Today's Liberal News
‘We need to step forward’: Fed leaders call for new focus on race in the economy
The comments from the leading Fed officials were the latest evidence of the central bank’s growing attention to persistent inequality in the economy.
Amy Coney Barrett Won’t Say Climate Change Is Real; Forgets 1st Amendment Protects Right to Protest
We air highlights from the second day of questioning of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who faced eight hours of questions on Wednesday about her views on issues ranging from climate change to voting rights to gay marriage and abortion, as Republicans race to confirm her ahead of the election and secure a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court for conservatives.
Friday Night Owls: Excerpts from the November edition of Harper’s Index
Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
Here are a few excerpts from the November Harper’s Index for your Friday pleasure and frustration:
Percentage by which the population of the average wildlife species has declined globally since 1970: 68
In Latin America and the Caribbean: 94
Rank of deforestation among the causes of wildlife decline on land: 1
Portion of its viewership that the cable channel A&E lost after canceling
Our new model tells you how urban, suburban, and rural every congressional district is
Suburbia has repeatedly cropped up in the headlines this election season, ever since a more-bizarre-than-usual Donald Trump tweet-pitched to the “Suburban Housewives of America,” pledging to protect them from invasion by evildoers.
Like most things he believes, of course, Trump’s views are divorced from current reality about the suburbs.
Major Democratic group books over $8 million to flip Texas Senate seat
Senate Majority PAC announced Thursday that it was booking $8.6 million in Texas to help Democrat MJ Hegar unseat Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a big move that makes it the first major outside group to reserve TV time in the priciest state on the 2020 Senate map.
Angered judge orders ICE to reduce population at facility hit by COVID-19, slams officials as liars
A federal judge put Trump administration officials through the wringer this week, calling them liars and ordering them to start reducing the detainee population at a notorious immigration prison devastated by the novel coronavirus pandemic by at least 50 people per day. The judge first issued a ruling in April, but the administration has fought it as more at the notorious California prison have gotten sick.
Mississippi Republican senator is refusing to debate, with excuses that show contempt for voters
Debates haven’t gone so well for some of the Republican senators facing tough challenges this year—see Ernst, Joni—and one Republican who isn’t supposed to have a hard time has decided not to give herself the chance to screw up. Mississippi’s Cindy Hyde-Smith is refusing to debate Democrat Mike Espy.
‘Worst American President’: New York Times Flames ‘Racist Demagogue’ Trump
He “cannot solve the nation’s pressing problems because he is the nation’s most pressing problem,” declares a blunt editorial.
Sen. David Perdue Takes Racist Jab At Kamala Harris’s Name
“Ka-MA-la, KA-ma-la, Kamala-mala-mala. I don’t know, whatever,” said Perdue, who’s been her colleague in the Senate for years.
Biden’s Promise to Be a President for All Americans Isn’t Just Cheesy Rhetoric
It’s a policy reversal from a presidency that helps red states and harms blue ones.
The Atlantic Daily: QAnon Isn’t Going Away
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.EVAN VUCCI / APLast night, President Donald Trump was given the opportunity to denounce QAnon outright. He didn’t.As my colleague Russell Berman writes, that news is shocking but not surprising.
How the Pandemic Is Worsening America’s Racial Gaps
Covid isn’t just disproportionately killing people of color; it’s sticking them in a feedback loop that exacerbates economic and racial inequity, says Chicago economist Damon Jones.
FBI Probing If Russia Involved In Hunter Biden Email Story
Trump ally Rudy Giuliani gave The New York Post emails allegedly belonging to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. But it’s still unclear if they’re real or if they were hacked.
Woman Who Said She Liked Trump’s Smile During Town Hall Is Still Voting For Biden
“I wish he would he would smile more and talk less,” Paulette Dale said.
Federal deficit triples to $3.1T, Treasury data shows
Government spending exceeded more than $6.5 trillion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, up from $4.4 trillion in fiscal 2019.
Katie Porter ‘Strongly’ Disagrees With Dianne Feinstein About The Coney Barrett Hearing
“I thought it was a very poor set of hearings,” the California congresswoman said.
Aaron Sorkin’s New Film Is the Right Story for This Moment
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a courtroom drama where no one—neither the characters, nor the viewers—expects that justice will be done. When the defendants take their seats at the start of Aaron Sorkin’s new Netflix film, the audience already knows that the charges against them are ludicrous and the result of a political vendetta.
Listen: Is COVID-19 a Preexisting Condition?
Many Americans have relied on the Affordable Care Act during the pandemic, but an upcoming Supreme Court case may invalidate it. With worries about the ACA looming over Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, staff writer James Hamblin and executive producer Katherine Wells are joined on the podcast Social Distance by Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Pfizer delivers final blow to Trump’s hope for preelection vaccine
There won’t be a coronavirus vaccine ready before Election Day, despite President Donald Trump’s repeated promises and vaccine makers’ breakneck speed.
Trump administration announces vaccine deal for long-term care facilities
Two national pharmacy chains will administer an eventual coronavirus vaccine to high-risk groups.
What Teacher Friends Talk About When Students Aren’t Listening
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 elementary-school teachers, both in their 16th year of teaching. They have been friends since the beginning of their careers, but they’ve never faced a school year like this one.
The Books Briefing: Can Democracy Survive Without Journalism?
Newsboy selling the Chicago Defender. (Jack Delano / Library of Congress)Throughout the summer of 1916, “tired of being kicked and cursed,” tens of thousands of African Americans migrated from the South to the North in hopes of a better life—inspired in no small part by the nation’s leading Black newspaper, The Chicago Defender.The paper printed accounts of horrific murders by lynching, and demanded federal military intervention to stop the killings.
Pfizer won’t seek coronavirus vaccine authorization until after election
The move by Pfizer continues the company’s push to publicly distance itself from the presidential race.
Dark Money & Barrett Nomination: The Link Between Big Polluters & the War on ACA, Roe & LGBT Rights
During confirmation hearings this week for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island opted not to ask the judge any questions. Instead, he gave a 30-minute presentation on how right-wing groups, including the Federalist Society and Judicial Crisis Network, use dark money to shape the nation’s judiciary.
Chris Christie, out of hospital after battling Covid, urges Trump to go further on masks
“I think we should be even more affirmative about it,” the former New Jersey governor said.
Preserving Roe: West Virginia Mom Tells Abortion Story in Heartfelt Speech Against Amy Coney Barrett
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from Crystal Good, who spoke about her experience of having an abortion and expressed concerns that Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would limit access to safe, affordable care. During three days of hearings, Judge Barrett has repeatedly refused to answer questions about her views on abortion and the future of Roe v. Wade, despite her public record opposing reproductive rights.
Deeply Troubling: Kristen Clarke on How Rush to Confirm Barrett Endangers Voting & Civil Rights
The Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett ended Thursday with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee scheduling a vote on her nomination for October 22, with a full Senate vote to follow shortly thereafter — less than two weeks before the presidential election, in which the Supreme Court could play a decisive role.
