Countless writers, with varying degrees of success, have reimagined the life of Jesus Christ. As my colleague Cullen Murphy wrote in a 1986 essay, “It is hard to think of any other figure who, over the years, has been claimed by so many and in so many different ways and for so many different purposes, who yet has never been identified exclusively with any single cause, and who has remained perpetually available for use.
Men and women saw something very different.
A shocking exposé in The Intercept reveals CIA-backed death squads in Afghanistan have killed children as young as 8 years old in a series of night raids, many targeting madrassas, Islamic religious schools. In December 2018, one of the death squads attacked a madrassa in Wardak province, killing 12 boys, of whom the youngest was 9 years old.
Second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams were administered the shot, as well.
Indigenous and environmental activists have been holding daily protests against the construction of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to a terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, cutting through Indigenous territory and running under more than 200 streams.
President-elect Joe Biden has picked New Mexico Congressmember Deb Haaland to become secretary of the interior. If confirmed, Haaland will be the first Native American to serve in a Cabinet position. Haaland’s nomination was backed by progressives, as well as more than 120 tribal leaders, who sent a letter to Biden last month urging him to select her for the post.
Millions across the U.S. could be forced from their homes in the middle of the pandemic if Congress does not extend the federal eviction moratorium that is due to expire at the end of December. Congress is expected to push the moratorium back by one month, to January 31, in the $900 billion stimulus bill being debated in Washington, but such an extension would only be a temporary fix to a much wider problem. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that one-third of U.S.
In a district where parents are epidemiologists and health policy experts, the meltdown happened one Zoom meeting at a time.
As soon as more doses become available to wider categories of people, much of the immunization program will rely on the honor system.
Disgraceful mass transit, record pedestrian deaths, uncontrolled emissions—transportation could use someone with ambition.
Employees have accused the women-centric company of gender and racial bias.
Surprise medical bills have been surprisingly difficult for legislators to fix. There’s finally hope.
For years, they were addicted to housing developments few could afford.
Officials said they expect the U.S. economy to shrink by 2.4 percent this year, a brighter forecast than they offered just three months ago.
Vaccine euphoria is giving economic forecasters hope for a blockbuster 2021 and stretching stock market valuations to historic highs. It’s a setup that leaves no room for error.
A former high-level employee at Heather Boushey’s think tank publicly aired the accusations on Tuesday night.
“That disqualifies almost every Republican senator and 90 percent of the administration,” the president-elect said of GOP criticism.
Taxpayers are backing more than a trillion dollars in home mortgages, but the agencies buying them are neglecting to consider climate risks.
President-elect Joe Biden promised to reverse Donald Trump’s most restrictive immigration policies during his 2020 campaign, but since he was elected, Biden has not included immigration among his top four priorities. Hundreds of immigrant activists and their allies caravaned through Biden’s home city of Wilmington, Delaware, demanding he issue a moratorium on deportations and advance a path to citizenship for undocumented people within his first 100 days in office.
Images from the past two weeks, including a robot assistant in an Indian hospital, Santa in a snow globe in Seattle, an orangutan returned to Indonesia, Fashion Week in Senegal, a snowstorm in the northeastern U.S., a gingerbread town in Norway, a health-care worker in a nativity scene in Italy, and much more.
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
34 DAYS UNTIL JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE
Julia Conley at Common Dreams writes—Not Just ‘Build Back Better’: Climate Groups Call on Biden to ‘Build Back Fossil Free’:
Demanding far-reaching policies to keep more fossil fuels in the ground and ramp up the renewable energy transition, a coalition of environmental, racial, and economic justice groups
A Black teen convicted of murder when Sen. Amy Klobuchar was a Minnesota prosecutor was released from prison Tuesday after spending 18 years in prison. A pardon board determined the sentence for Myon Burrell, 34, was inappropriate for a child, the Star Tribune reported. Dressed in an Islamic thobe, he told supporters who had gathered outside of Stillwater prison to celebrate his release that he can’t express his gratitude.
Cases of the novel coronavirus are increasing at a rapid rate across the U.S. and health officials worry this trend will only increase as the holiday season continues. Despite recommendations that large gatherings should not take place amid the coronavirus pandemic, some continue to host public events.
The risk of spread as a result of these gatherings is not only high but extremely likely.
Tune in for a conversation about making music and not being afraid of self-promotion.
THIS IS IT, PEOPLE
… the last edition of This Week in Statehouse Action of the year, I mean.
And yes, it’s been a year.
And no, it’s not over.
And no, 2021 isn’t necessarily going to be any better.
In some ways, it’s actually going to be worse.
Oh, you thought we were going out on a sunny, hopeful note?
I am so, so sorry.
But you come here for bad jokes honesty.
Of all people, I expect more from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the first Black woman to lead the city and the first LGBTQ person to do so as well. She, however, is being accused of actively trying to cover up the horrific injustice that left Anjanette Young, a Black social worker, naked with police body-cameras rolling in her own home, the wrong home in a horribly botched city raid on Feb. 21, 2019. “I was terrified.
Stunned states, meanwhile, have been told that their expected vaccine shipments over the next two weeks have been cut nearly in half.
Alex Azar said that he and his children have tested negative and have no symptoms.
The president-elect has put together a varied, talented unit that appears to lack cohesion.
