Today's Liberal News

‘An awful lot of preventable deaths happening right now’ in the Upper Midwest

In North Dakota, COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen so far that the state will “allow” asymptomatic, COVID-19-positive healthcare workers to keep working, Gov. Doug Burgum announced this week. Allowed. The lucky ducks.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in South Dakota increased by 26.5% last week, but Gov. Kristi Noem is still rejecting a mask mandate, and her spokesman points to the fact that 34% of the state’s hospital beds remain vacant.

Friends testify good character should win accused Arbery murderer bond. Then come the racist texts

Imagine being accused of hunting down and murdering a man in broad daylight, sending blatantly racist text messages, then having the audacity to have your friends argue you should be released on bond because you’re a good person. If you can’t even imagine it, it’s likely because white privilege hasn’t served you with the same optimistic audacity as it has Travis McMichael.

The Atlantic Daily: 9 Nostalgic TV Shows to Watch

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.A worsening pandemic may leave many Americans stripped of holiday comforts. Although an old TV show is no substitute for a hug from a loved one, perhaps some solace can be found in the familiar faces of beloved characters.

Listen: A 90 Percent Effective Vaccine

Pfizer announced this week that early data show its vaccine to be “more than 90 percent effective.” But what does that actually mean? And does it change the timeline for a return to “normal life”?Stephen Thomas, the chief of infectious disease at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the lead principal investigator of the Pfizer vaccine trial, answers questions on the podcast Social Distance from staff writer James Hamblin and producer Katherine Wells.

What Just Happened in Georgia?

ATLANTA—Georgia wasn’t supposed to turn blue. Not yet, and especially not in the suburbs of Atlanta, where Newt Gingrich arguably launched the modern conservative movement in the early 1990s and cemented the stereotype of these sprawling neighborhoods as rich, white, and die-hard Republican. This is where a generation of conservative political stars fostered their careers: former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, longtime U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, even Sean Hannity.

Why Matthew Yglesias Left Vox

GETTY / THE ATLANTICThe journalist Matthew Yglesias, a co-founder of Vox, announced today that he is leaving that publication for the paid-newsletter platform Substack, so that he can enjoy more editorial independence.The move may prove a good fit for Yglesias, who began his career as a highly successful independent blogger before blogging at The Atlantic and then elsewhere.

Forget SNL. The Best Election Satire Is on TikTok.

Just hours after Joe Biden was declared president-elect of the United States, and as massive celebrations gripped cities around the country, Dave Chappelle took the Saturday Night Live stage to puncture the jubilant mood. He started his monologue with a story about his great-grandfather, who’d been born into slavery in South Carolina. “I thought about him all day today, because I wish I could see him now.

Voting Activist Desmond Meade on Re-enfranchising People & Why “Ex-Felon” Is a Dehumanizing Label

In Florida, tens of thousands of newly eligible voters who were previously disenfranchised due to their criminal records turned out to the polls for the 2020 election. Amendment 4, a measure that in 2018 overturned a Jim Crow-era law aimed at keeping African Americans from voting, restored voting rights to people with nonviolent felonies who have completed their sentences and was hailed as the biggest win for voting rights in decades.