Today's Liberal News
Money Talks: Government Data Is Going Missing
What Next: TBD’s Lizzie O’Leary unpacks the recent deletion of government data.
USAID to place most personnel on leave, lay off at least 1,600
A federal judge cleared the move Friday after a two-week hold.
Inside RFK Jr.’s health department takeover
Kennedy’s first week at HHS included dismissing the workforce, vaccine advisers and some longtime health priorities.
RFK Jr. prepares shake-up of vaccine advisers
The health secretary is planning to remove members of a panel that recommends vaccines if he sees conflicts of interest.
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 spending freeze spreads chaos across US
Supporters of climate, infrastructure, mortgage, tech, health, veterans’ and other projects expressed alarm as tens of thousands of programs appeared possibly at risk.
Lael Brainard’s ‘Crisis Management Agency’ — and Her Warning For Trump
Joe Biden’s top economic adviser opens up on harrowing moments from her time in the White House, and what makes her nervous about the Trump agenda.
“Gum Up the Works”: David Sirota’s Advice to Democrats on Reversing Trump’s Power Grab
We discuss the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term in office — and the response from the Democratic Party — with journalist David Sirota, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever. He notes that despite Republicans holding all three branches of the federal government, Trump has mainly used executive orders and other decrees to impose his will instead of using legislation.
‘It’s a Psyop’
Shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, the 80,000 physicians, health scientists, disease detectives, and others tasked with safeguarding the nation’s health received instructions to respond to an email sent the day before asking them, “What did you do last week?”
The email arose from a Saturday dispatch issued by President Donald Trump on the social-media platform he owns, Truth Social. “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE,” he wrote.
What Would a Liberal Tea Party Look Like?
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A new president has taken office, elected in response to widespread economic dissatisfaction. Now he’s trying to make big changes to the government, and some voters are upset.
The New Trump Administration Is Doing More Than Just Policing Language
When the government does it, it’s real censorship.
Six Older Books That Deserve to Be Popular Today
“To a true collector,” the German philosopher Walter Benjamin noted in his 1931 essay “Unpacking My Library,” “the acquisition of an old book is its rebirth.” This is an apt way to describe the many lives a single volume may live. On its initial printing, it may receive a flurry of attention from readers and reviewers—or none at all.
The Obvious Inefficiency of Elon Musk’s New Order
On Saturday, Elon Musk, the billionaire charged by President Donald Trump with cutting government waste, alerted the public to a massive inefficiency in the federal bureaucracy: Government employees would soon be distracted from their actual work by a request from on high. In aggregate, hundreds of thousands of man-hours would be squandered. But Musk wasn’t putting a stop to this wasteful time suck of a requirement. He was the one imposing it.
How America Wasted Its Most Powerful Economic Weapon
In the months leading up to February 24, 2022, the day Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden warned that such an action would trigger “the most severe sanctions that have ever been imposed”—a threat that many European leaders echoed.
To Daleep Singh, the White House’s top international economic adviser at the time, Biden’s threat could mean only one thing: freezing Russia’s central-bank reserves.
The Injustice of Justice: Keith LaMar Speaks from Ohio Death Row as Movement Grows to Save His Life
We speak with death row inmate Keith LaMar live from the Ohio State Penitentiary, after the release of The Injustice of Justice, a short film about his case that just won the grand prize for best animated short film at the Golden State Film Festival. “I had to find out the hard way that in order for my life to be mine, that I had to stand up and claim it,” says LaMar, who has always maintained his innocence.
Israel Sends Tanks into West Bank Amid “De Facto Annexation” of Palestinian Lands: Mariam Barghouti
Israel has sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in 20 years, as the Israeli military escalates its offensive that has already displaced 40,000 Palestinians. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Palestinians living in the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps will not be allowed to return to their homes.
Conservatives Win German Election, But Far-Right “Nazi-Curious” AfD Places Second in Historic Rise
Friedrich Merz is poised to become the next German chancellor after his conservative Christian Democratic Union placed first in Sunday’s key election. Social scientist David Bebnowski, speaking from Berlin, tells Democracy Now! that Merz is likely to join with the diminished SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz for another “grand coalition” of establishment parties, which has ruled Germany for much of the last couple decades.
Republicans’ plans for Medicaid have a political problem
GOP lawmakers expected to vote soon on slashing the insurance program for low-income people represent tens of millions reliant on it.
Are We Making an Enemy of Our Biggest Ally?
The Trump administration seems determined to alienate the EU.
If You Want Someone to Thank (or Blame) for Influencers, I Know Exactly Where to Look
Infomercials walked so influencers could run.
Money Talks: Government Data Is Going Missing
What Next: TBD’s Lizzie O’Leary unpacks the recent deletion of government data.
The Key to a Stronger Economy? It’s Housing, Stupid.
American families can’t afford a street fight when it comes to housing reform.
Inside RFK Jr.’s health department takeover
Kennedy’s first week at HHS included dismissing the workforce, vaccine advisers and some longtime health priorities.
RFK Jr. prepares shake-up of vaccine advisers
The health secretary is planning to remove members of a panel that recommends vaccines if he sees conflicts of interest.