Today's Liberal News

The Atlantic Daily: 11 Books We’re Reading This Summer

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.Reading can feel hard right now. It’s as if the books themselves got heavier and longer, and closed off like clams. If you’re struggling to pry one open, let us help: Today, 11 writers and editors from around our newsroom offer inspiration from their own reading lists.

The Statues Brought Down Since the George Floyd Protests Began

In the widespread protests that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, statues of and memorials to Confederate soldiers and generals were vandalized or torn down. Some of the many statues of Christopher Columbus were targeted as well, as voices rose against historic and systemic racism and oppression. State and local governments then began acting to remove even more Confederate statues from public places.

Did the Army Ignore a Soldier’s Murder? Questions Mount over Vanessa Guillén Disappearance

The U.S. Army says it has a suspect in custody in connection with the disappearance of Vanessa Guillén, a missing 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier whose family says her remains were likely found in a shallow grave near the Texas Army base. A second suspect in the case — a soldier who the Guillén family lawyer named as Aaron Robinson — killed himself in Killeen, Texas, as officers approached.

Barbara Ransby on the Biden Problem: Social Movements Must Defeat Trump & Also Hold Dems Accountable

Amid a mass uprising against racism and state violence, social movements are not just fighting hostility and backlash from President Trump, but also dealing with a “Biden problem,” according to historian, author and activist Barbara Ransby. “I think it’s fair to say that Joe Biden is not our dream candidate, by any means,” she says. “We should be critical of Joe Biden. We should be ready to hold Joe Biden accountable come January.

The Untold History of Mount Rushmore: A KKK Sympathizer Built Monument on Sacred Lakota Land

As tribal governments call on President Trump to cancel his Mount Rushmore Independence Day celebration, we look at why Native Americans have long pushed for the removal of the monument carved into the sacred Black Hills and designed by a sculptor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. “This place is very, very sacred to our people,” says Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of the NDN Collective.

#OccupyCityHall: Mayor’s “Tone Deaf” Pledge to Move $1B from NYPD Budget Fails to Satisfy Protesters

New York police have closed in on peaceful protesters camped outside City Hall who are demanding $1 billion be cut from the police department’s $6 billion budget, as the city approaches its July 1 budget deadline. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a budget deal that would move $1 billion in NYPD funding in an apparent nod to protesters’ demands, but organizers say they’re not satisfied.

NJ Latinx Parents & Students Fight Robert Wood Johnson Plan to Demolish Public School

In a story Democracy Now! has followed closely, Juan González shares an update on efforts to prevent the demolition of the Lincoln Annex public school in New Brunswick, New Jersey. City officials are trying to proceed with demolishing the public school this summer, in a move that would force 760 students to be bused to other schools for years, and parents and local activists are holding a rally in front of the Lincoln Annex School.

Study says March through April U.S. COVID-19 death toll may be ‘underestimated’ by as much as 30,000

Whether or not the final tallies of how deadly the 2019 novel coronavirus is will be higher, lower, or the same as the seasonal flu is something we will not know for a long time. We do know that there are well over 10 million confirmed cases around the world (more than a quarter of those cases in the United States) and over 500,000 deaths attributed worldwide to COVID-19.

Supreme Court affirms constitutionality of consumer bureau, but opens executive power can of worms

In addition to announcing what is basically a “stay” on abortion rights on Monday, the Supreme Court also released a mixed opinion on the constitutionality of one of the key post-Great Recession reforms included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. The constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was at issue, and the court decided to split the difference in a decision that is both good and bad for the agency. In short, it still exists.