‘He’s got a lot of stamina’: What to watch as the RFK Jr. hearing palooza kicks off
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will make the case for the Trump budget. Democrats will test his political acumen.
Today's Liberal News
More Americans doubt vaccine safety than trust it, POLITICO Poll finds
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views are commonplace across the land.
‘A crisis in the making’: Nebraska races to impose work requirements on Medicaid
The state’s May 1 enforcement will be a test case for what could happen nationwide in January.
What happens to California’s governor race without Eric Swalwell?
Rep. Eric Swalwell’s California gubernatorial campaign—and career in Congress—appear to be over after the Democratic lawmaker suspended his campaign and announced his resignation following a spate of disturbing sexual assault allegations from multiple women and former aides.
JD Vance is cursed, and the pope won’t stand for Trump’s sh-t
A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know.
Everything JD Vance touches turns to sh-t
His anti-Midas touch has really ramped up this past week.
Pope Leo swats away Trump’s blasphemous meltdown
In the battle of Trump vs. pope, only Trump can lose.
Hang up: What ever happened to Trump phones?
D.T.
The Iran talks
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Melania Trump emerges from the shadows—with nothing to offer
It’s tough to divine what’s going on in the mind of first lady Melania Trump.
While she doesn’t miss an opportunity to get in on the family grift, Melania Trump also seems to have convinced herself that she is the new and vital voice of her husband’s political priorities—and that she deserves all the attention and money coming her way. She is dabbling in foreign policy, artificial intelligence, and foster care while promoting all her hagiographic media efforts.
GOP lawmaker announces ‘retirement’ after admitting to affair with staffer
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said Monday he will retire from Congress amid bipartisan calls to expel him.
Gonzales had already said he would not seek reelection after admitting to an affair with a staff member who later died by suicide. His announcement came just hours after Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California said he would be resigning from Congress as he also confronted allegations of sexual misconduct.
Democratic Rep.
Trump Signs Bill Extending Controversial Surveillance Powers Until April 30
Critics are concerned about its impact on civil liberties.
Construction May Continue On Trump’s Ballroom For Now, Appeals Court Says
The panel scheduled a hearing for June 5 to review the case.
Obama Meets Mamdani In New York City Before Reading To Preschoolers
Mamdani’s meeting with Obama comes after he has met twice with Trump at the White House to discuss issues affecting New York City.
MS NOW Reporter Gives Iran Credit For 1 ‘Very Clever’ Strategy: ‘A Cultural Phenomenon’
Ken Dilanian noted that President Donald Trump has “probably been more hurtful to America’s image” than the “phenomenon” in question.
Kash Patel Threatens Lawsuit Over Report On His Allegedly Frequent ‘Intoxication Incidents’
The Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick published an article on Friday about several alleged incidents involving the FBI director.
When Church Was a Queer Space
Outward’s hosts sit down with the host and co-creator of When We All Get to Heaven.
Remembering, with the People of MCC San Francisco, AIDS Still Isn’t Over.
The neighborhood changes, the church moves, people forget and remember “the AIDS years,” but AIDS isn’t over.
What Happens When You Organize Church Around AIDS – and AIDS Changes?
The AIDS cocktail opens new possibilities. And MCC San Francisco tries to use the experience of AIDS to make bigger social change.
The Church’s Pastor Gets Diagnosed with AIDS. And the Church Wonders How Much They Might Lose.
The church’s minister gets sick and everyone knows it.
A Church Romance Between a Hula Dancer and a Lumbersexual Blossoms in a Dangerous Time.
The church’s “it couple” faces AIDS, caregiving, and loss as part of a pair, part of families, and part of a community.
Trump Keeps Gambling With the Economy — And Getting Away With It
President Donald Trump has taken one risk after another that could have destabilized the American economy. Iran is the latest crisis to test U.S. economic resilience.
‘I’ve won affordability’: Trump previews SOTU in Georgia rally
The president stopped in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s old district to defend his economic record.
Aliya Rahman v. DHS: Disabled Woman Dragged from Car Files Claim over Violent Arrest in Minneapolis
Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime. “They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya,” says Jessica Gingold, one of Rahman’s attorneys.
Rami Khouri: U.S. & Israel Were “Forced into Two Ceasefires” as Regional Balance of Power Shifts
“We’ve seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel,” says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been “forced into” ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign “of the evolving balance of power across the region” and demonstrates that Iran’s Axis of Resistance “is still effective.
Report from Beirut: Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Met with “Cautious Optimism”
A 10-day ceasefire has begun in Lebanon. The news is being celebrated across the country, but major questions remain over what happens next. President Trump announced the deal between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, says it will observe the ceasefire. The Israeli military is occupying a large swath of southern Lebanon, about 10% of the country.
As Iran Reopens Strait of Hormuz, Are U.S. & Iran Near Deal or Renewed Fighting?
President Trump on Thursday repeated his claim that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close” and that direct talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan as soon as this weekend. Despite the claims, the Pentagon is surging thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, including an additional 6,000 sailors and aviators joining the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier battle group. Around 4,200 others with the Navy and Marines are expected to arrive near the end of the month.
Canada’s prime minister says economic ties with US are a weakness that must be corrected
“We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner,” Mark Carney said in a video address. “We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbors.
Catch
I never caught a ball.
Why would I?
Why do men need to be around balls?
(the rubber kind)
Are you more of a man if you throw a ball and less so if you catch one?
I do neither.
My father once tried to throw me a ball when I was a child
but
I just stood there.
No one has ever thrown a ball to me
since
or even considered it.
What would I do if I caught a ball?
I have nowhere to put it
I’d certainly never throw it back
Please
don’t ever throw me a ball.
Photos: Out Among the Cherry Blossoms
Naoya Azuma / The Yomiuri Shimbun / Reuters
Weeping cherry blossoms are in full bloom at a sightseeing spot in Higashi-yoshino Village, Nara Prefecture, Japan, on April 11, 2026.Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Cherry blossoms near peak bloom in front of the Washington Monument along the Tidal Basin, on March 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C.Martin Meissner / AP
Thousands of people gather for the start of cherry-blossom season in the old town of Bonn, Germany, on April, 6, 2026.
A 13,000-Mile Mission for One Beautiful Loaf
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.
Somewhere between a Red Lobster and a three-Michelin-star dining room lies the best free restaurant bread in America. For The Atlantic’s May cover story, our staff writer Caity Weaver set out to find it, surveying more than 500 people and traveling 13,000 miles along the way.
The Problem With Hasan Piker’s Einstein Story
Last week, Pod Save America, the popular podcast founded by former Obama-administration staffers, hosted the influencer and leftist provocateur Hasan Piker. A charismatic and pugnacious socialist streamer, Piker has become a flash point in a broader debate among Democrats over how far their party’s big tent ought to extend. Unsurprisingly, Piker’s hourlong interview generated controversy. Critics on the right and left highlighted his refusal to condemn Hamas.
California’s Blue Armageddon
On a chilly Saturday late last month, I met Eric Swalwell at a Little League diamond near Capitol Hill, where the Bay Area congressman and his wife, Brittany, would be watching their 8-year-old son. Swalwell, who was running to succeed Gavin Newsom as the next governor of California, had been gradually rising above a Lilliputian cast of candidates and had acquired a strong scent of momentum in the race.
“Impeccable timing for you,” he’d texted me on my drive over.