Justice Department drops case against Texas doctor charged with leaking transgender care data
The dismissal comes as the Trump administration in its first week has already issued executive orders rolling back transgender rights.
Today's Liberal News
Trump administration takes first anti-abortion move on world stage
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a directive Friday to rejoin a global anti-abortion pact.
The Chaos in Higher Ed Is Only Getting Started
“I’d summarize it as: fuck.” That’s what one senior university administrator told me when I asked about the chaos that erupted at the National Institutes of Health this week. Academics are in panic mode in the face of sudden new restrictions from the Trump administration. The Department of Health and Human Services has told employees of several health agencies, including the NIH, to stop communicating with the public.
A High-Octane Mystery Series
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Welcome to The Daily’s culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer or editor reveals what’s keeping them entertained.
Trump Bets It All on OpenAI
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Earlier this week, Donald Trump unveiled perhaps the most ambitious infrastructure project in history—one that may rival the costs of the first moon missions—and all but dedicated it to Sam Altman.
Trump and Vance sidestep abortion executive orders in March for Life speeches
Anti-abortion leaders wanted more concrete action from the new administration.
My Last Trial
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I’ve been on trial half my life. Yesterday, my 18-year legal drama finally came to an end when the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, definitively convicted me of criminal slander. Many people are familiar with my wrongful conviction for Meredith Kercher’s murder, but this lesser charge, arising from statements I signed during my interrogation, is the one that has continued to haunt me.
Five vaccine policy moves RFK Jr. could make
If he’s confirmed as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have broad authority to pursue an anti-vaccine agenda.
Journalist Peter Greste, Once Jailed in Egypt, Joins Hunger Strike for Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s Freedom
The prominent British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah remains imprisoned in Cairo even after he completed his five-year sentence last September. Fattah came to prominence during the Egyptian revolution as a blogger and political activist, and he has been jailed multiple times by the authoritarian government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for his advocacy. His family and supporters continue to demand his freedom and have pressed the U.K. government to pressure Egypt into releasing him.
Marcus Garvey’s Pardon Is Part of Undoing “Harms of the Past,” Honoring Black History: Justin Hansford
As one of his last acts in office, President Joe Biden issued a posthumous pardon for Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and generations of civil rights leaders. Advocates and congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey for years, with supporters arguing that Garvey’s 1923 mail fraud conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the popular leader who spoke of racial pride and self-reliance.
“Shock and Awe”: Immigration Raids Begin as Judge Halts Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order
As the Trump administration launches what it touts as the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history, we look at how immigrant communities and advocates are fighting back. The administration already faces some setbacks, including in its attempt to end birthright citizenship, which a federal judge halted Thursday from going into effect because it was “blatantly unconstitutional.
There’s One Way to Solve Homelessness in America. We’re Trying Something Else Instead.
Well before Donald Trump took office, the country was pivoting to a more punitive approach to homelessness.
Money Talks: How Much Would You Pay to Take Care of Someone You Love?
Professor Harold Pollack discusses the obscene costs of longterm care, and how you can better prepare for your family’s future
Is an American Oligarchy Coming Or Is It Already Here?
Biden warned of a looming American oligarchy but has that ship already sailed?
There’s One Department Elon Musk Would Probably Like to Keep Inefficient
Stock trades move fast. The government moves slower.
L.A. Is Suddenly an Indoor City. I Know Too Well What’s Coming Next.
The flames may be dying out, but for many people in L.A. the burn is only just beginning.
Federal DEI websites go dark after Trump order and threat of ‘consequences’
The sites went down a day after the Office of Personnel Management sent a memo to all agencies Tuesday calling for all DEI workers to be placed on paid leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Anti-vaccine no more? RFK Jr. is remaking his image to serve Trump
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is telling senators considering his nomination to lead the government’s health agencies he merely wants transparency about vaccines.
Trump announces US withdrawal from the World Health Organization
The global health body stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in funding
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Lael Brainard’s ‘Crisis Management Agency’ — and Her Warning For Trump
Joe Biden’s top economic adviser opens up on harrowing moments from her time in the White House, and what makes her nervous about the Trump agenda.
Stephen Miran is Trump’s pick to lead Council of Economic Advisers
Miran has called for a sweeping overhaul of the Fed to ensure greater political control over the central bank, including giving the president the power to fire board members at will.
Biden: Trump’s tax and tariffs plans are a ‘major mistake’
Five weeks after the election, the president took his sharpest swing at Trump’s policy plans.
Trump voters feel very differently about things now that he’s won, our new poll shows
A pair of POLITICO|Morning Consult polls, one conducted in the final days of the election and the other conducted after Trump won, show how public opinion has changed.
January 6ers Got Out of Prison—And Came to My Neighborhood
On Monday, Stewart Rhodes, the eye-patched founder of the far-right militia known as the Oath Keepers, was in prison, which is where he has been since he was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. By Tuesday afternoon, he was taking a nap at my neighbors’ house.
I learned this when I recently walked past that house, which I’ve gotten to know well. A couple of years ago, my partner and I discovered that it was a kind of refuge for January 6ers.
The Paranoid Thriller That Foretold Trump’s Foreign Policy
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.
The aged president of the United States and the young midwestern senator he’d chosen as his second-term running mate were having a private, late-night discussion. The commander in chief wanted to share his plan to make America greater than it’s ever been.