Today's Liberal News

Sitting With an Angry Teen, for Longer Than You Might Want

The manosphere is mentioned explicitly for only a few minutes in Adolescence, the wildly popular Netflix show about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering his female classmate, Katie. Its influence on the withdrawn protagonist, Jamie (played by Owen Cooper), is largely implied. Yet Adolescence’s clear reckoning with the online world that’s shaped him has come to dominate reactions to the series.

Trump’s Trade War Could Turbocharge Deforestation in the Amazon

This past December, I was driving down the Trans-Amazonian Highway, near the city of Santarém, in northern Brazil, when the road disappeared into what I thought was fog. When I got out of the car, though, I realized that the haze was smoke, wafting thick and acrid from the burning forest. The week before, Santarém had registered at 581 on the air-quality index—among the worst ratings in the world.

We’re About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like

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The Trump administration is working hard to convince the public that its mass-deportation campaign is fully under way. Over the past several weeks, federal agents have seized foreign students off the streets, raided worksites, and shipped detainees to a supermax prison in El Salvador using wartime powers adopted under the John Adams administration.

“Unquestionably Unconstitutional”: Harvard Law Prof Slams Cuts as School Rejects Trump Demands

Harvard University has pushed back as President Trump ramps up his attacks on higher education. After Harvard rejected demands by the Trump administration to eliminate all DEI initiatives and further crack down on Palestinian rights protests, including reporting international students to federal authorities, the Trump administration said it’s freezing $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard.

Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen: Breaking Up Meta’s Monopoly Would Improve Service, Safety

In one of its first major actions under the Trump administration, the Federal Trade Commission is arguing Meta has an illegal monopoly in social media and should be forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Monday as the highly anticipated antitrust trial kicked off in Washington, D.C. If Meta loses the trial, it could be forced to sell off those platforms.

Mohsen Mahdawi’s Abduction “Should Terrify” Us, Says VT Rep. Balint, Whose Grandfather Was Killed in Holocaust

The Trump administration is now seeking to deport Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who is being held in a prison in northwest Vermont. He was detained by Homeland Security agents when he went to an immigration services center to take a civics test that is the final step in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen. Mahdawi moved to Vermont from the West Bank in 2014 and has been a legal permanent resident, or green card holder, since 2015.

Phase Two Will Be Worse Than DOGE

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In December, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker asked Donald Trump about his threats of revenge during the campaign. He demurred. “I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful,” he said. “Retribution will be through success.

The Atlantic Hires Jenna Johnson and Dan Zak as Senior Editors, and Tyler Austin Harper as Staff Writer

Today The Atlantic is announcing three new staff members: Tyler Austin Harper, who was previously a contributing writer, will become a staff writer, and Jenna Johnson and Dan Zak will both be senior editors. Tyler has written for The Atlantic since 2023; before joining the magazine on staff, he was an associate professor at Bates College. Jenna and Dan both come to The Atlantic from The Washington Post, where they have worked for almost two decades.

DOGE Is Making the IRS a Tip Jar for Public Services

The Internal Revenue Service may be America’s least-loved government agency, but it is one of the most important. Without the taxes the IRS collects, the United States would essentially have no funds for key services and no creditworthiness, and the nation would rapidly grind to a halt. Ensuring that everyone pays their fair share is also a key component of the social contract: If the wealthiest can skip their obligations, that weakens any shared commitment to the common good.