Today's Liberal News

The Oscars Have Left the Mainstream Moviegoer Behind

In the years since it began a committed effort to diversify and expand its membership, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has weathered strikes, the pandemic shutdown of theaters, and constant hand-wringing about declining TV ratings and potential cultural irrelevance. But one trend has remained consistent for the Academy Awards, the voting body’s annual big event: The Academy has been getting more and more international.

Grover Cleveland’s Warning for Trump

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.
Donald Trump is now the second president to return to the White House after losing a bid for reelection. The first was Grover Cleveland, who ran a successful campaign in 1884 and 1892.

Israel Continues Deadly Attack on Jenin; Trump Lifts Sanctions on Extremist West Bank Settlers

While a ceasefire is largely holding in Gaza, Israel is intensifying attacks on the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has killed at least 13 people in a major military operation targeting Jenin that began on Tuesday when Israeli troops raided the city, backed by airstrikes, drones and U.S.-made Apache helicopters, following a six-week siege. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have been “emboldened” by Trump’s lifting of sanctions on far-right Israeli settler groups.

Ex-FBI Agent: Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardons Send Dangerous Message Encouraging More Far-Right Violence

Former FBI special agent Mike German, whose new book Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within chronicles his experience working undercover in far-right, white nationalist militias and warns of the unchecked danger they pose to American society, responds to Trump’s mass pardons of January 6 insurrectionists, many of whom were members of or affiliated with far-right militias.

“A Terrifying Moment”: Son Who Tipped Off FBI Fears for His Life After His Father Receives Jan. 6 Pardon

Upon returning to the presidency, Donald Trump has granted presidential pardons to over 1,500 of his supporters involved in the violent January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, including members of far-right, anti-government militias like our guest’s father. Guy Wesley Reffitt helped lead the crowd that stormed the Capitol, just weeks after his then-18-year-old son Jackson attempted to warn the FBI about his plans.

Trump Targets His Own Government

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Within hours of taking office on Monday, Donald Trump released a raft of executive orders addressing targets he’d gone after throughout his campaign, such as immigration, government spending, and DEI.

Stargate Isn’t a Victory for Trump

Late yesterday afternoon, the president of the United States transformed, very briefly, into the comms guy for a new tech company. At a press conference capping his first full day back in the White House, Donald Trump stood beside three of the most influential executives in the world—Sam Altman of OpenAI, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Masayoshi Son of SoftBank—and announced the Stargate Project, “the largest AI infrastructure project, by far, in history.

David Lynch Captured the Appeal of the Unknown

David Lynch famously abhorred explaining himself. “Believe it or not, Eraserhead is my most spiritual film,” the director once said of his esoteric debut feature, during a 2007 interview. When asked to elaborate, he replied, smiling: “No, I won’t.

How America’s Fire Wall Against Disease Starts to Fail

For more than 60 years, vaccination in the United States has been largely shaped by an obscure committee tasked with advising the federal government. In almost every case, the nation’s leaders have accepted in full the group’s advice on who should get vaccines and when. Experts I asked could recall only two exceptions.

Trump’s Second Term Might Have Already Peaked

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Ever since Donald Trump emerged as a credible threat to return to the White House, the guardrails that seemed to restrain him in his first term—political, legal, psychic—have collapsed with astonishing speed. His nominees are sailing through their confirmation hearings, including some who are underqualified and ideologically extreme.