Today's Liberal News

“American Democracy Hangs in the Balance”: Carol Anderson on Midterms, Georgia Races & Voting Rights

Former President Barack Obama is in Georgia Friday to campaign for Democrats in the closely watched Senate and gubernatorial races. This comes as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was caught on a hot mic Thursday saying the race between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Trump-backed anti-abortion Republican nominee Herschel Walker is “going downhill,” and recent polls show Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is trailing Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

Children’s Hospitals See Surge in RSV as Experts Warn of Winter “Tripledemic” of Respiratory Illness

Public health experts in the United States are warning of a possible “tripledemic” of respiratory illness this winter: an increase in COVID cases, an early flu season and a surge in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Hospitals in some parts of the U.S. are already seeing a surge in cases of RSV, which usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can be very serious for infants.

Arizona conspiracy cranks are staking out ballot boxes because they have no actual lives to live

Arizona Trump supporters have gotten themselves a new hobby in these last weeks of the 2022 elections: Showing up just outside the legally protected 75′ perimeter around public ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County to watch voters turning in their ballots. Sometimes while sporting tactical vests and/or weapons. Sometimes while capturing videos of the voters that arrive or taking pictures of their license plates.

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This has led to confrontations, of course.

Ukraine Update: The noose tightens around Svatove, as Russia blows key bridges

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Ukraine is tight-lipped about its advances, and Russia has effectively muzzled its Telegram milbloggers, forcing them to report on Russia’s glorious victories under threat of imprisonment. So getting accurate information has suddenly gotten a bit tougher, and the fog of war has always been a challenge to see through. 

The front around Svatove and Kreminna is a perfect example, with claims and counter-claims and rumors muddying the picture.

This was a GOP-inspired assassination attempt against Pelosi, and the media needs to say so

Here’s a job for the national political press corps, if they can take time out from declaring doom for the Democrats in the midterms: Put elected Republicans and every GOP candidate on the ballot everywhere on the record about how their vilification of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resulted in an assassination attempt against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and landed her husband in the hospital with serious injuries.

This is the best way to make an absolute last-second donation before the midterms

We’re almost down to the wire here, but there’s still time to make a difference before the November midterms, and Daily Kos has the best way to make a financial impact: Donate to our Election Protection slate.

This slate features 17 Democrats running for three crucial posts in eight key states: secretary of state, attorney general, and state supreme court.

Economists obliquely warn against letting the GOP economic terrorists get control of the House

The House Republicans’ threat to hold the debt limit hostage in return for drastic spending cuts if they gain the majority in next month’s midterm election is already creating angst for economists and analysts, even though the fight could be as much as a year away.

“If we go into recession, the response normally is stimulative fiscal policy, but it seems like the appetite for that may be waning.

The David S. Pumpkins Effect

Last night, Saturday Night Live returned to one of its singular successes—the jolly, always-grinning Halloween character David S. Pumpkins (played by Tom Hanks) from a breakout sketch in 2016—and gave him the honor of a second appearance. His return felt rare. Outside of the “Weekend Update” desk, recurring characters have been scant over the show’s past few seasons.

A Pandemic Silver Lining in Senegal

A version of this article was originally published in Undark Magazine.On a late April afternoon, the Ngor Health Center in Dakar, Senegal, is serene. Sunlight spills through architectural gaps in the ceiling and lush plants line cream-colored corridors. In a patient waiting area on the second floor, a staff member gently rolls a ball back and forth with a toddler.

Disaster Means ‘Without a Star’

Sixty-six million years after the end of the world, I click purchase
on an emergency go bag from Amazon. When it arrives, I’ll use my teeth
to tear open the plastic, unzip the pack stitched by girls who look like me
but for their N95s, half a judgment day away, no evacuation plan in sight.
Another episode of the present tense, and I can’t stop thinking
about the timeline where the asteroid misses, Earth ruled eternally
by the car-hearted and walnut-brained.

Jordan Calhoun’s Culture Picks: Black Panther, A Strange Loop, and More

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.Good morning, and welcome back to The Daily’s new Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained.