RFK Jr. drops plan to have Medicare, Medicaid cover weight loss drugs
The health secretary says better diet and exercise will keep Americans trim.
Today's Liberal News
Wall Street Blew It
After Thursday’s stock-market sell-off provoked by Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would be imposing new tariffs on almost every country in the world, the one thing we can say for sure is that Wall Street blew it. In the three trading days leading up to Trump’s much-anticipated “Liberation Day” speech, the market rose steadily as investors apparently convinced themselves that Trump would not do anything too crazy. Surely moderation would prevail.
Make Smuggling Great Again
President Donald Trump’s high-tariff regime will impose higher prices and lower growth on Americans. It will have another effect that nobody in the administration seems to have considered at all: a tsunami of smuggling.
In a few days’ time, every desirable consumer good will be dramatically more expensive in the United States than on world markets.
The Unending Trouble With TikTok
Déjà vu: TikTok’s time was nearly up, and then President Donald Trump stepped in to save it. This happened in January, and also earlier today, when Trump said that he will sign another executive order to delay a possible ban on the social-media app.
Out of concern about the app’s possible weaponization by the Chinese government, Congress passed a law in April 2024 that required TikTok to spin off from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or else stop operating in the United States.
RFK Jr.’s staff cuts leave health workers scrambling
Employees who survived mass firings this week say management hasn’t provided an accounting.
What’s Next for America’s Largest Creative-Writing Conference
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
Last week in Los Angeles, the author Roxane Gay gave the keynote address at the AWP Conference & Bookfair, the U.S.’s largest annual gathering of creative writers.
Trump says tariff policies ‘WILL NEVER CHANGE’ amid plunging stocks, Chinese response
The president’s sweeping tariff plan has thrown markets into chaos and risks sparking a global trade war.
“Can’t Look Away”: New Documentary Examines How Social Media Addiction Can Harm — Even Kill — Kids
Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media is a new documentary that exposes the real-life consequences of the algorithms of Big Tech companies and their impact on children and teens. In 2022, social media companies made an estimated $11 billion advertising to minors in the U.S., where 95% of teenagers use social media. One in three teens uses social media almost constantly.
“An Attack on Labor”: Washington Farmworker Organizer “Lelo” Detained in Trump Immigration Crackdown
Longtime immigrant farmworker and organizer Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino was pulled over last week by a plainclothes agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an unmarked car who broke his car window and forcibly detained him. “Within not even a minute of interaction, of getting pulled over, he was already in handcuffs,” says Edgar Franks, the political director of independent farmworkers union, Familias Unidas por la Justicia, which he co-founded with Lelo.
Reproductive Rights Crackdown: Planned Parenthood CEO on Supreme Court Case, Title X & More
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that may cut off Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding. Planned Parenthood says the move violates the Medicaid Act’s “free choice of provider” provision, which says patients are entitled to choose their own doctors. The case, brought by the state of South Carolina, could impact the care of low-income patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for a range of non-abortion services, including cancer screenings and full physical exams.
The Reason Behind Trump’s Newest Tariffs Is Dumber Than You Think
He’s turning basic groceries into luxury items.
Money Talks: Journalism’s Big Bad
David Enrich joins to discuss his book on the legal war being waged on journalism.
The Videos From the Myanmar Earthquakes Are Horrifying. This One Haunted Me Most of All.
They expose the fissures in society, between those who have a well-built home, an insurance policy, or somewhere else to go—and those who do not.
You’ve Seen These Words. You Have No Idea What They Mean. Unfortunately, You Really Need To Now.
The most important vocabulary lesson you will get for the next four years.
One takeaway from POLITICO’s Health Care Summit: Trump has broken open America’s partisan divide on health
Republicans painted a picture of a corrupt, broken system. Democrats said Trump’s cuts were putting millions of lives at risk.
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
‘There are no guarantees’: Scott Bessent won’t rule out a recession
He also said he isn’t worried about stock market turbulence, following the worst week in the market in two years.
Trump’s business acumen has long been his armor. It’s being put to the test.
The normally bullish Trump over the weekend declined to rule out the possibility of a full-blown recession as his tariff policies threaten to spark a massive global trade war.
Trump won’t rule out a recession in 2025
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said when pressed about the possibility of a recession during a recorded interview that aired on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
‘He Finally Shot the Hostage’: Trump’s Trade War Is a Brutal Reality Check
Trump imposing new tariffs on top of broader policy uncertainty will mean a hit to growth. The question is how large of a hit it will ultimately be.
What Antitrust ‘Reformers’ Got Wrong
Lina Khan and her allies tried to remake antitrust law. Trump’s team is likely putting an end to that.
Trump Sends Hundreds of Immigrants to Brutal Salvadoran Prison as Mass Deportations Expand
Since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. has expelled hundreds of immigrants and asylum seekers to El Salvador without due process to be detained at the supermax mega-prison complex known as CECOT, with many of them accused of belonging to gangs largely on the basis of having tattoos. The Trump administration recently admitted in a court filing that a Salvadoran father with protected status was among those sent to El Salvador.
The Conspiracy Theorist Advising 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.
For a few months, the Donald Trump White House managed, at least in public, to keep some of the right’s fringiest figures at bay. Until yesterday.
The far-right celebrity Laura Loomer was at the White House on Wednesday.
Which jobs were cut at CDC? Here’s a list.
The Trump administration wants the agency to focus on infectious disease. Other areas of public health were hit hardest.