STDs are at record levels. It could get much worse.
People with already high risk for HIV could lose access to free PrEP and testing.
Today's Liberal News
The Real Hero of Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso, like an athlete meeting the moment, peaked at the right time. The show premiered during the waning months of Donald Trump’s presidency; against that backdrop, its positivity felt like catharsis, its soft morals a rebuke. Soon, Ted Lasso was winning fans and Emmys. Articles were heralding it as an answer to our ills. The accolades recognized the brilliance of a show that weaves Dickensian plots with postmodern wit. But they were also concessions. Kindness should not be radical.
“Spyfail” Author James Bamford: What Leaked Pentagon Docs Show About Ukraine War, U.S. Spying on Allies
The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into a recent leak of highly classified Pentagon intelligence documents revealing secrets about the war in Ukraine, as well as details about the U.S. spying on a number of its adversaries, as well as its allies, including Israel and South Korea.
“Devastating”: GOP Texas Gov. Moves to Pardon Man Convicted of Murdering Black Lives Matter Protester
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott says he is “working as swiftly” as possible to pardon a U.S. Army sergeant who was just convicted Friday of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 just blocks from the Texas state Capitol. Daniel Perry was also convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for fatally shooting 28-year-old Air Force veteran Garrett Foster.
No Justin, No Peace: Expelled TN Rep. Justin Jones Reinstated After Unanimous Nashville Council Vote
Democratic Representative Justin Jones has returned to the Tennessee state House, just days after Republicans voted to expel him. The Metropolitan Council of Nashville voted 36 to 0 on Monday to reinstate him. Following the vote, Jones’s supporters marched to the Tennessee Legislature, where he was sworn in on the steps of the Capitol.
The Moms Who Breastfeed Without Being Pregnant
While her wife was pregnant with their son, Aimee MacDonald took an unusual step of preparing her own body for the baby’s arrival. First she began taking hormones, and then for six weeks straight, she pumped her breasts day and night every two to three hours. This process tricked her body into a pregnant and then postpartum state so she could make breast milk.
Iowa won’t pay for rape victims’ abortions or contraceptives
Victim advocates were caught off guard by the news.
HHS secretary says Texas ruling doesn’t represent the country and could affect other drugs
“What you saw by that one judge in that one court in that one state — that’s not America,” Xavier Becerra said.
Ignore the courts? Some Democrats say Texas abortion pill ruling demands it.
The Biden administration swiftly appeals abortion pill ruling as Dems split on going further.
7 questions from the Texas ruling on abortion pills
A Texas judge’s preliminary ruling invalidating the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill could make it harder for patients to get abortions even in states where it remains legal.
Elizabeth Warren: Fed chair has failed at both his jobs
Jerome Powell “stepped up and took a flamethrower to the regulations,” the senator said.
U.S. inflation eases but stays high, putting Fed in tough spot
The government said prices increased 0.4% last month, just below January’s 0.5% rise.
Biden on economy: ‘It’s understandable why people are just down’
“I can’t think of a time when there’s been greater uncertainty,” the president said.
‘I Am Sick And Tired’: Fox News Contributor Calls For Action On Guns
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” Ted Williams said after a mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky.
Florida Republican Compares Transgender People To ‘X-Men’ ‘Mutants’
Rep. Webster Barnaby likened transgender people to “demons and imps” before the Florida House Commerce Committee approved a bill restricting bathroom access.
Paper Changes Reported Cause Of Maricopa County Printer Failure
Officials said the problems with the ballots were caused, not by malicious actions, but by longer ballots on thicker paper than had been used previously.
Abortion Opponents’ Next Push
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.On Friday evening, a federal judge in Texas ruled to block access to the abortion drug mifepristone; this afternoon, the Justice Department appealed the decision. This case is about more than abortion pills: It also signals a potential new strategy for anti-abortion activists across the country.
