Today's Liberal News

“We Are Not Living. We Are Enduring.” Gaza Mother on Struggle for Food, Safety Under Israeli Blockade

Ahead of the Mother’s Day holiday in the Untied States, we speak to Duha Latif, a mother of two children in Gaza, about life for mothers living under Israeli occupation and assault. Democracy Now! last spoke to Latif over a year ago, when she was attempting to evacuate Rafah with her family. She now resides in a tent in Khan Younis and struggles to feed her family as Israel’s blockade has created widespread famine throughout the Gaza Strip. “We are not living. We are enduring,” says Latif.

Priest Sexual Abuse Survivors Demand Accountability from New Pope: “Open Up Those Archives”

Survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests are calling for Pope Leo XIV to institute a zero-tolerance policy and for the church to investigate his handling of prior sexual abuse allegations. “He needs to be transparent. He needs to be honest,” says Peter Isely, a survivor of sexual assault by a Catholic priest and a co-founder of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. “Wait and see,” says James V. Grimaldi, executive editor of National Catholic Reporter.

Leo XIV: First U.S.-Born Pope Criticized Trump/Vance on Deportations, Lack of Compassion for Immigrants

The first U.S.-born pope has taken the name Pope Leo XIV. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost is also a naturalized citizen of Peru, where he served the church for two decades. He greeted 1.4 billion Roman Catholics and the world Thursday with a message of peace and has posted statements online in support of migrant rights and criticized the Trump administration. In the first part of our discussion, we go to Rome for an update from James V.

SNL Isn’t Really Hot for Your Mom

You know that moment when a man who wants something thinks he sees an opportunity to charm an easy mark? A common version is specific to mothers, and it goes like this: A mom and her kid are out somewhere together, and they meet a guy. It doesn’t really matter who. He may be a service worker looking for tips, an acquaintance of the child looking to get in good with the mom, or a garden-variety slimeball. What matters is that he’s meeting this woman for the first time.

Infant Longing

Because to God must be given
the things that belong to God,
and to the world must be given
the things that belong to the world,
I kiss you with both lips, upper and lower.
Because the world keeps beginning
and ending the same way,
with the slaughter of the innocent,
with the massacre of the blameless,
and there’s not a thing anyone can do.

A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship

In 2021, in a moment of morbid curiosity, Charlotte and Raffi Grinberg decided to calculate how much they would see their best friends for the rest of their lives if they continued visits at their current rate. The math was bleak: They’d spent more days with their friends in the years when they were ages 13 to 30 than they would spend from ages 30 to 100.
Charlotte and Raffi, who’d been married for six years, each had been inseparable from their respective best friends in adolescence.

Why I’m Leaving Pacific Palisades

Our home burned down in the January 7 Palisades Fire. After such a calamity, the grief and sense of displacement never really go away, but dealing with the aftermath is itself all-consuming. My wife and I have so much to do: meet with insurance companies, city agencies, and attorneys; visit our burned-out lot to oversee debris removal; hire engineers and architects to determine the condition of our foundation and the prospects of rebuilding.

Seven Weekend Reads

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.
Our editors compiled seven great reads. Spend time with stories about the risks of trying to raise successful kids, an alarming trend affecting the job market, the top goal of Project 2025, and more.
Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids
And start raising kind ones.