Today's Liberal News
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.
“Decades in the Making”: How Mainstream Conservatives & Right-Wing Money Fueled the Capitol Attack
As more details emerge about those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, it’s becoming clearer that the insurrection was not the work of a “fringe” group, but rather the result of a decades-long conservative effort to undermine democracy, according to author Brendan O’Connor.
Conservatives Show Loyalty To Trump At CPAC
With a golden statue of Donald Trump, Republicans showed the former president remains a political force.
The COVID-19 relief communities of color are desperate for is on its way, with no Republican support
The House turned to work on the COVID-19 relief package Friday—President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, an ambitious response to try to restore the nation’s physical and economic health following a year of pandemic and a year of callous negligence from Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. That negligence looks more and more like a deliberate effort by Republicans to further what seems to be their only guiding principle these days: white supremacy.
Republicans aren’t turning away from Trump’s Big Lie, because confronting the truth is too painful
It’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) time, and Sen. Ted Cruz is knocking them dead—both metaphorically and literally—with jokes about how wearing a mask during a pandemic is “dumb.
Democrats come up with Plan B for raising the minimum wage. Republicans keep lying about it
Since the Senate parliamentarian advised that a minimum wage increase cannot be part of a budget reconciliation bill, Democrats are looking for Plan B, a way to fulfill the promise and the desperate necessity to raise millions of people above the current poverty-level federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
‘Waving the bloody shirt’: Conservatives resort to a time-worn tactic to gaslight the public
If you watched Republicans on the Sunday news talk programs this weekend, you could be forgiven if you experienced a surreal, out-of-body feeling seeing every Republican official invited on for interviews claim, without a scintilla of evidence, that the November presidential election was stolen by Joe Biden. Even worse, they did so with zero pushback from their network hosts.
In those moments, you could see the various strands of right-wing narrative regarding the Jan.
John Durham resigning as US Attorney, but won’t let go of pointless ‘investigation’ of Russia probe
John “Bull” Durham announced on Friday afternoon that he is stepping down from his position in the Department of Justice. Presumably this also means an end to his role as special counsel investigating the origins of the Russia investigation. (Note: latest reporting indicates he’s not dropping the probe.) In the announcement of Durham’s resignation, there is no mention of any further indictments or report upcoming from that investigation.
Democrats Can’t Hike the Minimum Wage. Their Backup Plan Stinks.
It would actually be better to do nothing.
CNN’s Jim Acosta Surrounded By Jeering Crowd At CPAC
People were chanting “CNN sucks,” while one woman urged, “Get him! Get him!
Luxury Aviation Companies—and People Who Can Afford Them—Are Living in a Different World Than the Rest of Us
“When you go private, you stay private.
Revealed: Meet The Trump Fanatic Who Tasered A Cop At The Capitol Insurrection
Danny “DJ” Rodriguez brawled with cops, tried to smash out a Capitol window, and assaulted a police officer on Jan. 6. He’s still at large.
Twitter Is Not Impressed With Ted Cruz’s Questionable CPAC Joke About Cancun
Despite the fact that millions of his constituents were left without power in Texas last week, Cruz was still willing to make light of his Cancun trip.
‘To Me, This Penis Is Out of Control’
The world of Danish children’s television is not for the prudish. Kids who turn on the tube in Denmark might be greeted by gratuitous flatulence, cursing, casual nudity, or cross-dressing puppets. , a free-spirited, open-minded approach to life—kids begin discussing love, sexuality, relationships, and consent as early as kindergarten, learning while young that their bodies are things to be acknowledged, not repressed.
Did Helen Keller Really “Do All That”?
A troubling TikTok conspiracy theory questions whether Keller was “real.
CPAC Attendees Boo, Yell ‘Freedom!’ After Being Told To Wear Masks
More than 500,000 people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19. That seemed to cut little ice at the annual gathering of right-wingers.
FDA panel endorses Johnson & Johnson vaccine in 22-0 vote
The vaccine, which is given as a single dose and is easy to ship, appeals to officials struggling to vaccinate hard-to-reach or skeptical populations.
Murderers Should Be Called Murderers
Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its report on the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. If the report were the denouement of a dinner-theater murder mystery, most of the audience would be so confident of the conclusion that they would already be walking out to the parking lot. The crown prince ordered it. In the consulate. With the bone saw.
Dear Care and Feeding: My Black Partner Hopes Our Kids Will Look White
Parenting advice on biracial worries, theater kid annoyance, and teenage anxiety.
The False Dilemma of Post-Vaccination Risk
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. Every day, more than 1 million American deltoids are being loaded with a vaccine. The ensuing immune response has proved to be extremely effective—essentially perfect—at preventing severe cases of COVID-19. And now, with yet another highly effective vaccine on the verge of approval, that pace should further accelerate in the weeks to come.
5 Pandemic Mistakes We Keep Repeating
When the polio vaccine was declared safe and effective, the news was met with jubilant celebration. Church bells rang across the nation, and factories blew their whistles. “Polio routed!” newspaper headlines exclaimed. “An historic victory,” “monumental,” “sensational,” newscasters declared. People erupted with joy across the United States. Some danced in the streets; others wept. Kids were sent home from school to celebrate.
“We Want the Truth Uncovered”: Malcolm X’s Daughter Ilyasah Shabazz Backs New Probe into Assassination
The family of Malcolm X is demanding a new investigation into his 1965 assassination in light of the deathbed confession of a former New York police officer who said police and the FBI conspired to kill the Black leader.
The Assassination of Malcolm X: Ex-Undercover Officer Admits Role in FBI & Police Conspiracy
The FBI and New York Police Department are facing renewed calls to open their records into the assassination of Malcolm X, after the release of a deathbed confession of a former undercover NYPD officer who admitted to being part of a conspiracy targeting Malcolm. In the confession, Raymond Wood, who died last year, admitted he entrapped two members of Malcolm’s security team in another crime — a plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty — just days before the assassination.
“The Whole System Needs to be Indicted”: Attorney Benjamin Crump on Overhauling U.S. Policing
The Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to vote next week on a sweeping police reform bill that would ban chokeholds, prohibit federal no-knock warrants, establish a National Police Misconduct Registry and other measures. The legislation, known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, is in response to a series of high-profile killings of Black people in 2020 and the nationwide racial justice uprising they sparked.