Today's Liberal News

Fast food workers to strike on MLK’s Birthday, demand $15 minimum wage

Rita Blalock has worked at a North Carolina McDonald’s for 10 years, taking the bus to and from work each day. During the COVID-19 crisis, the 54-year-old has continued cranking out food while suffering from cataracts, risking her health and her life for $10 an hour. Blalock does not have health insurance, and the multibillion dollar company that employs her does not offer her paid sick time or hazard pay to work through the pandemic.

The Atlantic Daily: Three Stories to Watch

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.Erik Carter; Rebecca Cook / ReuterSThe country is on the eve of a transfer of power. But federal officials warn that more violence is possible ahead of next week’s inauguration. Here’s that, and two other stories to keep an eye on this weekend.1.

Pramila Jayapal Is ‘Next-Level’ Angry

It still hurts to swallow or drink. Water tastes off. She can’t sleep. She buried herself under blankets all weekend, but she couldn’t stay warm. Then came the pounding headache, the blocked sinuses. So far, she’s spent more than a week in self-isolation, toggling between British TV dramas and news reports about the rioters who wanted to assassinate her colleagues in Congress. Her husband’s symptoms are the same, but he is older than her and in a high-risk group.

The Atlantic Hires Candace Montgomery as SVP and General Manager of AtlanticLIVE

The Atlantic has hired Candace Montgomery to help lead events as senior vice president and general manager of AtlanticLIVE. Montgomery joins The Atlantic from Essence, where she oversaw all events, including the strategic standup of the Essence Festival of Culture. The Atlantic is also releasing a first look at its early 2021 events lineup, including a new spring tentpole event focused on the pursuit of happiness with an eye to resiliency and recovery.

Listen: Coronavirus Mutations

After a new variant of the coronavirus spread throughout the United Kingdom, daily cases hit record levels and the prime minister ordered a national lockdown. Now more mutations from South Africa and Brazil have made headlines.

The Coronavirus Is Evolving Before Our Eyes

In the final, darkest days of the deadliest year in U.S. history, the world received ominous news of a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Scientists in the U.K. had identified a form of the virus that was spreading rapidly throughout the nation. Then, on January 4, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a lockdown that began almost immediately and will last until at least the middle of February.

Would You Patent the Sun? Polio Vaccine Inventor Jonas Salk’s Son Urges More Access to COVID Vaccine

The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. is set to top 400,000 before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, but rollout of coronavirus vaccines has been slow, with many describing a vexing amount of red tape standing between them and the shot. We look at the development and distribution of another vaccine during the polio epidemic in the 1950s with Dr.

From Charlottesville to the Capitol: Trump Fueled Right-Wing Violence. It May Soon Get Even Worse

As security is ramped up in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the U.S., the FBI is warning of more potential violence in the lead-up to Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Federal authorities have arrested over 100 people who took part in last week’s deadly insurrection at the Capitol, and The Washington Post reports that dozens of people on a terrorist watch list — including many white supremacists — were in Washington on the day of the insurrection.