Today's Liberal News

The Unadorned Truth About Donald Trump

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Earlier this year, Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins suggested that voters, in the interest of civic hygiene and personal illumination, attend a Trump rally. This would be the way to understand the candidate, his thoughts, and his supporters, Coppins argued.

Gaza Journalist Shrouq Aila on Continuing to Report After Journalist Husband Killed in Israeli Airstrike

We look at the targeting of journalists in Gaza with journalist Shrouq Aila, who joins us from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Aila’s husband Roshdi Sarraj, a fellow journalist and co-founder of the production company Ain Media, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in October. Aila recounts how Sarraj’s shielding of her and her 1-year-old daughter saved their lives. “Everything went into dust, in just a second,” she says.

Kenya Protests: Police Abduct Activists as Pres. Ruto Rejects Tax Bill Linked to Foreign Debt Crisis

Anti-government protests in Kenya are continuing after President William Ruto made a dramatic reversal Wednesday, announcing he would not sign the finance bill that sparked a nationwide uprising, and would instead send the bill back to Parliament. At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured when police fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters who stormed Kenya’s Parliament building.

Why Your Airport Burger Costs That Much

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
You can get almost anything at the airport in 2024. But it’s going to cost you.
First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:
Why Jamaal Bowman lost
New, ominous signs for gay rights keep emerging.
The center must hold.
You might be a late bloomer.
Warped Airport Logic
A $30 hamburger.

A New Danger at America’s National Parks

This is an edition of The Weekly Planet, a newsletter that provides a guide for living through climate change. Sign up for it here.
The thermometer read 121 degrees Fahrenheit when 71-year-old Steve Curry collapsed outside a restroom in Death Valley National Park last summer. Curry, who’d reportedly been hiking on a nearby trail in Golden Canyon, was just trying to make it back to his car. The National Park Service and the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office quickly responded to the scene.

Even the Iranian Election Is About Trump

A specter is haunting Iran’s presidential election—the specter of Donald Trump’s return to office. Although Trump has been out of the White House for more than three years, he seems to come up more than Joe Biden, and more than other foreign politicians, in debates among the six candidates in the lead-up to Iran’s election on June 28.
To understand why, consider the recent history of Iran-U.S.

How the ‘Owner’s Guide’ Became a Rare Book

Just the other day, I had to read the manual. I’d borrowed my neighbor’s hammer drill to make some holes in a masonry wall, and I didn’t know how to swap the bits. Fortunately, the drill’s carrying case came with a booklet of instructions, which I followed with great success. Many holes were thus produced. This got me thinking: I used to read the manual fairly often; now I almost never do.

Five Books for People Who Really Love Books

My dad likes to fish, and he likes to read books about fishing. My mom is a birder; she reads about birds. There are plenty of books on both subjects, I’ve found, when browsing in a gift-giving mood. These presents don’t just prove I’m familiar with their interests. They’re a way to acknowledge that we read about our pastimes to affirm our identity: Fly-fishers are contemplative sorts who reflect on reflections; birders must cultivate stillness and attention.

Auma Obama, Sister of Pres. Obama, on Kenyan Police Attacks on Youth-Led Tax Protests, 22+ Killed

Political unrest in Kenya erupted into violence Tuesday as authorities opened fire on protesters in Nairobi who oppose President William Ruto’s controversial tax bill. Hundreds of people stormed the legislature and burned part of the building. Meanwhile, inside, lawmakers voted to pass the tax measure, which will raise the cost of many everyday items to pay down government debt.

Julian Assange’s Release “Averted a Press Freedom Catastrophe” But Still Set Bad Precedent: Jameel Jaffer

As Julian Assange returns to his native Australia, press rights advocates warn that his case could cast a long shadow over journalists’ work to investigate and expose government secrets. The WikiLeaks founder has pleaded guilty to one charge of violating the U.S. Espionage Act as part of a deal with the Justice Department that lets him avoid further prison time following five years behind bars in the U.K. awaiting possible extradition to the U.S. He had been facing a possible 175 years in U.

“A Big Deal”: Julian Assange’s Release Welcomed by Australian Senator After Grassroots Campaign

We speak with Australian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, a prominent supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who says the publisher’s case is “a big deal” in the country that cut across political divisions. “It’s taken a really big campaign, a really big grassroots campaign by thousands of people in Australia — indeed, millions of people around the world — to bring this to the attention of politicians.

“Julian Is Free”: Assange Back Home in Australia After Taking U.S. Plea Deal in “Espionage” Case

Julian Assange has landed in Australia a free man, reuniting with his family Wednesday after pleading guilty to one charge of violating the U.S. Espionage Act as part of a deal with the Justice Department. The WikiLeaks publisher entered his plea on the Pacific island of Saipan, part of the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, which lets him avoid further prison time following five years behind bars in the U.K. awaiting possible extradition to the U.S.

Why Jamaal Bowman Lost

The easiest explanation for why Representative Jamaal Bowman lost his Democratic primary in New York today is that he alienated the Jewish voters in his district with his denunciations of Israel. That explanation is reasonable, as far as it goes. Indeed, the race was the most expensive House primary in history largely because a pro-Israel group inundated the district with TV ads attacking Bowman. But that’s not the whole story.