Today's Liberal News

Money War: How the U.S. Unleashed Economic Warfare Across the Globe, from Venezuela to Iran

We look at a new Washington Post investigation titled “Money War” that traces the effects of U.S. sanctions under the last four presidents: Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden. According to the report, the U.S government has instituted, in some form or another, sanctions against a third of all other countries around the world, despite no clear evidence that they are effective in influencing target nations’ politics, and in fact may often entrench the power of ruling parties.

The Problem With Donald Trump’s VP Theory

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.
Vice-presidential candidates are highly scrutinized, but Donald Trump recently said that they have no impact on a race. Is he right?
First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:
David A. Graham: Trump is suddenly running scared.

The 2024 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet

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The 2024 presidential election was already like none in living memory: a matchup between the sitting president and a former president.
Then it got even more historically unusual.

Olympics Photo of the Day: Splashdown

Molly Darlington / Reuters
The sport of Kayak Cross makes its Olympic debut in Paris this year. At the beginning of a run, four kayakers drop about 15 feet from a ramp into the water below, then begin paddling as fast as they can down a white-water obstacle course, battling one another along the way. Here, Amir Rezanejad Hassanjani, originally from Iran and now part of the Refugee Olympic Team, drops in at the start of his time-trial run in Vaires-sur-Marne, France.

The Generative-AI Revolution May Be a Bubble

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For the past two years, the biggest tech firms have begun spending historic amounts of money to develop generative-AI products and spread them across the web. The build-out may demand a trillion dollars or more of investment across the economy this decade—more than the Apollo missions or the interstate-highway system.

James Baldwin’s Most Underappreciated Talent

This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
James Baldwin—the playwright, activist, orator, and novelist—was born 100 years ago today. It is no fringe opinion that his work changed American letters forever. (Earlier this year, for example, The Atlantic named Giovanni’s Room one of the greatest American novels of the past century.) Today, Vann R.

Prisoner Swap with Russia “Offers a Possible Pathway” to Peace in Ukraine, Says Katrina vanden Heuvel

We speak with The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel about the prisoner swap between Russia, the United States and several other countries on Thursday that saw the release of 24 people, with 16 prisoners in Russia traded for eight Russian nationals held in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere. It was the biggest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West since the Cold War era. Among those released are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S.

Picking Shapiro as VP Would Remind Voters Kamala Harris Is Liberal, Not Progressive: Marc Lamont Hill

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is reportedly at the top of the list of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House. But many progressives have raised alarm about Shapiro’s record, including his support for corporate tax breaks and school vouchers, his relationship with oil and gas companies, and his demonization of pro-Palestinian protesters.

“Simply Lying”: Marc Lamont Hill Slams Trump’s NABJ Interview, Attacks on VP Harris’s Racial Identity

We speak with journalist Marc Lamont Hill amid Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris. The Republican presidential nominee was interviewed this week at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he claimed Harris “happened to turn Black” for political expediency, even though she has always been open about her Jamaican and Indian American parents and identifies as both Black and South Asian.

The Real Trade-Off With Russia

Last night, the anticipation of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West was nearly unbearable for advocates of prisoners held in Russia. My own sleep was fitful. Among those who might be released were journalists, dissidents, and human-rights workers I knew in Russia, or whose work I’ve covered as a reporter.

Olympics Photo of the Day: The Moment of Impact

Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty
In the split-second after taking a huge punch to the face, Canada’s Wyatt Sanford was photographed during a match against Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev in the men’s 63.5-kilogram quarterfinal boxing event at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte.

A Skeptic Attends the First Modern Olympics

This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present and surface delightful treasures. Sign up here.
The Olympics stir a sense of patriotism in me that’s surprising in its ferocity.

The Kremlin Gets What It Wants

Russia and its junior partner, Belarus, have agreed to a prisoner exchange with the United States and Germany. The deal includes the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and the Russian British journalist and Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza among the people who are being released after arrests and convictions on various charges.

Elon Musk Says He Would Recognize a Harris Election Victory

Yesterday, Elon Musk told me that he will accept the results of the 2024 presidential election. “Of course” he would, he said when I asked him as much by email. Ever the gentleman, he added, in apparent haste, “Don’t be jackass.”
I can imagine why he wanted to get that dig in. In years past, asking someone whether they believe in the basic reality of America’s electoral process would be a little bit like asking them to acknowledge that they have to pay for groceries.