Today's Liberal News

California Is 40% Latinx. In Alex Padilla, It Will Finally Have Its First Latinx Senator

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla has been named by Governor Gavin Newsom to replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate, making history as the first Latinx senator to represent the state. Padilla was first elected to public office at 26, when he joined the Los Angeles City Council, and went on to serve two terms in the state Senate, followed by two terms as the state’s secretary of state.

Diane Ravitch: Biden’s Pick for Education Secretary Must Overturn DeVos’s Attack on Public Schools

President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Connecticut public schools commissioner Miguel Cardona for secretary of education, tapping a third Latinx person to join his Cabinet. Cardona is a former teacher who represents a sharp break from outgoing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who urged career employees at the Education Department earlier this month to “be the resistance” to the incoming administration.

“Worse Than Being in Iraq”: Veteran & ER Doctor Says Pandemic Is Pushing Hospitals to Breaking Point

As the U.S. averages more than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, we speak with Dr. Cleavon Gilman, an emergency physician who has been treating patients since the beginning of the U.S. outbreak, first in New York City and now in Yuma, Arizona. Dr. Gilman is also an Iraq War veteran who served as a Marine combat medic, and has kept a public diary of his experiences treating COVID-19 patients.

Tuesday Night Owls: Senators Warren, Wyden and Merkley push Biden to ‘padlock the revolving door’

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

29 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE

Kenny Stancil at Common Dreams writes—After Four Years of ‘Outright Grift’ Under Trump, Trio of Democratic Senators Urges Biden to ‘Padlock the Revolving Door’

In the wake of the Trump administration’s pervasive corruption and flagrant law-breaking, a trio of Democratic lawmakers is urging President-

This suburban Denver district is the best illustration of Colorado’s sharp leftward trend

The Centennial State supported Joe Biden 55-42 four years after it backed Hillary Clinton 48-43, making it the most lopsided presidential contest in Colorado since 1984, when Ronald Reagan won 63-35. It was also the first time Democrats carried the state by double digits since Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide, though Biden’s improvement on Clinton numbers was due at least in part to the reduced appeal of third-party candidates.

This holiday season, donate the gifts you would want your own family to receive

As the novel coronavirus continues to slam the nation, we’ve seen small businesses take hit after hit, unemployment numbers bubble and sizzle, more than 200,000 Americans lose their lives, and countless communities impacted. As photos of cars lined up at food pantries go viral, people with means are increasingly encouraged to donate both items and money to their local food drives.

The Atlantic Daily: 3 Things to Know About COVID-19

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.PETER CADE / GETTYA little more than a week is left in the year that became defined by COVID-19. Here are three important things to know about the coronavirus right now.
1. Sleep could be a key to ending the pandemic.

The Weekly Planet: The 5 Biggest Climate Stories of 2020

Every Tuesday, our lead climate reporter brings you the big ideas, expert analysis, and vital guidance that will help you flourish on a changing planet. Sign up to get The Weekly Planet, our guide to living through climate change, in your inbox.It’s been an enormous month and a half for climate-change news in the United States.First, and most obvious, Joe Biden won the presidential election on a vow to put climate policy at the center of his domestic and foreign policy.

2020 Seen Through the Lens of Justin Sullivan

Justin Sullivan has been a staff photographer with Getty Images since 2003. Primarily working out of California, Sullivan covered nearly the full spectrum of U.S. news stories in 2020, from the New Hampshire primaries to the early days of the pandemic, through a summer of lockdowns, protests, social distancing, and wildfires, to the November election, and much more.