Today's Liberal News
CDC balks at watchdog’s push to remake Covid-19 tracking
The GAO wants to know why health agencies’ Covid-19 data are still inconsistent and confusing to track.
‘Repeal and replace’ is dead. Republicans can’t figure out what comes next.
The pandemic and Biden’s incremental policies have scrambled the party’s usual lines of attack.
The One Word That Could Decide Whether Democrats Hike the Minimum Wage
It all comes down to the subjective linguistic judgment of an unelected congressional functionary.
How Screwed Is the Trump Hotel D.C.?
The former president is stuck with a money-losing monument to his administration’s graft, and so is Washington.
What Is Salesforce Really Selling?
Behind the flashy events and quasi-spiritual jargon is a software service that wants to swallow the whole business world.
The Bigger Issue Behind the Student Debt Forgiveness Debate
The argument over how much debt to cancel—and how to cancel it—needs to focus on the causes of the racial wealth gap.
4 takeaways from Xavier Becerra’s confirmation hearings
Two days of hearings exposed fault lines that could shape President Joe Biden’s post-pandemic agenda and will define health policy debates leading into the midterm elections.
The Buffalo Bills’ Covid touchdown could be the key to unlocking some normalcy
The Bills’ aggressive testing put fans back in the stadium.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s sister dies from Covid as city passes 1,000 deaths
Mercia Bowser was the mayor’s only sister and died just short of her 65th birthday.
The Rise and Fall of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Marriage, as Told by Her Infamous Instagram Posts
In 2012, Kardashian began two of her most important relationships: with Kanye West and with Instagram.
My Girlfriend Says Her Cheating Is Fine Because She’s a “Relationship Anarchist”
Did she really not do anything wrong?
Biden targets smallest businesses with exclusive aid window
Only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for aid through the massive Paycheck Protection Program.
Biden’s economic point man draws praise — and pushback
Allies laud Brian Deese’s leadership on the stimulus negotiations, but he’s rubbed some the wrong way.
Biden aims to isolate China on coal — but it could blow back on the U.S.
The U.S. wants to stop new coal projects, but risks losing poor countries to Beijing’s “Belt and Road” agenda.
‘Clearly not healthy’: Markets are giddy about reopening — and that’s the problem
Investors are pumping up bubbles across markets, with excitement growing about more stimulus and widespread vaccinations.
‘The Democratic version of John McCain’
As the critical swing vote in a 50-50 Senate, Joe Manchin has emerged as the most powerful man in Washington.
Biden Canceled Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy, But Asylum Seekers Still Wait in Squalid Refugee Camps
One of the most controversial Trump-era immigration policies — the so-called Remain in Mexico program, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols — left about 25,000 asylum seekers stranded on the other side of the border while their cases progressed through U.S. courts. President Joe Biden has suspended that program, but immigrant advocates say his administration needs to move more quickly to undo the damage.
Photos of the Week: Giant Teapot, Arizona Sunset, Egyptian Goose
Moving a home through the streets of San Francisco, ski jumping in Germany, hiking the Great Wall in China, visiting a ski resort in Tehran, opening a “hug room” in Rome, taking a vaccination selfie in Spain, surfing in front of Mount Fuji, walking a snow maze in Manitoba, and much more.
Costco CEO Doesn’t Get Lindsey Graham’s Problem With A $15 Minimum Wage
Costco is upping its minimum pay to $16 an hour because “paying employees good wages makes sense,” W. Craig Jelinek told the Senate Budget Committee.
Thursday night owls: Climate change is weakening ocean currents that shape the weather
This is the final edition of Night Owls, a themed open thread
that has appeared at Daily Kos since 2007.
Bob Berwyn at Inside Climate News writes—Climate Change is Weakening the Ocean Currents That Shape Weather on Both Sides of the Atlantic.
The MyPillow Guy is ‘definitely’ just the beginning: Dominion CEO promises more lawsuits
The CEO of Dominion Voting Systems—which is either a nondescript electronic voting company or a Borg-like collection of sentient machines powered by Hugo Chavez’s ghost, depending on whom you ask—is clearly done playing games. But what he’s not done doing is suing the pants off his company’s detractors. (Not literally, of course. I mean, the company sued Rudy Giuliani, and the one thing you want to leave that guy with is pants.
Capitol Suspect’s Ex Turns Him In After He Calls Her A ‘Moron’ For Doubting Election Fraud
Pennsylvania man Richard Michetti apparently sent his ex-girlfriend text messages and two videos from inside the Capitol.
This Week in Statehouse Action: Good Grief edition
The pandemic situation is gradually improving (scary variants notwithstanding), but pretty much everything else is bad and getting worse.
I feel a little bad about sharing my sadness and dread here, but I’m always going to be honest with you about Statehouse Action.
You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown: Another week, another slew of voter suppression bills from GOP state legislators.
While U.S. taking steps to speed up release of asylum-seeking kids, advocates say concerns remain
The Biden administration will allow officials to bypass policy that required relatives and other sponsors to have to pay for the flights of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in U.S. custody, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Government policy has typically required sponsors to have to pay for the transportation costs of children they’ve agreed to care for.
Mitch McConnell Says He’d ‘Absolutely’ Back Donald Trump In 2024 Presidential Race
It’s a stunning turnaround from his angry comments this month that Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the deadly storming of the Capitol.
‘His eyes enlarged’: Chicago cops accused of violently arresting man for looking shocked to see them
Newly released police video shows a Black Chicago officer grabbing the neck of another Black man, slamming him against a brick wall, and forcing him onto the pavement, allegedly for looking shocked to see officers. That’s right. Officers claimed in an incident report ABC 7 Chicago obtained that they approached Leroy Kennedy IV on Aug.
Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against $15 Minimum Wage In COVID-19 Bill
This is a devastating blow to the campaign to raise the minimum wage
When a Company Invests in an ‘Underdog City’
The country is full of “underdog cities”—communities and regions that are aware of losing out and having been overlooked. Some are in Appalachia, some in the Deep South, some around the Great Lakes, some in inland regions of otherwise-prospering states in the West.
The Winter Surge Is Melting Away
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection represent people who died on that day. Reported deaths lag behind cases by two to three weeks on average, and many reported deaths actually took place substantially earlier. When reported cases rose during previous surges, deaths lagged weeks behind. The same is true now, as cases decline.