Today's Liberal News

Harvard Faces Outcry for Rescinding Post to Ex-Head of Human Rights Watch over Criticism of Israel

We speak with the longtime former head of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, about losing a prestigious position at Harvard over his criticism of Israeli human rights abuses. Roth was set to begin as a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy after he retired as director of the renowned human rights organization in April.

Amazingly, George Santos Is a Member of Congress

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.Amid the fight for the House speaker’s gavel, it was easy to forget that George Santos is now actually a member of Congress.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

The Buy Now, Pay Later Bubble Is About to Burst

As familiar as Americans are with the concept of credit, many of us, upon encountering a sandwich that can be financed in four easy payments of $3.49, might think: Yikes, we’re in trouble.Putting a banh mi on layaway—this is the world that buy-now, pay-later programs have wrought.

The Last of Us Makes the Apocalypse Feel New Again

In the landscape of video-game adaptations, a specific quandary comes up again and again as the medium grows in ambition: How do you translate a game that was itself clearly inspired by film and television? When The Last of Us was released on PlayStation in 2013, I marveled at its cinematic verisimilitude.

The Atlantic Debuts Atlantic Editions, New Book Imprint With the Independent Publisher Zando

The first three books are publishing today from Atlantic Editions, a first-of-its-kind book imprint launched as a partnership between The Atlantic and the independent publisher Zando, with titles from staff writers Megan Garber and Sophie Gilbert (a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism) and senior editor Lenika Cruz. This new line of paperback books features definitive essays by Atlantic authors; each is themed on a single consequential topic.

“Never Forget Our People Were Always Free”: Civil Rights Leader Ben Jealous on His New Memoir

We speak with civil rights leader Ben Jealous about his new memoir, “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” which examines his long career as an activist and organizer, and growing up the son of a white father and a Black mother. He discusses the lessons he drew from his mother, Ann Todd Jealous, and his grandmother, Mamie Todd, about the racism they experienced in their lifetimes.

At Summit in Mexico, AMLO Urges Biden to End U.S. “Disdain” for Latin America

We go to Mexico City for an update on the North American Leaders’ Summit, where the presidents of Mexico, the United States and Canada are discussing migration, the economy, trade and security. The summit comes just days after Biden announced that the United States will start to block migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba from applying for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Sports Scandal Almost Nobody Is Talking About

When the head of a major sports organization is caught on video slapping his wife multiple times, his career should be in jeopardy. But other than a few days of remarkably mild criticism, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White appears to be avoiding any real professional consequences.Last week, TMZ released a video that shows White in a heated argument with his wife, Anne, at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on New Year’s Eve.

“We Need Ceasefires Everywhere”: Bishop William Barber’s Message of Peace for Ukraine & the World

Russian President Vladimir Putin has unilaterally declared a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Putin’s overture, however, saying that Russia wants to use Christmas as a pretext to stop Ukrainian advances in the Russian-occupied Donbas region. Putin’s declaration comes after about 1,000 U.S.

House GOP’s first ‘policy’ vote is a gift to wealthy tax cheats, securing Biden’s first veto threat

The first “policy” vote of the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives continued with their theme of capitulation to the extreme right, and more pointedly the people who fund the political careers of the far right. They voted along party lines, 221 to 210, to rescind the more than $70 billion in IRS funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act to help the agency modernize and more effectively do its job.

House GOP makes a mockery of the legislative body, passes radical rules package

It will be hard for Republicans to top their performance of last week, but they’re going to do their damnedest these evening. All the promises Kevin McCarthy handed out in his nearly-failed bid to become Speaker are being revealed (nobody Rep. Byron Donalds getting a sweet committee post, the maniacs guaranteed multiple slots on what’s going to become the most important committee) and the ridiculousness of what they have in the works is being revealed.