Today's Liberal News
Biden’s bubble risk: A reckoning in markets as the economy recovers
“I mean, Shaq has a SPAC. What could go wrong?” one economist says of the euphoria rippling through Wall Street and raising a new round of worries.
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.
Burmese Scholar: Military Junta Using Terror Against “Entire Population” to Keep Power After Coup
In Burma, mass protests continue after at least 18 people were killed in anti-coup protests, marking the deadliest day since the February 1 military coup which deposed and detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Police fired live ammunition into crowds as Burmese forces steadily escalated their crackdown. One local group says 1,000 people were arrested, including journalists and medical professionals.
Arizona Republicans send a silent, clear message after lawmaker speaks at white nationalist event
Here’s today’s Republican Party in a nutshell: Arizona Republicans censured Cindy McCain for endorsing Joe Biden for president. When Rep. Paul Gosar spoke at a white nationalist conference, the Arizona Republican Party was silent.
Gosar showed up at the America First Political Action Conference on Friday night, serving as its surprise keynote speaker at the same time as the House was debating COVID-19 relief.
Biden administration brokers deal between two corporate competitors to vastly boost vaccine supply
The Biden White House has brokered a highly unusual deal among two would-be corporate competitors in an effort to substantially increase COVID-19 vaccine supply across the nation, according to The Washington Post.
The deal involves pharmaceutical behemoth Merck helping to manufacture the newly approved vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson.
New study finds about 300 fewer police killings in cities where Black Lives Matter protests happened
It’s difficult to gauge the success of any movement aimed at affecting widespread and systematic change. That’s especially true for the Black Lives Matter movement, which has what can feel like the insurmountable aims of eradicating white supremacy and fighting police brutality in Black communities. But as difficult as it is to quantify the movement’s success, it’s just as difficult to ignore its impact.
Biden gives Senate ‘moderate’ Democrats a chance to sound off on $1.9 trillion relief plan
The Senate could kick off floor consideration of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan as soon as Wednesday, and not a moment too soon for the millions of people who could see the unemployment insurance end March 14. The Senate is going to move forward with a bill that doesn’t include a hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Republicans brazenly lie to cover their tracks from Jan. 6 insurrection because it actually works
The reason MAGA-loving Republicans lie so obviously and remorselessly is really pretty simple: It works.
The two most brazen falsehoods they keep repeating to justify the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection—“the election was stolen” and “antifa did it”—are in fact widely believed by Republican Donald Trump voters, over 70% of whom ardently believe the first claim, and some 58% of whom lap up the latter lie as well.
White House Withdraws Neera Tanden As Budget Director Nominee
President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget was in danger of not being confirmed by the Senate.
The Absurd Nike Scandal That Has Sneakerheads Losing Their Minds
A tale of “insider trading,” but sneakers.
Brianna Keilar Goes Off On Kayleigh McEnany For Claiming To Be ‘Shocked’ By Capitol Riot
“When the grenade that you’ve been helping build for months finally explodes in your face, that is just inevitable,” the CNN host said,
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Radiant Robot
Na Kim
This article was published online on March 2, 2021.Girl AF Klara, an Artificial Friend sold as a children’s companion, lives in a store. On lucky days, Klara gets to spend time in the store window, where she can see and be seen and soak up the solar energy on which she runs. Not needing human food, Klara hungers and thirsts for the Sun (she capitalizes it) and what he (she also personifies it) allows her to see.
Biden Says U.S. Will Have Enough Vaccine Supply For All Adults By End Of May
The president, who previously expected the U.S. to have enough coronavirus vaccines for all adults by the end of July, urged people to continue to wear masks.
Georgia House Approves New Restrictions As GOP War On Voting Rights Intensifies
Since Trump’s loss, Republicans “have made opposing voting rights the central tenet of their party,” one lawyer said.
Texas, Mississippi to lift mask mandates, let all businesses reopen at full capacity
The executive orders announced by the two Republican governors come as health officials warn against loosening restrictions too quickly.
Key Senate Democrats Want to Keep Sending Americans Money As Long As the Economy Remains Bad
Congress is figuring out it can’t always count on itself to help Americans in an economic crisis.
U.S. Supreme Court Leans Toward Upholding Voter Restrictions
The case comes as Republicans in some states are pursuing new restrictions after Trump made false claims of widespread voter fraud.
Years Ago I Made a Huge Mistake, and It’s Ruined My Sex Life
My wife has never been the same sexually since then.
There’s a Better Way to Parent: Less Yelling, Less Praise
At one point in her new book, the NPR journalist Michaeleen Doucleff suggests that parents consider throwing out most of the toys they’ve bought for their kids. It’s an extreme piece of advice, but the way Doucleff frames it, it seems entirely sensible: “Kids spent two hundred thousand years without these items,” she writes.
Dear Therapist’s Guide to Dealing With Regret
Editor’s Note: With Lori Gottlieb on book leave, Rebecca J. Rosen, the editor of “Dear Therapist,” begins another month as The Atlantic’s “Dear Therapist” archivist, pointing readers to some of Lori’s most beloved columns. Today marks the first day of March, the third month of Lori’s book leave. March is always a time of rebirth, a time when we look ahead to spring.
What Happened to Jordan Peterson?
Illustration by Vanessa Saba; photos by Rene Johnston; Chris Williamson; Getty
This article was published online on March 2, 2021.One day in early 2020, Jordan B. Peterson rose from the dead. The Canadian academic, then 57, had been placed in a nine-day coma by doctors in a Russian clinic, after becoming addicted to benzodiazepines, a class of drug that includes Xanax and Valium.
CDC’s draft guidelines for vaccinated Americans call for small steps toward normal life
The agency will recommend that fully inoculated people limit social interactions to small group gatherings.
Don’t Help Your Kids With Homework
So much of the homework advice parents are given is theory-based, and therefore not entirely helpful in the chaos of day-to-day life. People are told that students should have “
This post was excerpted from Freireich and Platzer’s new book.
Because most of us are programmed to focus on present rather than future fulfillment, it’s easy to put off something we dread.
Biden accelerates vaccination timeline after manufacturing deal
The Biden administration helped broker the deal after reports earlier this year that J&J was struggling with production delays.
Anti-Choice Forces Use Pandemic to Slash Abortion Access in Preview of Post-Roe v. Wade World
We look at how people across the U.S. have struggled to access abortions during the pandemic with reporter Amy Littlefield, who says that even before the COVID-19 outbreak, many states had restrictions, including three-day waiting periods and counseling sessions filled with misinformation. Then, many tried to use the pandemic as a pretext for banning abortion as a nonessential service.
Black People Face Higher COVID Infections & Deaths. Should They Have Lower Age Cutoffs for Vaccines?
As the U.S. vaccine rollout continues to expand, health justice advocates worry about a racial gap in vaccinations. Black communities have been hard hit by the pandemic, but rates of vaccination in communities of color lag behind largely white communities across the country. Dr.