Trump administration shakes up HHS personnel office after tumultuous hires
The move leaves Health Secretary Alex Azar with more control over his department, which has been rocked by personnel scandals in recent weeks.
Today's Liberal News
CDC backtracks on warning that coronavirus is airborne
The agency’s unusual reversal comes as the country prepares for flu season and cooler weather that will likely drive many people to spend more time indoors.
Pandemic supercharges campaign battles over Obamacare
Obamacare jumps to forefront of 2020 races as voters worry about coverage.
Internal memo reassured Trudeau that virus’s economic hit would be ‘manageable’
Critics have argued the Trudeau government lacked preparedness or a sense of urgency before the country was hit by the pandemic’s crises.
Fed expects to keep rates near zero through 2023
The central bank shed more light on its pledge not to raise interest rates until prices begin to rise more rapidly.
Businesses reject Trump payroll tax plan while postponing their own tax bills
Tens of thousands have taken advantage of provisions allowing employers to punt their payroll tax bills into next year and beyond.
25 years wiped out in 25 weeks: Pandemic sets the world back decades
Progress on global health and the worldwide economy has regressed, Gates Foundation report finds.
Trump and Pence try a messaging reboot on economic recovery
After months of setbacks amid Covid-19, the White House used Labor Day to focus on worker resilience and tout pre-pandemic conditions.
“A National Tragedy”: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Friend & “Favorite Client” Remembers the Legal Icon
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg first gained fame in the 1970s when she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union and argued six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court. One of those cases was Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, which centered on a widower who was refused Social Security benefits after his wife died during childbirth.
“RBG”: Film Director Reflects on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Lifelong Fight for Gender Equity
In her later years, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was internationally known simply as her initials — RBG — and a 2018 documentary film by the same name about Ginsburg’s legal career, personal history and unexpected celebrity became a surprise smash hit.
Tuesday Night Owls. Zhang: 2020 election needs a focus on the climate crisis
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
At Teen Vogue, 18-year-old Rachel Zhang, a first-time voter this year and formerly a Bernie Sanders DNC delegate from Minnesota, writes in an op-ed column—The 2020 Election Has to Be a Story About Climate Change. She urges youth to push the Democratic Party to make the climate crisis a top priority.
Diaper need is a public health emergency that the government ignores
One in three U.S. families cannot afford an adequate supply of diapers for their babies. It’s National Diaper Need Awareness Week right now (September 21–27, 2020), and you just learned (if you didn’t know already) that diaper need is a widespread problem. The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) works to increase awareness—in hopes, of course, that this leads to action.
Experts agree: Biden, who will actually fight right-wing terrorism, is the one to keep us safer
More than any other single individual, Daryl Johnson can speak to the failure of the Republican Party to keep America safe from right-wing and white supremacist terrorism over the past few years. Most recently, he has spoken out to condemn the Trump administration’s stubborn rejection of facts and data on the danger that type of extremism poses.
ICE threatened detainees with solitary confinement for daring to ask for medical care, report says
A year-long investigation of eight Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities by a top House committee finds that the mass detention agency and its private prison contractors commonly demonstrated “an indifference to the mental and physical care of the migrants in their custody,” including downplaying suicide attempts among detainees and threatening others with solitary confinement, which is torture, for daring to ask for medical assistance.
DeVos is under investigation for Hatch Act violation—and it’s probably raising her stock with Trump
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is the latest top Trump administration official under investigation for violating the Hatch Act, the ethics law that prohibits political activity by federal employees in their official capacity. DeVos used a Fox News appearance to attack former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and the Education Department promoted the appearance on its YouTube channel and via an email list.
Cindy McCain, Widow Of GOP Sen. John McCain, Endorses Joe Biden
McCain said that the Democratic presidential nominee is the only candidate in the presidential race who “stands up for our values as a nation.
Bob Woodward Predicts How Historians Will Look Back On The Trump Era
“They’re going to say, what the F happened to America in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?
The Election That Could Break America
The United States has never failed to clear the bar of electing its next president. For The Atlantic’s new cover story, Barton Gellman issues a devastating warning that––in this year of plague, recession, “a reckless incumbent, a deluge of mail-in ballots, a vandalized Postal Service, a resurgent effort to suppress votes”––the mechanisms of decision making are fragile and at meaningful risk of breaking down.
How abortion groups on both sides are mobilizing after RBG’s death
Conservatives have historically done better firing up their base on abortion. But this time they’ll be confronting the grief and rage of abortion-rights supporters.
For Republicans, The Real Question Is Why Wouldn’t They Fill That Supreme Court Seat?
Putting young, pre-vetted conservatives on the federal bench was an explicit part of the quid pro quo they made with Trump in May 2016.
Officiant At Superspreader Maine Wedding Is An Anti-Mask Evangelical
Pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church has encouraged indoor singing, scorned masks, and cautioned against eventually using a COVID-19 vaccine.
Kayleigh McEnany Flails In Defense Of Trump Lie That COVID-19 ‘Affects Virtually Nobody’
The president’s blatantly false claim came just one day before coronavirus deaths in the U.S. surpassed 200,000.
Do Asexuals Belong Under the Queer Umbrella?
It’s a delicate and still-debated question, even within the ace community.
Trump Takes Away a Lifeline for Swing-State Senators
President Donald Trump demands loyalty, but isn’t so quick to return it. Republican members of Congress have passed his bills, rationalized his behavior, kept him in power. Now, with a new Supreme Court vacancy, some of the GOP senators who risked the most in tethering themselves to Trump sorely need his help keeping them in power. He isn’t guaranteed to deliver.
The Atlantic Daily: Why the U.S. Stopped Caring About COVID-19 Deaths
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.GETTY / THE ATLANTIC200,000 dead. And it felt like any other Tuesday.Today, the United States marked the official passing of that milestone (though in truth, it likely happened earlier).
Animals in the News
Time again for a look at the animal kingdom and our interactions with the countless species that share our planet. Today’s photos include a donkey-therapy program in Spain, animals affected by wildfires in the U.S., a rescued anteater in Brazil, COVID-sniffing dog training in Germany, rhinos near Nairobi, beach rescue-dog training in Italy, stranded pilot whales in Tasmania, migrating storks in Turkey, and much more.
Biden Is in Denial About the Republican Party
On Sunday, Joe Biden made a personal appeal to Republican senators considering whether to hold a vote on President Donald Trump’s anticipated Supreme Court nominee, asking them to wait for the result of November’s election before filling the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s spot.“Please, follow your conscience,” Biden said. “Don’t go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience; let the people speak.
How Climate Change Skeptics Are Dealing With the California Wildfires
“What changed your mind?” “Living what I’ve lived through.
U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 200K as officials fear fall surge
As the milestone approached, President Donald Trump played down the virus while his health experts urged Americans to keep up their guard.