nationalism. “We have to repair and revive,” says Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.

Washington Post: Russian bounty program targeting U.S. troops resulted in ‘several’ American deaths

In a new Sunday evening story, The Washington Post cites unidentified sources to confirm that the Russian program offering “bounties” to Taliban militants for killing U.S. forces in Afghanistan is “believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. service members.” It was previously unclear as to whether the Russian program had been successful; the Post’s sources indicate that it was.

Nuts & Bolts: Inside a Democratic campaign. Shhh … we’re going to win

It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up any time: Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns, or explain issues that impact our party.

One Californian dead after 28 members of one family test positive for coronavirus

The spread of the novel coronavirus is far from over in the U.S. While some states have reopened and residents have begun ignoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, we are still living during a pandemic. According to CNN, 36 states across the U.S. have seen a rise in cases as compared to last week. The country broke another record Friday, reporting the highest number of cases in a single day at more than 40,000 new cases of COVID-19.

Maine: Images of the Pine Tree State

Although Maine is the largest of the New England states, it is still relatively small—ranking 39th in area. It remains a state with a low population density, at just about 1.3 million residents, mostly living near the southern coast. From its wooded interior to its rocky shoreline, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Maine and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

Frederick Douglass

“The past is for most Americans, unfortunately, rather meaningless,” said the poet Robert Hayden in 1976. “But some of us are aware of it as a long, tortuous, and often bloody process of becoming.

The World Isn’t Ready for Peak Oil

Two months ago, the world experienced a historic collapse in oil prices, as coronavirus-related shutdowns cratered global demand, briefly turning prices for May delivery negative. Prices have since rebounded modestly, but they remain unsustainably low for countries that depend on oil exports to generate government revenue.The resulting instability, from the Middle East to Africa to the Americas, raises a flurry of immediate national-security concerns.

Saying Goodbye to Law & Order

Growing up, I wanted to work in law enforcement. Actually, what I wanted was based on a television franchise I began watching as a teenager: Law & Order. Dick Wolf’s world of procedural crime dramas, the good guys working via the legal system to catch the bad, mesmerized me throughout high school and into college. In particular, I fell in love with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, following Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler as they brought criminals to justice.

The Danger of America’s Coronavirus Immigration Bans

On Monday, President Donald Trump extended a near-total ban that he had first announced in April on entry into the United States by immigrants seeking “green cards” for permanent residency. This policy is the most sweeping ban on immigration in American history. Even during earlier crises, such as the Great Depression, the two world wars, and the horrific flu pandemic of 1918–19, the U.S.