Today's Liberal News

What I Heard at Swifties for Kamala

You might not be shocked to learn that Elizabeth Warren’s favorite Taylor Swift song is about cosmic justice.
“I love ‘Karma,’” the senator from Massachusetts said last night during a Zoom event for a group called Swifties for Kamala. “And I have a thing or two to say about private equity!” The 34,000 attendees probably would have cheered, but, as is typical for such a massive webinar, only the organizers had control of the microphone and camera. Warren was undaunted by the lack of response.

The Growing Gender Divide, Three Minutes at a Time

My friends gave me a bit of grief for the headline of one of my recent articles: “The ‘Espresso’ Theory of Gender Relations.” The title, admittedly, was a bit heady for a story about a catchy song full of beverage-related puns. Was I overintellectualizing pop, which is supposed to be the dumbest music of all?
Nah. Sabrina Carpenter, who sings the smash “Espresso”—and its follow-up hit, “Please Please Please”—deserves to be taken seriously.

Introducing: We Live Here Now

About a year ago, we met our new neighbors—and ultimately found out that they are key figures in the Justice for January 6 movement. One is Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed in the Capitol building on January 6. Another is the wife of the first person sentenced after standing trial for crimes related to January 6. We could have kept our distance.

Latino Rights Groups Urge DOJ to Investigate TX Attorney General for Raiding Homes of LULAC Leaders

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing accusations he is using his office to suppress Latino voters in the state. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the country’s oldest Latino civil rights group, is calling on the Justice Department to investigate Paxton over a series of police raids on the homes of LULAC members, state lawmakers and other community leaders in the San Antonio area last week.

“Five-Alarm Fire for Democracy”: New GOP Rules Could Block Election Results in Georgia and Beyond

New voting rules in key battleground states could impact the 2024 election results. In Georgia, Democrats are suing to halt a set of Trump-backed election rules which Democrats say could be used to block certification of election results if they win in November. “It appears that Georgia Republicans are laying the groundwork not to certify the presidential election if Kamala Harris wins,” explains Ari Berman, who is the voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.

Trump Wanted Them Dead: Exonerated Central Park 5 Speak at DNC & Fight to Defeat Trump

We end today’s show in conversation with New York City Councilmember Yusef Salaam. He was one of five teenagers from Harlem — four Black and one Latino — wrongfully accused and convicted of raping and nearly killing 28-year-old white investment banker Trisha Meili in 1989. Meili had been jogging in Central Park when she was assaulted, and the accused teens became known as the Central Park Five.

“How Many More?” Attorney Ben Crump on Latest in Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols & Roger Fortson Cases

A federal judge in Kentucky has thrown out felony charges against two former Louisville police officers for their roles in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020. Instead, the judge ruled that Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, is legally responsible for her death because he fired his gun to fend off intruders, after plainclothes police officers broke down the couple’s front door and barged in just after midnight.

Jack Smith Isn’t Backing Down

When the Supreme Court ruled last month that presidents are immune from prosecution for anything done as an official act, many observers reacted with immediate horror. They warned that the ruling would allow future presidents to act as despots, doing whatever they like without fear of accountability. And in the immediate term, they predicted doom for the federal case against former President Donald Trump for attempting to subvert the 2020 election.

The Last-Minute Curveball for a Big FTC Ban

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.
In the early days of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission made a big announcement: It was proposing a new rule banning noncompete agreements for almost all American workers. The proposed ban was set to take effect next week, but a federal judge in Texas ruled to block it last week.

My Demoralizing but Not Surprising Cancellation

Last Tuesday, I was supposed to have launched my first book, Tablets Shattered: The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life, with an event at a bookstore in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo—a conversation between me and the well-known Reform rabbi Andy Bachman.
The event didn’t happen. About an hour before the intended start, I heard from my publicist that the bookstore had “concerns” about Rabbi Bachman because he was a “Zionist.

The Electric Feeling of Summer Romance

This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
“Frankie met Lucia in that summer …” If there’s a better beginning for that greatest of all genres—the summer romance—I don’t know what it would be. Add in an ice-cream shack, a beach, a thunderstorm, and some distracted parents—all of the irresistible ingredients are here in Ruby Opalka’s “Spit,” a short story published in The Atlantic this week.

Inspectors General Are Doing Essential—And Unpopular—Work

One afternoon in January 2019, I was summoned to a meeting with the deputy secretary of defense. His massive office was in the outer ring of the Pentagon. Nearby were the offices of the secretary of defense and other top generals and admirals.
The windows looked out over the Pentagon parade grounds and the Potomac River. The Washington Monument appeared in the distance.