Today's Liberal News
Top White House economist set to depart amid coronavirus recession
The acting chair of the CEA will leave Trump without another senior economist as discussions start about a new economic aid package.
‘It’s going to be a slow slog’: Economists knock down hopes of quick rebound
“We have a long road ahead of us to get those people back to work,” Jerome Powell said earlier this week.
Powell’s warning on pandemic clashes with Trump’s upbeat tweets
“Significant uncertainty remains about the timing and strength of the recovery,” Powell said.
Kudlow says $600 additional unemployment checks will end in July
He said that “almost all businesses” understand the $600 additional benefit is “a disincentive.
Fed sees need for more small business aid, citing ‘acute risks’ to survival
The central bank signaled that it would keep interest rates low through 2022.
Outbreak at San Quentin: COVID Is Skyrocketing in CA Prisons. Why Haven’t More People Been Released?
As coronavirus rapidly spreads through California’s overcrowded prisons, 400 people have tested positive for the virus at San Quentin State Prison. Advocates and incarcerated people warn conditions behind bars make it nearly impossible to stop the virus once it enters. We speak with Adnan Khan, executive director of Re:Store Justice, an organization that advocates for policy and alternative responses to violence and life sentences.
How Black Lives Matter Protests Are Shifting Racial Justice Dialogues in Professional Sports
The Black Lives Matter protests are dramatically shifting dialogues about racial justice in sports, says former NBA player, author and activist Etan Thomas. He describes how athletes are forcing a reckoning about systemic racism in professional sports, including in NASCAR, which has rallied around the sole Black driver competing in the Cup Series, Bubba Wallace, who led a push to ban Confederate flags from races. “It’s amazing what’s happening in NASCAR,” Thomas says.
Photos of the Week: Yoga Dome, Iron Lady, Speedo Mick
Mountaintop yoga in China, a sunrise over Glastonbury Tor, a solstice fire in Lithuania, a baby hippo in France, a sneaky gull in Denmark, a field of lavender in England, statues pulled down in the U.S., “Rays of Victory” in Russia, a concert for plants in Spain, a ski run in Australia, and much more.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare
The president is moving forward with the legal attack, even as some Republicans worry it will hurt the party’s electoral prospects.
Trump reportedly open to second round of stimulus checks to boost his reelection chances
Months after direct coronavirus stimulus checks were sent and spent, Donald Trump is getting around to thinking another set of checks would be a good thing for his reelection prospects (because you know he’s not thinking about the well-being of individual Americans). First he’s going to have to convince Republicans in Congress and members of his own administration.
Donald Trump’s “Rocket Ship” Economy Isn’t Taking Off. It’s Exploding.
The plan to reignite business without containing the coronavirus has left us living in the worst possible scenario.
‘You broke my ribs!’: Black man sobs in pain after Georgia cop takes him down for crime he didn’t do
A Black man is accusing a Georgia police department of using excessive force when he was shown on video being grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by an officer in a takedown the man said broke his ribs. Antonio Smith, the injured man police identified, wasn’t even the suspect officers were looking for, police confirmed on social media Monday after an inquiry from Valdosta Daily Times.
Far-right Idaho legislators’ session whips up extremists’ sound and fury over COVID-19 orders
A cluster of far-right Idaho lawmakers—15 of them out of the 105 there are total—held a “special session” of their own this week in the Statehouse in Boise to decry Gov. Brad Little’s COVID-19 stay-at-home orders as “unconstitutional” and a prime example of “tyranny.” The session, however, had no effect other than to underscore their impotence.
Philadelphia hospital tries to deport undocumented patient as he recovers from a serious accident
This week, the family of an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant who sustained serious injuries in an accident was able to stop his deportation from a Pennsylvania hospital—a deportation organized not by federal immigration authorities, but by the hospital itself.
On May 10, A.V. (initials of the patient used to protect his privacy) was seriously injured in Philadelphia when a man on a motorcycle crashed into him.
America’s winning continues: Macy’s announces it will lay off 3,900 ‘corporate and management jobs’
On Thursday, retail giant Macy’s announced new “restructuring” plans to “address sales impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to Macy’s, the company—like most retail businesses—is facing steep declines in profits as a result of the current public health and economic crises.
Maxine Waters Rips Trump For Focusing More On Dead Confederates Than COVID-19 Toll
Trump’s “negligence and lack of care for the American people is contemptible,” says the California congresswoman, who lost her older sister to the coronavirus.
States plead for help while White House touts success in curbing virus
On private task force calls with states, Pence’s team rarely offers more guidance than what Trump has publicly asserted.
Running For Reelection, Trump Talks Like He’s Running For President Of The Confederacy
Why pander to the “heritage” of a rebellion started solely to defend the right to own Black people as slaves? Critics say it’s simple: He’s a racist.
Trump Has Dismantled More Monuments Than Any Protest
The president is threatening 10-year prison sentences for anyone who vandalizes a monument. He has destroyed four himself, including one honoring Native American cultural heritage.
HHS whistleblower’s controversial claim: Azar is punishing him
Rick Bright claims the HHS secretary instructed staffers not to cooperate with him in his new role.
Media Brutally Calls Out John Bolton For Putting Money Over Patriotism
The former national security adviser was humiliated on CNN, Fox News and “The View” for not testifying during Trump’s impeachment trial.
A State-by-State Coronavirus Tracker
Editor’s Note: The data used in our COVID-19 tracker are updated daily around 5 p.m. ET. How many people have the coronavirus in your state, and how many people are being tested for it? The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic is monitoring vital information about the pandemic in each U.S. state, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.All 50 states regularly report their new positive cases, as do Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The Atlantic Daily: A Catastrophic Week in the U.S. Pandemic
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.The AtlanticThe second surge is here. The U.S. logged more coronavirus cases in the past week than in any since the start of this outbreak.This latest phase is striking states that were relatively spared earlier, such as Texas and Arizona.
Jack Abramoff, The Face Of Corrupt Lobbying, Charged In Yet Another Lobbying Scheme
One of the world’s most infamous corrupt lobbyists was charged in yet another corrupt lobbying scheme.
Who Cares if the IRS Sent Stimulus Checks to Dead People?
This isn’t the scandal journalists are making it out to be.
CDC chief: Covid-19 infections could be 10 times higher than confirmed cases
The CDC on Thursday removed a specific age threshold on its guidance for who is at high risk of contracting the virus and now says risk increases steadily with age among adults.
A Burst of Light Unlike Any Captured Before
Astronomers don’t usually jump out of bed when they receive alerts in the middle of the night that, somewhere far away, two black holes have smacked into each other and sent shock waves coursing through the universe. These days, the detection of colliding black holes verges on routine, and astronomers know what to do: Go back to sleep.
The Supreme Court Didn’t Have to Rely on Xenophobic Logic
A little more than a century ago, in what are known as the Chinese Exclusion Cases, the Supreme Court said that the political branches possess sweeping powers over noncitizens who are seeking to enter the United States. The Court’s reasoning for granting Congress and the president these expansive powers wasn’t just because of some special status of the border. Rather, the Chinese Exclusion Cases were rooted in racism and xenophobia.