Today's Liberal News

McConnell’s ‘epidemic’ of COVID-19 lawsuits has no basis in fact, just another way to screw workers

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell likes to talk about an “epidemic of lawsuits” that will come “on the heels of the pandemic we’re already struggling with” to justify the liability protections line in the sand he created for a coronavirus relief bill. That’s the ultimatum he came up with after his “let the states go bankrupt” bottom line was roundly rejected by even Republicans. He soon pivoted to pushing the U.S.

Democrats, still on offense, are fielding candidates in almost every House race this year

The last filing deadline for major-party candidates anywhere in the country passed on Friday when Louisiana, which always bring up the caboose, closed its books.

Candidates often enter races late in the Pelican State, and Democrats received a welcome surprise a couple of days before the deadline when Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins announced a bid against Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, giving the party a credible contender where before it had none.

The Atlantic Daily: ‘The U.S. Is Simply Not Ready for Big Films to Return’

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.The Tenet debut moved abroad, a major theater made a concession, and Emmy nominations landed. We explain what it all meansBRYAN ANSELM / REDUXChristopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Tenet will debut in movie theaters in August—just not in America.

Why the Democrats Can’t Nail Bill Barr

House Democrats have been waiting for more than a year to grill Attorney General Bill Barr, a man they’ve accused of all manner of professional misconduct—including repeatedly and inappropriately intervening to protect President Donald Trump and deploying federal agents to incite violence in American cities.Today they finally had their chance, as Barr testified, at long last, before the House Judiciary Committee.

Taylor Swift Is No Longer Living in the Present

One of the delights of Folklore, an audacious and almost-too-rich feast of an album, is that Taylor Swift moves away from a solid sense of the first person. (Beth Garrabrant)The coronavirus pandemic has made a mess of the present and clouded any visions of the future, but at least—as artworks of our era keep insisting—the past is there to guide us. Taylor Swift, for example, has been thinking about her grandfather fighting in World War II.

Lonely Days for Sports Mascots

As professional sports leagues continue to grapple with coronavirus restrictions on both players and fans, teams are playing to empty, or near-empty, stadiums, and broadcasting the games live. Team mascots, who normally thrive on interaction with a live audience, are left to play to the cameras, interacting with empty bleachers and cardboard cutouts of fans. Below is a collection of images from recent months of various mascots, still hard at work during trying times.

Hollywood Is Finally Admitting That the U.S. Is a Lost Cause

Bryan Anselm / ReduxFinally, there’s some good news for Hollywood: Yesterday, Warner Bros. announced that Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated action thriller, Tenet, will debut next month following multiple delays. As the pandemic has shut down cinemas across the globe, Tenet has been widely regarded as the film that could revive a depressed theater industry, and now it has its chance.

No Paper Trail: Migrant Children Secretly Held in Hampton Inn Hotels Before Expulsion from U.S.

Under a shocking new Trump administration policy, hundreds of people who came to the United States seeking asylum were secretly held in hotels for days on end before being expelled from the country, often with little or no paper trail. This includes more than 200 unaccompanied immigrant children — including babies and toddlers — who were taken to hotels near the Texas-Mexico border by a private contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Who Profits & Where Is the Transparency in Trump Admin’s $6 Billion Vaccine Program?

As researchers around the world race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, we speak with Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Program, about who is profiting from government efforts to fund vaccines, testing and treatment. The Trump administration has announced major contracts with pharmaceutical companies as part of its $6 billion program, Operation Warp Speed, including with firms that have never brought a vaccine to market.

A Vaccine by November? Science Journalist in Vaccine Trial Casts Doubt on Rosy U.S. Projections

With 30,000 people taking part in the first major COVID-19 vaccine study in the United States, hopes are high that the collaboration between drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health will yield positive results as early as November. Researchers around the world are working on more than 165 vaccine candidates, though only a handful are conducting large-scale human trials.