Today's Liberal News

The Dome Is Watching You

On a recent Wednesday night in Los Angeles, I was ready to buy a hot dog with my face.
I was at the Intuit Dome, a $2 billion entertainment complex that opened earlier this month. Soon, it will be the home of the L.A. Clippers, but I was there to watch Olivia Rodrigo, queen of teen angst, perform a sold-out show. The arena was filled with people wearing purple cowboy hats and the same silver sequin miniskirt, all of us ready to scream-sing for two hours straight. But first, we needed food.

Paralympics Photo of the Day: A Perilous Challenge

Michel Euler / AP
Mason Symons of the United States and Mike Whitehead of Canada vie for the ball during the 2024 Paralympics wheelchair rugby match between United States and Canada on August 29, 2024, at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris. Wheelchair rugby, also known as “murderball,” can offer some of the most physical and fierce competition in any arena.

The Challenge of Negotiating With Xi Jinping

As China’s leader, Xi Jinping, intensifies his campaign to reshape the U.S.-led global order, the big question hanging over international affairs is: How will he choose to do it? Xi purports to be a man of peace, offering the world fresh ideas on diplomacy and security that could resolve global conflicts.

Warnings of Nuclear Catastrophe as Power Plants in Russia and Ukraine at Risk Amid Escalating War

As Ukrainian forces press their counteroffensive deeper into Russian territory, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned of the heightened risk of a nuclear catastrophe from fighting near the Kursk power plant. The war between the two countries, now in its third year, has also impacted the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, controlled by Russian forces in the occupied southeastern part of Ukraine.

“Gender Apartheid”: Taliban Approves Law in Afghanistan Requiring Women Remain Silent in Public

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is drawing renewed outrage over a new law banning women’s voices in public, forcing them to completely cover their bodies and faces out of the home, and more. This comes after the Taliban banned women from working in most fields and ended girls’ education past primary school following their takeover of the country in 2021.

Trump Dishonors Fallen Soldiers Again

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On Monday, Donald Trump visited the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery, where many of America’s war dead are buried, and posed for photos. In the strangest of these pictures, the former president is smiling and giving a thumbs-up by the grave of a Marine.

Paralympics Photo of the Day: A Flying Cauldron

Kacper Pempel / Reuters
The final Paralympic torchbearers gaze at the “Flying Cauldron” after lighting it in Paris on August 28, 2024. More than 4,400 athletes from more than 180 delegations have gathered in Paris once again, this time to take part in the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. Competitors will vie for medals in more than 500 events across 22 different sports.

What I Heard at Swifties for Kamala

You might not be shocked to learn that Elizabeth Warren’s favorite Taylor Swift song is about cosmic justice.
“I love ‘Karma,’” the senator from Massachusetts said last night during a Zoom event for a group called Swifties for Kamala. “And I have a thing or two to say about private equity!” The 34,000 attendees probably would have cheered, but, as is typical for such a massive webinar, only the organizers had control of the microphone and camera. Warren was undaunted by the lack of response.

The Growing Gender Divide, Three Minutes at a Time

My friends gave me a bit of grief for the headline of one of my recent articles: “The ‘Espresso’ Theory of Gender Relations.” The title, admittedly, was a bit heady for a story about a catchy song full of beverage-related puns. Was I overintellectualizing pop, which is supposed to be the dumbest music of all?
Nah. Sabrina Carpenter, who sings the smash “Espresso”—and its follow-up hit, “Please Please Please”—deserves to be taken seriously.

Introducing: We Live Here Now

About a year ago, we met our new neighbors—and ultimately found out that they are key figures in the Justice for January 6 movement. One is Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed in the Capitol building on January 6. Another is the wife of the first person sentenced after standing trial for crimes related to January 6. We could have kept our distance.

Latino Rights Groups Urge DOJ to Investigate TX Attorney General for Raiding Homes of LULAC Leaders

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing accusations he is using his office to suppress Latino voters in the state. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the country’s oldest Latino civil rights group, is calling on the Justice Department to investigate Paxton over a series of police raids on the homes of LULAC members, state lawmakers and other community leaders in the San Antonio area last week.

“Five-Alarm Fire for Democracy”: New GOP Rules Could Block Election Results in Georgia and Beyond

New voting rules in key battleground states could impact the 2024 election results. In Georgia, Democrats are suing to halt a set of Trump-backed election rules which Democrats say could be used to block certification of election results if they win in November. “It appears that Georgia Republicans are laying the groundwork not to certify the presidential election if Kamala Harris wins,” explains Ari Berman, who is the voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.