Today's Liberal News

Two hurricanes could hit the Gulf Coast next week within a 24-hour window

Earlier this month, the National Weather Service made it clear that this was going to be an “extremely active” hurricane season, with a projected 19-25 hurricanes. The average season only brings a dozen, meaning that 2020 could easily be—on top of everything else—among the biggest hurricane seasons on record.

But even for an extremely active season, the possible event that could hit the north Gulf Coast next week seems extraordinary.

Georgia officer on desk duty after family films violent arrest of woman on her own porch

A video posted to TikTok on Wednesday shows Gwinnett County, Georgia, police officer Michael Oxford in a verbal and physical altercation with a Black woman on what is reportedly her front porch. The video, recorded on Tuesday, shows 22-year-old Kyndesia Smith and Oxford arguing: Smith says she doesn’t have to go anywhere, and that Oxford is on her property, noting that that “we didn’t call you.

Teachers could be forced to stay in the classroom after COVID-19 exposure

What do you do if you really want schools open in person but it’s going to be impossible to keep staffing them if teachers have to quarantine every time they’re exposed to COVID-19? If you’re Donald Trump, you certainly don’t reassess the push to have schools open in person. No, you declare that teachers shouldn’t quarantine after COVID-19 exposure.

Congress still stymied over COVID-19 relief as McConnell refuses to spend what the country needs

The House will break its recess and convene Saturday to pass H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act to inject the U.S. Postal Service with $25 billion emergency funds and restore the service’s operations to pre-coronavirus and pre-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s dismantling of it. So far, that’s it. That’s all the plan Congress has to do anything this month, while they remain on recess.

With Obamacare’s fate in Supreme Court’s hands, electing Biden is a no-brainer

The Supreme Court announced this week when it will hear the consolidated cases on the Affordable Care Act. California v. Texas basically challenges whether the plaintiffs in Texas v. California have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the law, as well as the actual constitutionality of the law. The ‘when’ is interesting: Nov. 10, exactly one week after the election.

The Atlantic Daily: 9 Podcast Picks From Around Our Newsroom

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.I asked nine people from around our newsroom, including members of our Atlantic podcasting team, to pick an episode worth streaming in this moment.  Be sure to also check out our Atlantic podcasts:
Floodlines is the story of an unnatural disaster.

The Question at the Heart of the Postal Service Crisis

Yes, the mail really has slowed down recently. No, the delays are not part of a dastardly plot to steal the election on behalf of President Donald Trump.That was the two-pronged message that Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general, delivered this morning to the Senate—and, by extension, American voters—as he confronted a national uproar over whether the Postal Service can, and will, handle a surge in mail-in balloting this fall.

Two Disasters Are Exponentially Worse Than One

Eleven thousand lightning strikes, 370 wildfires, a pandemic, a heat wave, and rolling blackouts—California has endured a lot this week. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, and tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate. The largest of the blazes—the LNU Lightning Complex fires, which alone span Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Lake Counties—is only 7 percent contained.One disaster is bad. Two are worse, but the damage doesn’t just double.

Listen: The Comedy and Tragedy of Virtual Live Events

On this episode of Social Distance, the comedian Maeve Higgins is back home in New York after weathering the pandemic’s first peak in her native Ireland. She joins James Hamblin to talk about her strange journey back to the United States, and the strange moment the country finds itself in.James Fallows returns to reflect on the Democratic National Convention and why politics (unlike comedy) might actually be better without the crowds.

The Books Briefing: The Legacy of a Political Speech

Political speeches make up a strange genre of writing. This year’s Democratic National Convention has showcased their breadth, featuring Barack Obama’s fearful warning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s self-aggrandizing remarks, a disjointed keynote from 17 “rising stars,” and Michelle Obama’s forceful call to action.Speeches such as these can influence a figure’s legacy. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words highlight his eloquence and vision.

Cornel West & Ben Jealous on the DNC and Whether Progressives Can Push Joe Biden Leftward

Harvard professor Cornel West and Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former president of the NAACP, discuss the 2020 DNC, Joe Biden’s vow to fight systemic racism and “overcome this season of darkness in America,” the historic nomination of Kamala Harris as his partner on the ticket, and how the convention was a showcase for a broad anti-Trump coalition, including prominent Republican figures given plum speaking slots, but few voices from the party&rsq

“Light Is More Powerful Than Dark”: Biden Vows to Fight COVID, Climate, Racism & Economic Meltdown

We air highlights from Joe Biden’s highly anticipated speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, in which he formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, focused on the dangers of President Trump’s reelection and pledged to address the four simultaneous crises of systemic racism, the pandemic, the economic downturn and the climate crisis. “United, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America,” Biden said.