Today's Liberal News

Athena

As you imagined me, I came
      to you, near as the sound of an owl
           in the clearing, then nearer,
my eyes two moons, one holding
      the gaze of another, silver
           under an olive leaf—bridle,
bit, chariot, ship, the water chinning
          the scant prow, shearwater
                 splitting the gold waves.

What Is America’s Gender War Actually About?

This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here.
The United States is politically polarized along several lines, including race, geography, and education. Heading into a general election that will once again offer voters a choice between a Democratic woman and a Republican man, gender may seem like the clearest split of all.

Athena

As you imagined me, I came
      to you, near as the sound of an owl
           in the clearing, then nearer,
my eyes two moons, one holding
      the gaze of another, silver
           under an olive leaf—bridle,
bit, chariot, ship, the water chinning
          the scant prow, shearwater
                 splitting the gold waves.

What Is America’s Gender War Actually About?

This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here.
The United States is politically polarized along several lines, including race, geography, and education. Heading into a general election that will once again offer voters a choice between a Democratic woman and a Republican man, gender may seem like the clearest split of all.

Paris Olympics Slammed for “Social Cleansing,” Mass Displacement, Militarization & Greenwashing

Just hours before Friday’s opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, a series of apparently coordinated arson attacks were reported on France’s high-speed rail network. No one has claimed responsibility yet. Before the games, protests highlighted the displacement of thousands of migrants, unhoused people and other vulnerable communities as “social cleansing.

Meet the Journalist Who Lost Her Leg in Israeli Strike & Carried Olympic Torch for Slain Colleagues

As Paris hosts today’s opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics, we speak with Lebanese photojournalist Christina Assi of Agence France-Presse, who carried the Olympic torch Sunday in Paris to honor journalists wounded or killed on the job. Assi lost her leg in the same Israeli attack that killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon on October 13, and says carrying the Olympic torch was a great opportunity to highlight the “atrocities” happening in the region.

“Unspeakable”: Doctors Back from Gaza Say Death Toll “Much Higher,” Push Harris, Biden for Ceasefire

We speak to two doctors who are part of a group of 45 U.S. doctors, surgeons and nurses who have volunteered in Gaza since October 7 and wrote an open letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, demanding an immediate ceasefire and an international arms embargo of Israel. The group includes evidence of a much higher death toll than is usually cited: more than 92,000 people, which represents over 4% of Gaza’s population.

“The Only Answer Is Peace”: Israeli and Palestinian Activists Share Vision of Coexistence

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, many Democratic lawmakers skipped the speech and held an alternative event on Capitol Hill to promote peace. The panel discussion featured Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers who have both lost family members to violence. Inon’s parents, Bilha and Yakovi Inon, were killed in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Trump Says Americans ‘Won’t Have to Vote Anymore’ If He Wins

Yesterday, former President Donald Trump told a group of supporters that they won’t have to vote again if they elect him to the presidency. “You won’t have to do it anymore,” Trump said at the Turning Point Believers’ Summit in Florida. “It’ll be fixed; it’ll be fine; you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.

Olympics Photo of the Day: A Moment of Victory

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
Fencers can be very demonstrative during matches, and the impact of participating in the Olympics seems to intensity the many reactions of all competitors. Today’s photos from Paris, on day one of the Games, captured so many faces full of raw emotion, and I felt that this was a fantastic representative image of the moment.

Kamala Harris and the Countdown to Election Day

Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.
With 100 days to go until Election Day, the bid for the White House has the energy of a new race: Donald Trump’s campaign to defeat Joe Biden has been turned upside down since Kamala Harris became the Democrat’s presumptive nominee for president.

California’s Fire Luck Just Ran Out

For two years, the fire gods cut California a break. The winter rains came down heavy, and brought the state’s yearslong drought to an end. Plants started growing again. Grasses were green. The poppies bloomed larger than normal. For awhile, living here meant seeing the place’s better nature—going outside and exploring the mountains and lakes and vineyards, without thinking of breathing in toxic smoke plumes.

The Curse of Perfectionism

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
Many of us have been told that perfectionism is unhealthy. We know we’re supposed to simply “do the best we can” and “go easy on ourselves.” But for the most perfectionist-inclined among us, that’s much easier said than done.