Today's Liberal News

RNC commissions panel filled with Trump allies to investigate what went wrong in midterms

The Republican National Committee announced this week it plans to set up a team of advisers to review the party’s midterm performance following the anticipated “red wave” that never materialized. According to Politico, the team of advisors would help guide the party’s strategy.

This is actually a good idea. Any party should examine its performance following an election, whether they win or lose.

Arizona Republicans refusing to certify votes might actually turn red seats blue

On Monday, following delay after delay, the MAGA-controlled Cochise County, Arizona, board of elections missed its deadline to certify 47,000-plus (mostly conservative) votes. The move was seen by most as pure political theater from a deep-red county which has swallowed the Big Lie election denialism hook, line, and sinker. Like all political theater, this will cost taxpayers money.

We’ve gotta talk about copaganda

Depending on the news source you’ve followed on a very big and disturbing new case out of Riverside, California, it might be unclear to you whether or not Austin Edwards—the 28-year-old cop who allegedly catfished a teenager before killing her family—was an active officer of the law at the time of the crime.

Never Trump Means Never

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.Never Trump is—still—a movement that is about more than just one man. It stands in opposition to everything Donald Trump has done to American civic life, and rejects those who would wear his mantle.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Please Look at My Metal Credit Card

Although it may be difficult to imagine a universe in which George Clooney needs a little help charming women, that’s the case in Up in the Air, the 2009 movie in which he plays a frequent-flying HR consultant in charge of executing mass layoffs.

The Mauna Loa Eruption Is a Gift for Science

The world’s largest volcano is erupting for the first time since 1984. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, a giant mound of a volcano that looks so much like Mars that researchers actually hold Mars simulations there, has stirred. Authorities say the eruption does not threaten any local communities; no evacuation orders have been issued.For scientists, it’s an exciting development.

The Strength of the ‘Soft Daddy’

The latest season of Netflix’s animated comedy Big Mouth explores the mysterious world of father figures, and emerges with a revelation. The middle schooler Nick’s dad, Elliot Birch, has been harboring a secret: He used to be a fearsome competitor in the macho martial art of “Scottish nipple twisting.” Elliot is a sweetie pie, a family man who takes the concept of being a lover-not-a-fighter to the extreme.

The Tormented Soul of Iranian Soccer

When soccer first appeared in Iranian villages in the 1920s, clerics began their long attempt to stifle the revolution that the game represents. They hated the sport—an import from Great Britain and championed by the shah, it was a symbol of modernity that featured men running around in heretical shorts. Clerics attended local matches for the sake of pelting players with stones.

NYC DA Asks Judge to Drop Murder Charges Against Domestic Abuse Survivor Tracy McCarter

In a remarkable courtroom scene, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked a New York judge Monday to dismiss murder charges against Tracy McCarter, who says she acted in self-defense when her estranged husband died from a stab wound in the chest in 2020. Bragg campaigned on a promise to fight to free McCarter of murder charges, though, when elected, advocates say his actions initially fell short.

“Sportswashing & Greenwashing”: Ex-Soccer Player Jules Boykoff on Qatar Hosting World Cup

We speak with author Jules Boykoff about the climate and political implications of the 2022 World Cup. The soccer tournament is being played in the winter for the first time due to Qatar’s extreme summer temperatures. Boykoff says Qatar and FIFA have greenwashed the event by erroneously claiming the World Cup is “fully carbon neutral” despite blocking an independent review of the games.