Today's Liberal News

Barack Obama: Honor John Lewis by Renewing Voting Rights Act & Ballot Access in the U.S.

In his stirring eulogy at the funeral service for Congressmember John Lewis, President Barack Obama said expanded voting rights would be the greatest way to honor the civil rights icon’s legacy. In a speech that condemned the status of American democracy without ever naming the sitting president, Obama called for Election Day to be declared a national holiday, full congressional representation for Washington, D.C.

Oprah launches a massive #OWNYourVote campaign

Oprah Winfrey has launched a powerful #OWNYourVote campaign geared toward Black women, kicking off a series of events and actions in the run-up to the critical elections in November and beyond with a powerful video. 

The video is a montage of images of women from civil rights movement history; women taking to the streets; and women marching and standing with family.

Muslims worldwide celebrate the biggest holiday of the year with COVID-19 precautions and creativity

Millions of Muslims worldwide this weekend celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the two Islamic holidays of the year. Celebrated this year between July 30 and Aug. 3, Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” is a holiday meant to commemorate the story of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). During the holiday, Muslims worldwide sacrifice an animal—most often a goat, sheep, or cow—to distribute the meat to a family in need.

House Republicans prep for scratching each others’ eyes out to lead whatever’s left of their caucus

The very real possibility that House Republicans lose rather than gain seats in November already has the minority caucus drawing the battle lines for an epic leadership fight.

“If Trump loses, there’s gonna be a mad scramble if we’re in the minority,” one Republican lawmaker told Politico. “There’s people seeing this as an opportunity. … I think it’s gonna be a real fight.

Battleground Texas? Biden campaign announces new moves in the Lone Star State

Texas is increasingly looking like a battleground state, and the Joe Biden campaign is sending some attention that way. The campaign announced six hires in Texas, including state director Rebecca Acuña and deputy state director Jennifer Longoria.

The campaign is also launching digital ads in English and Spanish, commemorating the anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso.

House Democrats subpoena four top aides to Pompeo in probe of inspector general firing

House Democrats have subpoenaed four top aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the ongoing investigation into why Donald Trump axed the agency’s inspector general.

House Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel of New York said the four aides were obstructing the panel’s investigation into the dismissal of Inspector General Steve Linick, who was conducting two investigations into Pompeo.

The Atlantic Daily: 5 Ways America Has Failed During the Pandemic

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.Dina Litovsky / ReduxThe United States is home to just 4 percent of the world’s population but a quarter of its confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.

Listen: A Guide to Birding

On this episode of the podcast Social Distance, Katherine Wells and James Hamblin investigate a new pandemic-compatible hobby.Listen to the episode here:Subscribe to Social Distance on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast platform to receive new episodes as soon as they’re published.Some highlights from their conversation:Jason Ward: The birds that you’re seeing in your yard or in your neighborhood are not there year-round.

Embracing the Compromises of Political Giants

A giant dies and the world left behind feels a bit more tawdry and mundane and uninspiring and small. A melancholy descends, filled with insecurity about the present and seductive nostalgia for the certainty of the past. Where have the great leaders gone, one wonders—the great causes and morality, the clarity and vision? The death of the Nobel Prize–winning Irish politician John Hume is such a moment.

Why Is Anyone Going to Disney World Right Now?

Almost as soon as Serena Lyn stepped back inside the Magic Kingdom, she burst into tears. It’d been four months since the theme park and crown jewel of Walt Disney World’s Florida stronghold had shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Before the parks closed, Lyn had been visiting them twice a week; it was part of her job as a Disney blogger and an Instagrammer with more than 71,000 followers.

‘Thanks for Flying SpaceX’

In recent years, as SpaceX launched rocket after rocket without incident, liftoff became the company’s second-most-impressive feat. The truly dazzling moment came after the rocket had left the ground, and its booster—or, sometimes, two boosters—reversed course high up in the air, flipped around, and glided back down, landing upright on the ground or a barge floating in the Atlantic Ocean, ready to be refurbished and used again.

“They Have No Evidence”: Moroccan Journalist Omar Radi Jailed, Surveilled After Criticizing Gov’t

Award-winning journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi spoke to us from Casablanca on July 16. Two weeks later, on July 29, last Wednesday, Moroccan authorities arrested him on what press freedom advocates call “retaliatory charges.” Now a court has charged Radi with undermining state security by receiving foreign funding and collaborating with foreign intelligence, and also charged him with rape.

Voting Rights Activist LaTosha Brown: Trump Is Hellbent on Undermining Democracy to Win Reelection

With President Trump trailing in most polls, he tweeted recently that he was floating the idea of delaying the November election — something he cannot legally do — and continued his attacks on mail-in voting. “We have a president who is probably the most fascist president that we’ve ever had in this country,” responds LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and the BVM Capacity Building Institute.