There’s a Reason Harris’ Campaign Is Locked in on Quick Fixes
The Democratic nominee isn’t campaigning much on the Biden administration’s bigger, slower-moving policies.
Today's Liberal News
Behind the Brain Rot
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.
The image is black-and-white, lending it an air of “historical artifact”: A modern-day Donald Trump standing next to Elvis Presley. The president-elect posted the picture on Truth Social last night. Presley is strumming a guitar; Trump is idling in the frame.
South Korea’s Warning for Washington
A right-wing wannabe authoritarian president—a leader who attacks the press, is accused of abusing power for personal gain, uses his power to block investigations into his family’s potential corruption, hopes to stay in office to avoid heading to prison, and only seems to have concepts of a plan to address his nation’s inflation and health care—declared martial law earlier today.
Trumpists Don’t Seem to Mind Claims of Sexual Assault
Donald Trump is most likely not trying to intentionally assemble a Cabinet chock-full of people accused either of sexual assault or of enabling it, but if he were, he’d be killing it.
Former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has been accused of “sexual encounters” with a minor and paying women for sex, withdrew his nomination for attorney general last month.
Since the Election, I Fear Men
Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you? Are you beset by existential worries? Every Tuesday, James Parker tackles readers’ questions. Tell him about your lifelong or in-the-moment problems at dearjames@theatlantic.com.
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Dear James,
I’ve never been an anxious person. However, since the election, I’ve been experiencing what I imagine are anxiety attacks.
Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar
ESA / Hubble & NASA, L. Kelsey
Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: The Hubble Space Telescope brings us this nearly edge-on view of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4753. Lenticular galaxies have an elliptical shape and ill-defined spiral arms. NGC 4753 sits about 60 million light-years from Earth, and is believed to have merged with a nearby dwarf galaxy about 1.3 billion years ago, creating the distinctive wavy dust lanes around its nucleus.
Live Report: Activists Occupy Canadian Parliament Building to Protest Gaza War & Arming of Israel
“Canada needs to stop arming Israel and implement an immediate arms embargo.” In Ottawa, over 100 Jewish activists began a sit-in inside a Canadian parliamentary building Tuesday to demand Canada stop arming Israel. Rachel Small, a member of the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition and a member of the sit-in, says that the Canadian government’s claims that it is halting arms shipments to Israel are obfuscating the fact that Canadian weapons are still being transported via the United States.
“Acts of Massacre and Ethnic Cleansing”: Haggai Matar on Gaza War, ICC Arrest Warrants & More
We’re joined in our New York studio by +972 Magazine journalist Haggai Matar to discuss the latest developments in Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. Matar is a former conscientious objector who previously refused to participate in Israel’s mandatory military service during the Second Intifada.
After Hunter Biden Pardon, Campaigners Ask President to “Extend Same Compassion” to Cannabis Prisoners
Despite committing to tackling mass incarceration during his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden has rarely used the presidential pardon to commute sentences during his time in office.
Biden in Angola: U.S. Competes with China for Influence in Africa Amid Fight for Key Resources
President Biden is in Angola today in his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president and as the first U.S. president to visit the former Portuguese colony. The U.S. is attempting to transform its relationship with Angola, still marked by the legacy of the Cold War, in order to compete with China’s growing influence, particularly over access to African resources. Biden is expected to promote a U.S.-funded multibillion-dollar railway project connecting Angola to Central Africa.
Gymnasts, Figure Skaters, and Other Artistic Athletes Are Up Against a New, Unlikely Foe
Athletes, coaches, and choreographers are facing the fact that they’ve been unintentionally breaking the law nearly every day.
Welcome to Checking Out, a Column About What We Buy, How We Buy It, and Why It Defines Us Now
How we shop has changed so much, thanks to influencers, the internet, the pandemic, and more. In Checking Out, we’ll talk about all of it.
Trump Told Congress Exactly How He Plans to Attack the Press
He used caps lock, so you know he means it.
Trump picks NIH critic Jay Bhattacharya to lead the agency
The Stanford University physician and economist, known for opposing Covid-19 lockdowns, has been tapped to lead the $47 billion biomedical research agency.
Trump picks Jim O’Neill for No. 2 spot at HHS
If his nomination is approved, the longtime associate of Peter Thiel will work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump weighing O’Neill for HHS deputy secretary
A close adviser to Peter Thiel with ties across Silicon Valley, O’Neill reentered the mix in recent days for the No. 2 HHS job.
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 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.
There’s a Reason Harris’ Campaign Is Locked in on Quick Fixes
The Democratic nominee isn’t campaigning much on the Biden administration’s bigger, slower-moving policies.
The Hunter Biden Pardon Is a Strategic Mistake
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.
President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is a done deal. The president has not only obviated the existing cases against Hunter; the sweep of the pardon effectively immunizes his son against prosecution for all federal crimes he may have committed over the course of more than a decade.
Supreme Court appears skeptical of vaping firm’s challenge to FDA
The agency denied Triton Distribution’s application to sell flavored e-liquids.
Day 2 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan, J. Green
Day 2 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: This image shows the center of the Serpens Nebula, as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera. The Serpens Nebula, located 1,300 light-years from Earth, is home to a particularly dense cluster of newly forming stars, some of which will eventually grow to the mass of our sun.
The Fall of Aleppo Was Oddly Familiar
The fall of Aleppo this weekend surprised even the residents of Aleppo, so you can imagine how flabbergasted foreign analysts were, from thousands of miles away. As recently as a week ago, the Syrian civil war seemed to have reached a dismal equilibrium: The Syrian government controlled most major cities, including Aleppo, and had ceased progress in retaking insurgent enclaves in Syria’s north and east.