The Hidden Radicalism Of The Abortion Pill Ruling: A Nationwide Abortion Ban
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision lays the groundwork for the next phase of the anti-abortion movement.
Top Drug Execs Say Texas Abortion Pill Ruling ‘Ignores Science’
Hundreds of industry leaders voiced support for the FDA after a judge ruled to invalidate the drug mifepristone’s approval by the agency.
The Value of Charging Ex-Presidents
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Last week, I asked readers for their thoughts on Donald Trump’s legal troubles in New York.Diana is tired of hearing about Trump:
I was so happy when there was a short period where that guy wasn’t on the front page.
The abortion pill rulings are scaring the FDA and drugmakers. Here’s why.
The ramifications from Friday’s decision for the FDA and the drug industry could be felt for decades.
The Three Biggest Misconceptions About Israel’s Upheaval
For the past three months, Israelis have been protesting across the country against the attempted overhaul of their judicial system by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition. In February, a survey found that nearly one in five Israelis had taken part in a demonstration. This unprecedented activism culminated in a national strike at the end of March that compelled Netanyahu to pause, but not abandon, his efforts to push through the legislation.
The Problem With Weather Apps
Technologically speaking, we live in a time of plenty. Today, I can ask a chatbot to render The Canterbury Tales as if written by Taylor Swift or to help me write a factually inaccurate autobiography. With three swipes, I can summon almost everyone listed in my phone and see their confused faces via an impromptu video chat. My life is a gluttonous smorgasbord of information, and I am on the all-you-can-eat plan.
Arizona Abortion Provider: Texas Ruling on Mifepristone Leaves Patients & Clinics “in Limbo”
We look at how racial disparities in healthcare treatment and access will shape the impact of anti-abortion rulings with Dr. DeShawn Taylor, an OB-GYN physician, abortion provider and owner of Desert Star Family Planning in Phoenix — the only Black-owned independent abortion provider in the border state of Arizona. Her upcoming book is Undue Burden: A Black Woman Physician on Being Christian and Pro-Abortion in the Reproductive Justice Movement.
Hotline Founder on the Struggle to Preserve Access to Abortion Pills Amid Relentless GOP Attacks
We look at access to medical abortion pills and advice on how to manage abortions at home with Dr. Linda Prine, physician and co-founder of the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline. Prine says the hotline is increasingly busy and now has 70 clinicians taking calls for 18 hours each day.
What Is the Comstock Act? Texas Judge Cites 1873 Anti-Obscenity Law to Halt Approval of Abortion Pill
When U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled Friday the Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade old approval of the leading abortion drug mifepristone violates the law, he cited the 19th century Comstock Act, a so-called anti-vice law that prohibits the mailing of contraceptives and instruments or drugs that can be used in an abortion. It has been dormant for half a century. We speak to Lauren MacIvor Thompson, a historian of birth control, about the Comstock Act and its legacy.
Jessica Mason Pieklo: Republicans’ Anti-Abortion Moves Are Part of Wider “Authoritarian Movement”
We look at the dueling rulings by two federal judges on the abortion pill mifepristone. A Trump-appointed judge in Texas suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of the drug, while a judge in Washington state ordered the agency to maintain the status quo. Jessica Mason Pieklo, executive editor of Rewire News Group, says the judicial assault on reproductive health is “a constitutional crisis” that requires urgent attention.
“Unconscionable”: Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson Slams Texas Ruling on Abortion Pill
We speak with Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, about the ruling by a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas to revoke the Food and Drug Administration approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Shortly after the Texas ruling, a federal judge in Washington ordered the FDA to keep mifepristone on the market and maintain the status quo. The Justice Department has appealed the Texas ruling.
Ignore the courts? Some Democrats say Texas abortion pill ruling demands it.
The Biden administration swiftly appeals abortion pill ruling as Dems split on going further.
7 questions from the Texas ruling on abortion pills
A Texas judge’s preliminary ruling invalidating the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill could make it harder for patients to get abortions even in states where it remains legal.