Today's Liberal News
‘They’re the backbone’: Trump’s targeting of legal immigrants threatens health sector
Federal policy changes are having spillover effects on everything from disease outbreak mitigation to long-term care
Profit and Power
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Donald Trump’s willingness to mix public office with personal benefit is facing scrutiny, as are his latest pardons.
HIV’s Most Promising Breakthrough Has Taken a Hit
Updated at 3:38 p.m. ET on May 31, 2025
Solving HIV vaccination—a puzzle that scientists have been tackling for decades without success—could be like cracking the code to a safe. The key, they now think, may be delivering a series of different shots in a specific sequence, iteratively training the body to produce a strong, broad immune response that will endure against the fast-mutating virus, ideally for a lifetime.
When College Graduates Face Reality
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
“History found you.” In 2020, Caitlin Flanagan told recent college graduates that their dreams were interrupted in much the same way her father’s dreams had once been interrupted. In 1941, he was a new student at Amherst College, “and he thought it was paradise,” Caitlin wrote.
When Mission: Impossible Had No Mission
Every major movie franchise has boxes to check. In Jurassic Park, dinosaurs must run amok; in Planet of the Apes, apes have to meditate on intelligence; in The Fast and the Furious, Vin Diesel absolutely has to evangelize the benefits of family, Corona beers, and tricked-out cars. But Mission: Impossible took four films to fully establish its franchise must-have: the ever more blurred lines between its death-defying, stunt-loving star, Tom Cruise, and the superspy he plays.
The Unconstitutional Conservatives
Not too long ago, many Republicans proudly referred to themselves as “constitutional conservatives.” They believed in the rule of law; in limiting the power of government, especially the federal government; in protecting individual liberty; and in checks and balances and the separation of powers.
There’s a Strange Reason Your Graduation Photos Are So Expensive
It’s the product of a multimillion-dollar business built to cash in on your proud moment.
Want to Leave the States This Summer? Here’s What to Know About Getting Back In.
Trump’s policies have made travel feel incredibly fraught. We talked to some lawyers about what to expect.
RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
The health secretary said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet are in bed with pharma.
The CDC is no longer recommending Covid vaccines for healthy children, pregnant women
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the decision without waiting for an agency advisory panel to vote.
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 contract-cutting blitz rattles a once-flourishing DC industry
The General Services Administration, which oversees government contracting, is leading a review of more than 20,000 consulting agreements for what is “non-essential.
Trump’s chaotic economy is causing headaches for Democrats in New Jersey’s governor race
The crowded contest in the Garden State shows how hard it is to address pocketbook issues.
Warren Buffett shocks shareholders by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year
Earlier, Buffett warned Saturday about the dire global consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
‘Anything can happen’: Trump doesn’t seem fazed by recession worries
Trump has blamed shaky economic numbers on his predecessor.
Democrats look to Trump’s poor economic numbers with anxious optimism
Following its latest round of focus groups, Navigator Research is urging Democrats to proactively push their own economic policies.
Jeremy Scahill: Shadowy Israeli-U.S. Aid Plan Is Weapon in “Netanyahu’s War of Annihilation” in Gaza
“The point of this is to lure Palestinians as though they’re animals going into a cage, lure them with the bait of promise of aid, and then entrap them in the south of Gaza.” As starving Palestinians in Gaza compete for the limited trickle of supplies admitted into the enclave by a new U.S.
The TACO Presidency
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One way to trace the past nine years of Donald Trump is the journey from taco bowls to TACO bulls. (Hey, don’t click away! This is going somewhere!)
Back in May 2016, the then–GOP presidential candidate posted a picture of himself eating a Trump Tower Tex-Mex entree. “I love Hispanics!” he wrote.
New Covid shot recommendations appear to contradict Kennedy
An update to the CDC’s website shows that children “may” get the Covid vaccine if their parents and doctors want them to.
The Muddled Message of Bring Her Back
The horror genre has come to feel oversaturated with message films: artistically rendered stories that use scares less to frighten and more to manifest psychological or philosophical themes. So when the Philippou brothers—a pair of Australian directors (and twins) who got their start on YouTube—premiered their feature debut, Talk to Me, it felt like a burst of youthful energy.
The Two Extremists Driving Israel’s Policy
They are the leading extremists in the most right-wing government in Israel’s history: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are both West Bank settlers. They ran together on the same ticket in Israel’s most recent election, gaining more votes than ever before for the far right. They both want Israel to reoccupy all of Gaza, to renew Israeli settlement there, and to “encourage” Palestinians to emigrate.
When the Status Quo Doesn’t Cut It
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