Today's Liberal News

Politicians Aren’t Cool Enough to Curse This Much

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 winter of early 1981 was a simpler time, a gentler time. Like so many college students, I was watching Saturday Night Live in the living room of my small dorm when the SNL cast member Charles Rocket dropped an f-bomb on live television. I looked around at my fellow students.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia

Updated with new questions at 4:10 p.m. ET on October 8, 2025.
Welcome back for another week of The Atlantic’s un-trivial trivia, drawn from recently published stories. Without a trifle in the bunch, maybe what we’re really dealing with here is—hmm—“significa”? “Consequentia”?
Whatever butchered bit of Latin you prefer, read on for today’s questions. (Last week’s questions can be found here.)
To get Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day, sign up for The Atlantic Daily.

“Stripped for Parts”: Secretive Hedge Fund Accused of Plundering U.S. Newspapers

The new documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink looks at how hedge funds have gutted newsrooms across the country. The hedge fund strategy of “distressed asset investing” involves buying up industries that are struggling to turn a profit, and then selling off their assets and laying off workers. “You have people who are interested solely in making money off of the newspapers and not in serving the community and doing good journalism,” says director Rick Goldsmith.

“Scary Precedent”: GOP Blocks Rep.-Elect Adelita Grijalva from Taking Seat Amid Epstein Files Fight

Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election for a House seat in Arizona two weeks ago, has still not been sworn in to Congress. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is blaming the government shutdown for the delay, even though he previously expedited the swearing-in of multiple Republicans who won their special elections before election results were even in.

Rep. Ro Khanna: Republicans Could End Shutdown, Lower Healthcare Costs Today

As the government shutdown enters its second week, Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California says “the Republicans could open government today.” The two parties are at a standoff over provisions in the Republican spending bill that would cut health insurance benefits for millions of Americans. President Donald Trump said Tuesday furloughed government workers may not be paid, breaking with precedent and a 2019 law.

The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here

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.
To capture a democratic nation, authoritarians must control three sources of power: the intelligence agencies, the justice system, and the military.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia

Updated with new questions at 5:15 p.m. ET on October 7, 2025.
Welcome back for another week of The Atlantic’s un-trivial trivia, drawn from recently published stories. Without a trifle in the bunch, maybe what we’re really dealing with here is—hmm—“significa”? “Consequentia”?
Whatever butchered bit of Latin you prefer, read on for today’s questions. (Last week’s questions can be found here.)
To get Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day, sign up for The Atlantic Daily.

Don’t Bet Against Bari Weiss

You could be forgiven for not knowing how much people love CBS News. I certainly didn’t until a few weeks ago, but the hoary institution is once again being described as the “Tiffany network”—Edward R. Murrow saying, “Good night and good luck”; Walter Cronkite taking the manliest moment in all of live television to get control of himself after announcing the death of John F. Kennedy; and … the trail grows cold.

The Destruction of One of America’s Oldest Traditions

Throughout Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for the presidency, he repeatedly indicated his desire to deploy National Guard troops into the “crime dens” of American cities and against the “enemy within.” This promise, at least, he has kept. Over the past four months, the president has sent the Guard into the streets of Los Angeles and the District of Columbia.

The Atlantic Announces Paul Beckett as Senior Editor and Staff Writers Lily Meyer, Alex Reisner, Simon Shuster, and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Atlantic is announcing the addition of five journalists as part of a continued newsroom expansion: senior editor Paul Beckett and staff writer Simon Shuster, both as part of its growing national-security team; Lily Meyer, previously a contributing writer, as a staff writer covering books and culture; Alex Reisner, who covers tech and AI and moves to staff from contributing writer; and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, who will join as a staff writer covering politics from Arizona.