Today's Liberal News
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.
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.
7 things to watch for during Trump’s joint address to Congress
Look for a more emboldened president compared to the Trump of 2017.
“A Devastating Tragedy”: 1,000+ People Killed in Syria Amid Reports of Massacres Against Alawites
In Syria, over a thousand people have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians, in a spate of massacres largely targeting the country’s Alawite religious minority. Syria’s longtime ruling family, the Assads, are members of the Alawite sect. The recent clashes began Thursday after coordinated attacks by gunmen linked to the former regime killed over 200 members of the new government’s security forces.
Donald Trump, Tesla Salesman
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In 2023, Donald Trump posted that electric-car supporters should “ROT IN HELL.” Now he is showcasing Teslas on the White House lawn.
NIH set to replace chief of staff with former Massie aide
The move is likely to tighten the Trump administration’s control over the public health agency.
Elon Musk Looks Desperate
For years, Donald Trump’s critics have accused him of behaving like a crooked used-car salesman. Yesterday afternoon, he did it for real on the White House South Lawn.
Squinting in the sun with Elon Musk, Trump stood next to five Tesla vehicles, holding a piece of paper with handwritten notes about their features and costs. Trump said he would purchase a car himself at full price. Then Trump and Musk got into one of the cars.
The Man Who Owned 181 Renoirs
Of all the ways that today’s plutocrats spend their billions, founding an art museum is one of the more benign, somewhere behind eradicating malaria but ahead of eradicating democracy. The art in these museums is almost always contemporary, reflecting the dearth of available old masters along with a global chattering-classes consensus that avant-garde art is socially, intellectually, and culturally important.
Bong Joon Ho Will Always Root for the Losers
The director Bong Joon Ho’s new movie, Mickey 17, at first seems like a major pivot from his previous one, 2019’s Parasite. After winning Best Picture at the Oscars for the domestic (if gonzo) Korean black comedy, he’s following it up six years later with a lavish Hollywood sci-fi epic starring Robert Pattinson. But even though Mickey 17 is set in outer space about 30 years from now, its hero isn’t that different from those found throughout Bong’s filmography: a working-class schmo.
The Iranian Dissident Asking Simple Questions
Sadegh Zibakalam is in trouble again. The retired 76-year-old professor of political science was already serving an 18-month sentence for criticizing the Iranian regime. He came out on medical furlough—only for Tehran’s prosecutor to start investigating him again. Now Zibakalam, one of Iran’s best-known public intellectuals, whose combined followers on Instagram, Facebook, and X total almost 2 million, is worried he may be sent back to prison.
“Monumental Step”: Ex-Philippines Pres. Duterte Arrested, Sent to Hague for Crimes Against Humanity
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is being flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court over his brutal “war on drugs,” during which police extrajudicially killed thousands of people, including many children. The ICC has been investigating Duterte since 2018. Duterte, now 79, served as president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
“Impeach Trump Again”: John Bonifaz on Fighting Trump’s Lawlessness, Corruption & Attacks on Judges
More than 250,000 have signed a petition to support an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, who was twice impeached during his first term. The Impeach Trump Again campaign is being led by the advocacy group Free Speech for People.
Trump’s Trade War: Why Lack of Universal Healthcare Makes U.S. Less Competitive
President Donald Trump’s growing trade war against other countries is wreaking havoc on financial markets, upending the global trade system and angering long-standing U.S. allies. Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on a range of imports, including aluminum and steel, since his inauguration. Many countries have responded with their own retaliatory tariffs on U.S.
The Most Ambitious Crossover Event in Antitrust History
Neither of these companies needs to have its hand in another industry.
Why the GOP Trap for Big-City Mayors Didn’t Work
This was supposed to be the college presidents hearing redux. It didn’t work out that way.
Why Your Budget Soon Won’t Be Able to Include So Many Little Splurges
The only thing holding this country together is the promise of a little treat, and these tariffs may just take them away.
They’re Sprouting Up in Every Rich Neighborhood in America—Including Mine. I Had to Know Where They Came From.
My quest to understand the 5,600-square-foot architectural curiosity that appeared next door.
Top US health agency makes $25,000 buyout offer to most of its employees
The workers have until 5 p.m. on Friday to submit a response for the so-called voluntary separation offer.
‘He needs to do much more’: RFK Jr.’s measles response under scrutiny
The health secretary’s muted response to the first major disease outbreak on his watch worries even some allies.
Another health care disruptor is set to join RFK Jr.’s team
The Covid contrarian’s Senate confirmation hearing to lead the National Institutes of Health promises another airing of pandemic grievances.
Trump admin moves to drop fight over emergency abortions, reversing Biden admin stance
An Idaho hospital is stepping in to argue that the state’s near-total abortion ban violates patients’ rights.
Democrats’ Medicaid strategy gets a reboot after GOP cancels town halls
The outside group Indivisible said Democrats should hold their own town halls — and if Dems don’t, they’ll hold their own.