Kennedy to meet with Republicans on key committees
Trump’s pick to lead HHS heads to the Hill this week.
Today's Liberal News
How to Move on From the Worst of Identity Politics
Donald Trump’s 2024 victory was about much more than a backlash to left-identity politics. Inflation, among other matters, loomed larger. Still, Trump gained significant ground with Latino, Black, Asian, Arab, Gen Z, and big-city voters. And that, as much as Kamala Harris’s loss, has spurred Democrats to reconsider the role that identity politics plays in their coalition.
Chris Rock Knows How to Troll
During his fourth time hosting Saturday Night Live, Chris Rock brought a particularly magnetic and mischievous energy—one that showed his mastery of being a good-natured troll. In the show’s best moments, it followed suit: The episode was packed with sketches that feinted toward seemingly familiar premises before upending them, and many of Rock’s characters tapped into his punchy stand-up persona and button-pushing sense of humor.
Fossil Record for My Grandmother
for Cedar Sigo
The first fossil of my grandmother is the light they used to find her cancer, how it slithered through her body like a snake.
The second fossil of my grandmother is the sparrow of her voice, how it woke me often,
calling in the night.
The third fossil of my grandmother is the sampler she kept above her bed stitched with
Suffering brings us closer to the Lord.
Glowing From Within
ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana
Day 15 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: glowing from within. This mosaic of images from the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333, about 960 light-years away, in the Perseus molecular cloud. Across the image we see large patches of orange, which represent gas glowing in the infrared.
Six Binge-Worthy Movie Series
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.
Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition.
Few things are better than staying in on a Sunday afternoon and putting on a good movie—or two, or three.
The World Is Spiraling. Why Not Invest in a Dinosaur Skeleton?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I wish I were rich enough to own a stegosaurus,” then there’s an online platform for you.
“Ugly” Christmas Sweaters Used to Have Character. They’ve Become Something Else Entirely.
Most modern interpretations are a sad imitation of what was once a kitschy holiday tradition.
The Industry Destroying Everything Is Coming for the NFL. It Might Have Met Its Match.
The NFL’s only problem is that it needs free-flowing dollars to keep pace with itself.
Police arrest suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
A witness recognized the alleged killer at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
How Trump’s transition could end up hamstringing his agenda
The president-elect’s advisers haven’t yet begun meeting with federal agencies, despite signing an agreement late last month allowing them to do so.
UnitedHealthcare CEO shot and killed in New York City
Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Midtown hotel.
Supreme Court appears skeptical of vaping firm’s challenge to FDA
The agency denied Triton Distribution’s application to sell flavored e-liquids.
Trump’s health nominees want Covid vindication. Here’s how their critique has aged.
Trump’s picks to lead the NIH and FDA were critics of health officials and their pandemic policies.
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.
Biden: Trump’s tax and tariffs plans are a ‘major mistake’
Five weeks after the election, the president took his sharpest swing at Trump’s policy plans.
Trump voters feel very differently about things now that he’s won, our new poll shows
A pair of POLITICO|Morning Consult polls, one conducted in the final days of the election and the other conducted after Trump won, show how public opinion has changed.
It’s still the economy: What TV ads tell us about each campaign’s closing message
The final paid messages: Economy, culture wars and character.
Harris is pounding Trump on fascism. Some Dems think that’s a mistake.
Harris has ratcheted up her warnings about the dangers of a second Trump term in recent weeks.
Uhuru 3: Meet Black Liberation Leader Omali Yeshitela, 83. He Faces 5 Years in Prison on Dec. 16
Three activists with the Uhuru Movement will be sentenced by a Florida judge Monday as part of a legal saga that began when the FBI raided the group in 2022, accusing the antiwar Black liberation group of working as Russian agents. The “Uhuru 3” are Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, and white solidarity activists Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel.
Fasting for Her Son’s Freedom, Mother of Jailed British Egyptian Activist Demands U.K. Pressure Egypt
Laila Soueif is on the 75th day of a hunger strike calling for the U.K. government to push for the release of her son, jailed Egyptian British author and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Charged with spreading false news, Alaa remains imprisoned in Egypt despite having completed his sentence in September. Human rights group say he has been subjected to torture, beatings and horrific treatment while in prison.
Report from Damascus: Relief Mixed with Sadness. Syrians Search for Loved Ones in Prisons & Morgues
We go live to Damascus for the first time since the fall of longtime authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, where the country’s populace is still reeling from the power struggle that forcibly displaced more than a million people over the last months.
The #MeToo Cabinet: Law Prof. Deborah Tuerkheimer on Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Trump & Nominees
President-elect Trump, himself found liable in court for sexual abuse, has picked a striking number of suspected sexual predators for key positions in his incoming administration. Trump’s early pick of former Florida Congressmember Matt Gaetz for attorney general was shot down amid a firestorm over sexual misconduct allegations. Now Trump is pushing hard to keep the rest of his picks on track, including Fox host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump Confronts Republican Rifts
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.
In just over a month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president again. He and his congressional allies want to hit the ground running, but Republican lawmakers are quickly confronting divides and questions over where to start.
A Sky Full of Stars
ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Zamani, M. G. Guarcello
Day 14 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: a sky full of stars. The open cluster Westerlund 1 is located roughly 12,000 light-years away, residing behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
Books and Movies to Sustain an Attention Span
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.
In 2022, my colleague Megan Garber reflected on the transactional side of attention. “Far too often, I find myself mindlessly twitch-clicking on an enticing headline, and then reading, and then regretting,” she wrote. “I pay my attention; I instantly wish for a refund.