Today's Liberal News

Fox News’ criticism of Brittney Griner’s release is really just a hateful reaction to Black joy

It didn’t take long for Fox News and Republicans to try to erase President Joe Biden’s success in securing the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner. The right-wing machine has spent nearly every moment since the announcement trash-talking Griner—who they claim “hates America”—and Biden, who they blame for the continued Russian incarceration of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

A new pandemic is killing hundreds of millions of birds, and some species may be completely lost

The flu virus can infect practically every species of mammal. It’s also capable of infecting birds. For a disease to readily infect two groups whose last common ancestor lived somewhere between 320 and 340 million years ago is pretty unusual, but far from unheard of. After all, there are good half a dozen bacterial diseases that you can get from handling a turtle. Even so, flu is extraordinary in how it has adapted to such a variety of hosts.

We Need a Little Christmas (Music)

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.It’s time for the takeover of the airwaves by Christmas TV specials and music. I have some nostalgic favorites—and some nominations for songs that should get a Scrooge-like burial after being boiled in a vat of Christmas pudding.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Files Are Bait

Last night, Elon Musk celebrated the release of a new entry in the “Twitter Files” series, which aims to … Well, that’s complicated. It’s a supposed transparency project from Musk that, to date, has included giving two independent writers access to internal Twitter communications, as well as to the company’s Slack channels.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Another COVID Surge

When I called the epidemiologist Denis Nash this week to discuss the country’s worsening COVID numbers, he was about to take a rapid test. “I came in on the subway to work this morning, and I got a text from home,” Nash, a professor at the City University of New York, told me. “My daughter tested positive for COVID.”Here we go again: For the first time in several months, another wave seems to be on the horizon in the United States.

Kyrsten Sinema’s Decision Is All About 2024

A fashionable critique of much political punditry is that it’s theater criticism, too focused on personality and superficial action, not focused enough on the real stuff of policy.But we’re talking about Kyrsten Sinema today, the senator from Arizona who loves to create drama. And that’s the best way to understand her announcement this morning that she has changed her affiliation from Democrat to independent.

“A Personified Weapon of Mass Destruction”: Ex-Arms Trafficking Inspector on Freed Russian Viktor Bout

Brittney Griner’s release from Russia has brought renewed attention to the notorious Russian arms dealer whom the U.S. exchanged for the basketball star in a prisoner swap. Viktor Bout, the former Soviet military officer who became known as the “Merchant of Death,” was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States for conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Futuro Media Probes Deadly U.S. Border Policy & NY Drug Trafficking Trial of Mexico’s Former Top Cop

In “Death by Policy,” the newly launched investigative unit of Pulitzer Prize-winning Futuro Media reveals how the U.S. Border Patrol’s policies push migrants attempting to cross from Mexico to the U.S. into dangerous areas, especially the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The longstanding “prevention through deterrence” approach, which funnels people into unsafe migration routes, has contributed to thousands of deaths since the 1990s.