Today's Liberal News

An Unsettling Anti-Slavery Memorial

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The closest thing the United States has to a national monument to the end of slavery is in a park in the capital, a little more than half a mile from the National Mall. It depicts two figures: Abraham Lincoln, tall and stately, holding out his left arm and looking down at a barely clothed Black man with broken shackles kneeling at his feet.

Israel Could Have What It Most Wants in Lebanon

Parallel to the shaky truce between the United States and Iran, a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah has temporarily stopped the fighting in Lebanon, but without settling any of the important questions behind it. That’s a shame, because prospects for a lasting resolution in Lebanon are better than ever—if only Israel would embrace the Lebanese government as the indispensable partner it could be.

The Kash Patel Fallout

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In a recent story, the Atlantic staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick writes about how FBI Director Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they describe as erratic behavior and excessive drinking. Sources told Fitzpatrick that, on multiple occasions, members of his security detail had trouble waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.

How Hawkish Democrats, from Schumer to Harris, Paved the Way for War with Iran: Stephen Zunes

The Senate on Wednesday rejected another bid to rein in President Donald Trump’s ability to use further military force against Iran, marking the fifth failed attempt by Democrats to curb Trump’s war powers since the start of the conflict in late February. The resolution was defeated in a vote of 46 to 51, with Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Rand Paul the sole dissenters in each caucus.

Photos: Reclaimed by Nature

VCG via Getty
Abandoned oil tanks are covered by flourishing ivy plants in Huai an, Jiangsu province, China, seen on May 9, 2023.Artem Priakhin / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty
A discarded sneaker, covered in thick layers of green moss, rests on a fallen tree branch in a public park on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 8, 2026.

Greenpeace Sends Ship to Support Global Sumud Flotilla’s Attempt to Break Israel’s Blockade of Gaza

More than 70 vessels and over 1,000 participants from all over the world have joined a second Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza in order to challenge Israel’s ongoing maritime blockade of aid. We speak to two participants aboard the Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, which is providing technical support and accompanying the flotilla for part of the voyage in a show of solidarity.

“Data Colonialism”: Native Communities Fight AI Data Centers on Indigenous Land

The artificial intelligence industry’s data center boom is the latest chapter in a long history of environmental racism and resource exploitation in vulnerable Native communities, says Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne activist Krystal Two Bulls, the executive director of Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led environmental justice organization that is tracking over 100 proposed data center projects on tribal and rural lands.

“Colossus Failure”: Elon Musk’s Data Centers Face Lawsuit for Polluting Black Neighborhoods in Memphis

As tech companies scramble to build massive new data centers to power artificial intelligence, marginalized communities are bearing the brunt of the environmental harms. In Memphis, Tennessee, Elon Musk’s xAI operates over two dozen methane gas-burning turbines without legal permits to power its data centers, Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, polluting the nation’s largest majority-Black city with toxic emissions. The NAACP is suing xAI for violating the Clean Air Act.