Today's Liberal News

Supreme Court Orders U.S. to “Facilitate” Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States, after the Maryland resident was denied due process rights and deported to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. But the court remains vague on how exactly this would happen, and the Trump administration has claimed it has no way of ensuring his safe return.

A Win—And a Warning—For Trump’s Agenda

Speaker Mike Johnson flashed a grin as he chided reporters in the Capitol this morning: “I told you not to doubt us.” Moments earlier, the House had approved a budget proposal that could allow Republicans to pass the president’s “one big beautiful bill”—a boost for not only Donald Trump’s legislative agenda but also Johnson’s job security.
In fairness to the speaker’s doubters, they had good reason to question whether the budget would pass.

The Voluntary Surrender of U.S. Power

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.
A tension has always existed between President Donald Trump’s push for American retrenchment and his desire to “Make America great again,” but the gulf has grown yawningly wide in the past three months.

The Problem With Abe Lincoln’s Face

This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present and surface delightful treasures. Sign up here.
Looking at a picture of Abraham Lincoln in October 1860, the 11-year-old Grace Bedell claimed to have solved the problem of Lincoln’s face and wrote him a letter to tell him about it. The presidential candidate was well aware of the problem. As he came into public view in 1860, jokes about Lincoln’s appearance abounded.

When Your Dream Job Is a Lie

At the end of the Season 4 premiere of Hacks, Deborah (played by Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pose for the cover of a prestigious magazine. Glamorously dressed and impeccably lit, they look ecstatic, beaming in every shot.

Columbia Prof. Marianne Hirsch: Mahmoud Khalil Arrest Reminds Me of Growing Up Under Authoritarianism

Columbia University professor Marianne Hirsch’s new article in The Forward is titled “I grew up under a terrifying authoritarian regime. Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest is right out of their playbook.” She tells Democracy Now! that seeing footage of the ICE arrests of Khalil and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk “brought back these feelings of terror that I had as a child.

From “Liberation Day” to Chaos: Trump Pauses Most Tariffs While Escalating Trade War with China

President Trump has announced a 90-day pause on new tariffs for most countries and a steep increase to tariffs on China. The 125% tariff rate on China comes after China retaliated in an escalating trade war between the two largest economies in the world. For most other countries, a 10% tariff remains in place, but higher tariffs were paused just hours after they went into effect, causing global stock markets to shoot back up after a historic plunge.