Today's Liberal News

When a White Republican Teen Invited a Black Pastor to Preach in His Hometown

Each installment of The Friendship Files features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.This week she talks with two men whose lives were altered by a chance encounter. When he was a teenager, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove heard Reverend William Barber II preach, and invited the Black pastor to speak at his majority-white, strongly Republican high school.

The Books Briefing: When Poets Write Novels

After the success of Ocean Vuong’s poetry collection Night Sky With Exit Wounds, some dismissively suggested that the poet explore themes other than “war, violence, queerness, and immigration,” Kat Chow reported in a 2019 Atlantic profile. But Vuong wasn’t done considering those topics. So he disregarded his critics and wrote a novel.

“Let the People Pick the President”: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College

As Donald Trump and Joe Biden make their final campaign pushes in battleground states that could decide the election, we speak with author and journalist Jesse Wegmen about the case for abolishing the Electoral College system altogether and moving toward a national popular vote for electing the president. Two of the last three presidents — George W. Bush and Donald Trump — came to office after losing the popular vote.

Native American Voters Could Decide Key Senate Races While Battling Intense Voter Suppression

Native American voters could sway key Senate races in next week’s election in Montana, North Carolina, Arizona and Maine. Investigative journalist Jenni Monet says that for many tribal citizens, the contest is not just about Democrats and Republicans. These voters “support those who understand their sovereignty,” says Monet, who writes the newsletter “Indigenously.” She is a tribal citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna.

The Simple Rule That Could Keep COVID-19 Deaths Down

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. During the first COVID-19 surge of the spring, the mantra was “Flatten the curve”—to buy time, using every tool available.Seven months later, it’s possible to measure what that time has bought: The death rate for COVID-19 has fallen dramatically.

Donald Trump’s Reelection Campaign Is Total Camp

If Donald Trump loses this election, maybe he’ll join The Village People. The 1970s band famous for leather chaps and questionable headdresses has become a wacky touchstone of this dour campaign season, and it’s thanks to the president. At his rallies, crowds have been warming up to “Macho Man,” The Village People’s 1976 single about having pride in a “big, thick mustache.

The Rare Sight of a Political Reckoning

These days, it is rare that a piece of political news can make your jaw drop. But the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from Britain’s Labour Party lit up social media—and my phone—like a fireworks display.Until April, Corbyn was the leader of Britain’s main opposition party. (He stood down less than four months after leading Labour to a thumping general-election defeat last year.) The man who replaced him, former lawyer Keir Starmer, supported the punishment.

Photos of the Week: Murder Hornets, Giant Hands, China Fashion

Giant waves in Portugal, continued wildfires in California, scenes from Fashion Week in Beijing, the final days of presidential campaigning in the U.S., protests in Chile and Poland, thousands of white flags for COVID-19 victims in the U.S., motocross racing in Sweden, and much more.

Thursday Night Owls: Kavanaugh and Barrett show they’re political operatives not impartial justices

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Matt Ford at The New Republic writes—Brett Kavanaugh Will Have His Revenge on America. He and Amy Barrett have demonstrated this week that they should be thought of as political operatives, not justices: 

Two years ago, Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend himself against allegations of sexual misconduct.

Montana Democrat tricks Chris Christie into doing Cameo message trolling Republican Greg Gianforte

Cameo is an online service that allows you to get celebrities and other public people to record messages to send to friends and family. It’s used to send well wishes and birthday wishes, silly messages, and the like. Celebrities usually address their phone camera, for a price, and use the person’s first name.

Democratic candidate for governor of Montana Mike Cooney decided to take advantage of this service—in the service of his own campaign.

Coney Barrett confirmation stirs ‘sleeping giant’ pro-choice religious community

In the weeks leading up to Monday’s Supreme Court confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, there was a slate of reporting about abortion and religious communities. Much of the reporting was ahistorical, inaccurate, and failed to convey that Coney Barrett was not confirmed despite her inexperience and extreme views, but because of her inexperience and extreme views.

Coalition sues Customs and Border Protection for records on agency’s role in suppressing protests

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) failed to disclose information as required by law regarding its deployment to national protests following the police killing of George Floyd earlier this year, so a coalition of leading civil and immigrants’ rights organizations have now sued the out-of-control federal immigration agency in order to force it to release the records.

COVID-19 Is Killing My People—And No One Seems to Care

At half past one on the morning of July 1, my 60th birthday, I awoke shivering. Since summertime chills are rare in South Texas, I immediately grew concerned. As the director of public affairs for Hidalgo County, just one county removed from the bottom of the state, I had been spending my days urging people to be on the lookout for symptoms that might indicate a COVID-19 infection. Chief among them were chills and a fever.