Today's Liberal News

Pence’s Secret Service Team Feared for Their Lives as Trump Egged On Mob to Target VP on Jan. 6

During their eighth and final hearing until the fall, the January 6 House select committee aired new testimony from an anonymous national security official detailing how Mike Pence’s Secret Service agents feared for their lives during the breach of the Capitol. “There were calls to say goodbye to family members,” said the anonymous official. Despite knowledge of the growing mob, Trump decided to publish a tweet at 2:24 p.m.

187 Minutes: Jan. 6 Hearing Examines Trump’s Refusal to Urge Mob to Stop Violent Attack on Capitol

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held a primetime hearing on Thursday night focused on former President Donald Trump’s refusal to take action as his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6. Lawmakers dissected the three-hour period on January 6 after Trump urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.

News Roundup: Trump intended overthrow of government; Biden tests positive for COVID-19

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 coup attempt focused its evening hearing on the coup itself: the actions of Donald Trump on and before that day to assemble an extremist mob, direct them to the Capitol, and rebuff security pleas as the mob stormed the building, ransacking offices and hunting for Mike Pence and others who refused to overturn the election’s results on Trump’s behalf.

There was other news today as well.

Eighth hearing focuses on Trump’s active failure to stop Jan. 6 assault on Capitol

On Thursday night, the House select committee on Jan. 6 held its eighth public hearing, presenting damning evidence that Donald Trump’s failure to halt the assault on the Capitol was itself a vital part of the coup plot. In the process, the committee drew an underscore under a series of hearings that showed: how Trump plotted, even before the election, to overthrow democracy; how he worked through various scheme and attempts before landing on the Jan.

The Inescapable Conclusion From the January 6 Hearings

Americans aren’t the most attentive political observers. But thanks in part to Hollywood, they have a pretty clear vision of what they expect their president to do in an unfolding crisis, especially an attack on U.S. citizens at home or abroad. He (or she, in the movies at least) will march down to the Situation Room, confer with advisers, and at some point address the nation in a sober televised speech.

LIVE: Follow along with the Jan. 6 committee for its eighth public hearing, #2

Tonight the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol will convene its eighth public hearing where investigators will pore over a gutwrenching 187-minutes of former President Donald Trump’s dereliction during the Capitol attack.

Tonight’s hearing will start at 8 p.m. ET and it is expected to be the final public hearing.

LIVE: Follow along with the Jan. 6 committee for its eighth public hearing

Tonight the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol will convene its eighth public hearing, where investigators will pore over a gut-wrenching 187 minutes of former President Donald Trump’s dereliction during the Capitol attack. 

Tonight’s hearing will start at 8 PM ET and is expected to be the final public hearing.

The Opening for Democrats on Abortion

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.House Democrats are rolling out a new strategy to protect civil rights post-Roe. Senate Democrats should get on board.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
Of course Biden has COVID.
America’s self-obsession is killing its democracy.

The Secret Service Texting Scandal Makes No Sense

The United States Secret Service is reported to have permanently deleted or lost a host of data, including text messages, that relate to the January 6 insurrection. The Secret Service says that the deletions came about as part of a routine, long-planned update to its phone system and that, as part of this update, it factory-reset its agents’ mobile devices, deleting all data.

Of Course Biden Has COVID

And there it is: President Joe Biden has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House announced Thursday morning, and is dosing up with Paxlovid to keep his so-far “very mild symptoms” from turning severe.In some ways, this is one of the cases the entire world has been waiting for—not sadistically, necessarily, but simply because, like so many other infections as of late, it has felt inevitable.

“Morons”: George Monbiot Compares PM Race to Viral British TV News Clip Questioning Climate Science

Following the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have advanced to a runoff to succeed Johnson as Conservative leader, which would also make them prime minister. Both candidates would be “utterly devastating” for the U.K., says Guardian columnist George Monbiot. “What these people have to do to become prime minister is really to appeal to the worst instincts of humanity.

“It’s Already Happening”: Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate on Deadly Climate Crisis in Africa

As heat waves scorch much of the globe, we look at who bears the brunt of the climate emergency and go to Kampala, Uganda, to speak with climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate. “The climate crisis has been here. It has been impacting the lives of so many people on the African continent, which is responsible for less than 4% of the global emissions,” says Nakate.

With Congress Unwilling to Act, Pressure Grows on Biden to Declare National Climate Emergency

President Biden outlined new efforts to combat the climate crisis in a speech Wednesday but stopped short of declaring a national climate emergency — a move sought by the U.S. climate movement and many progressive lawmakers. This comes after Senator Joe Manchin just scuttled Biden’s Build Back Better climate legislation and as more than 100 million people in the United States are under heat advisories.