Today's Liberal News

What Jada Pinkett Smith’s Critics Don’t Understand

In her new memoir, Worthy, the actor Jada Pinkett Smith quotes the Marvel Comics superhero Wanda Maximoff to point out how women are often punished by double standards.During a tense exchange with Doctor Strange in the blockbuster Marvel movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Maximoff reminds the male title character of how differently she is perceived because of her gender, even though both possess powerful supernatural abilities that can benefit or endanger humanity.

SNL Didn’t Need Subtitles

When the Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny took the stage for his Saturday Night Live monologue yesterday, he announced that he was going to tackle the job on his own terms. “People are wondering if I can host the show, because English is not my first language,” he said. “I don’t know if they know, but I do whatever I want.” And then the host and musical guest, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, proceeded to speak in Spanish.

The Perfect Book for Spooky Season

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.Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained. Today’s special guest is our supervisory senior associate editor Rachel Gutman-Wei, who works on our Science, Technology, and Health team.

The Mowing That Woke My Daughter

They are not my enemy,
I remind myself,
though they are
tearing up the public hill just past my fence
with loud tools and
hacking with Weedwackers the wild violets
and new lavender spread
across the hill in bird patterns.
We had watched them grow.

AI Takes on Expiration Dates

This article was originally published by The Conversation.Have you ever bitten into a nut or a piece of chocolate expecting a smooth, rich taste only to encounter an unexpected and unpleasant chalky or sour flavor? That taste is rancidity in action, and it affects pretty much every product in your pantry. Now artificial intelligence can help scientists tackle this issue more precisely and efficiently.

Israeli Journalist Amira Hass, Daughter of Holocaust Survivors, Calls for Gaza Ceasefire Now

In Part 2 of our interview with legendary Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who has reported from the occupied West Bank and Gaza for over 30 years, she discusses attending Wednesday’s historic protest in Washington, D.C., led by American Jewish groups, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the events leading up to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the ongoing hostage situation, and what could come next.

“Divide and Rule”: How Israel Helped Start Hamas to Weaken Palestinian Hopes for Statehood

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is urging Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the death toll from Israel’s two-week bombardment has topped 4,100. Israel says a ground invasion may be imminent. “This isn’t an effort to try to quell, to destroy Hamas specifically,” says Tareq Baconi, Palestinian analyst and author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance.

Ceasefire Now! Rashida Tlaib, Naomi Klein Join Thousands in Jewish-Led D.C. Protest Against Gaza War

Thousands rallied at the U.S. Capitol this week calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in what organizers with IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace called the largest-ever protest of Jews in support of Palestine. Hundreds were also arrested during a sit-in of the Cannon House Office Building. We feature addresses by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, and author Naomi Klein.

Netanyahu’s Attack on Democracy Left Israel Unprepared

This summer I spent several days in Israel talking with people who were afraid for their country’s future. They were not, at that moment, focused on terrorism, Gaza, or Hamas. They feared something different: the emergence of an undemocratic Israel, a de facto autocracy.

A Paralyzed House Complicates Biden’s Plans for Israel

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here. After returning from a trip to Tel Aviv to demonstrate U.S. support for Israel’s war with Hamas, President Joe Biden used Thursday evening’s Oval Office address to make the case for sending wartime aid to Israel and continuing American support for Ukraine.

The War in Gaza Is Getting Remixed in Real Time

In any war, onlookers from far outside the conflict zone have to decide what to believe about what is happening. This sounds difficult in theory, and it’s even more so in practice.This week, after a deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, anybody checking social media for news would have immediately seen conflicting stories about what had happened. Initial news reports cited Gaza’s health ministry in asserting that the blast had come from an Israeli air strike.

Calls for a Cease-Fire—But Then What?

The protest began with a prayer. Several thousand Muslims knelt in rows before the Capitol building yesterday afternoon, their knees resting on the woven rugs they’d brought from home. Women here and men over there, with onlookers to the side. Seen from the Speaker’s Balcony, this ranked congregation would have looked like colorful stripes spanning the grassy width of the National Mall.