Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. The end of the coronavirus pandemic is on the horizon at last, but the timeline for actually getting there feels like it shifts daily, with updates about viral variants, vaccine logistics, and other important variables seeming to push back the finish line or scoot it forward.
It’s a bit weird … but what if I don’t want it to stop?
Protesters in Yangon have in recent days gathered near the imposing red doors of the Chinese embassy in the city, denouncing China for what they say is its support of this month’s military coup in Myanmar. Conspiracy theories have swirled about the arrival of Chinese technicians to help Myanmar’s new junta build its own “firewall” to control the internet.
The court will take up the abortion “gag rule” and public charge policies, both of which Biden is expected to reverse.
Parenting advice on picky eaters, naming disagreements, and kids who are just “a lot.
Only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for aid through the massive Paycheck Protection Program.
As winter storms overwhelmed Texas, many incarcerated people in the state went days without heat and water, making already grim conditions behind bars even more intolerable for thousands of people. Officials say 33 prisons across the state lost power and 20 had water shortages after the state’s electrical grid failed.
When millions of Texans lost power during extreme winter weather, some who were fortunate enough to keep the lights on now face astronomically high energy bills, with people being charged thousands of dollars for just a few days of energy use. The skyrocketing bills are a result of the state’s years-long push to deregulate its energy market, says Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program.
Millions of Texans are still suffering after severe winter weather devastated the state’s energy and water systems. About 8 million Texans remain under orders to boil water, and 30,000 homes still have no power. Around 70 deaths have now been linked to the winter storms, including at least 12 people who died inside their homes after losing heat.
Biden’s HHS nominee would have multiple levers to help undocumented workers obtain medical coverage.
“Hatchet houses” survived a terrible year by providing a valuable public service.
President Biden’s plan would actually do a lot of good—but it could do even more.
From the Capitol riot to LGBTQ representation, reality is intruding on the company’s traditional, conservative fantasy.
Thanks to the pandemic, it’s never been easier to give your mayor an earful.
Some governors are increasingly rankled by federal maneuvers like moving vaccine out of their control, creating early friction as Biden wraps up his first month.
Poor countries and global health advocates have been pushing wealthy nations to share some of their supply, warning that the inequitable vaccine rollout could leave them playing catch-up for years.
“This is a huge decline,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the numbers for the CDC. “You have to go back to World War II, the 1940s, to find a decline like this.
I’m living with them to help care for my dad, and I’m miserable.
Parenting advice on adult ADHD, new mom support, and infidelity revelations.
Allies laud Brian Deese’s leadership on the stimulus negotiations, but he’s rubbed some the wrong way.
The U.S. wants to stop new coal projects, but risks losing poor countries to Beijing’s “Belt and Road” agenda.
Investors are pumping up bubbles across markets, with excitement growing about more stimulus and widespread vaccinations.
As the critical swing vote in a 50-50 Senate, Joe Manchin has emerged as the most powerful man in Washington.
The decision breaks with the Trump administration’s opposition to Okonjo-Iweala and brings the U.S. in line with much of the rest of the world.
Democracy Now! first aired on nine community radio stations on February 19, 1996, on the eve of the New Hampshire presidential primary. In the 25 years since that initial broadcast, the program has greatly expanded, airing today on more than 1,500 television and radio stations around the globe and reaching millions of people online.
As Democracy Now! prepares to mark 25 years on air, we celebrate Nermeen Shaikh’s 10th anniversary as a Democracy Now! co-host and feature a report she filed from protests at New York’s JFK Airport against the Trump administration’s Muslim ban, one of the many highlights from her time on the program.
Students, campaigners and top Democrats have been pushing President Joe Biden to use executive authority to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt per person. Student loan debt in the U.S. stands at $1.7 trillion, with some 45 million people owing money. Filmmaker and organizer Astra Taylor, an author, documentary director and organizer with the Debt Collective, says Biden has clear legal authority to cancel student debt. “Not doing this is a choice,” she says.
While COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations appear to be waning, the United States has a long way to go before people can safely return to everyday life without masks. Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says it’s vital to stay vigilant even as vaccinations ramp up. “If we can get our transmission down as low as possible, that is actually going to make the vaccines more effective.
Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
Naomi Klein at The New York Times writes—Why Texas Republicans Fear the Green New Deal.
In the era of school shootings, “posting a video attack of teacher unions with wall of guns backdrop — deplorable,” a Twitter user snapped.