Today's Liberal News

News Roundup: Not even Herschel Walker’s campaign staff trusts him; IRS targeted two Trump enemies

In the news today: Herschel Walker’s campaign for the Senate continues to flounder, and that his own campaign staff doesn’t believe he’s up to the job won’t help. It turns out that two of Donald Trump’s most prominent supposed “enemies” both were targeted with super-rare, supposedly random IRS audits, and the chances that Trump allies did not intentionally target them both appear to be low.

James Caan passes away at the age of 82

James Caan, one of America’s great film actors, has passed away at the age of 82. His family used his popular Twitter account to announce the sad passing: “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6.The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.

DACA recipients continue pushing for legislation as program goes before conservative appeals court

While the Supreme Court in June 2020 ruled against the previous administration’s attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it didn’t mark the end of GOP-led litigation against the popular and successful policy. Nearly a year ago, a notoriously anti-immigrant judge ruled against the program following a lawsuit from corrupt Texas attorney general Ken Paxton.

The Shameless Boris Johnson

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.Boris Johnson, like so many other populist charlatans, is a symbol of how much has changed in modern politics—for the worse.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
The most pathetic men in America
The great veterinary shortage
Take away the president’s immunity.

How to Hold a Charismatic Charlatan to Account

The head of government is caught in a series of scandals. The scandals are not necessarily so important in themselves. Many of them involve purely personal misconduct. But if exposed, they would shock public opinion and threaten the leader’s hold on power. So he lies and lies and lies again. He mobilizes his cabinet and staff to lie for him. And when the truth does finally catch up with him, he tries to brazen things out. The people voted for him. He has a mandate.

Coming Undone in the Age of Mass Shootings

You develop certain psychological reflexes to get you through the initial shock of the first push alert: Some number dead, others wounded in a mass shooting someplace in America. At this point we all know that the earliest reports are typically flawed, so you can suspend belief a degree or two, just for the time being. It’s summer; school’s out, which means they—the murdered, whoever they were—likely weren’t children, which means you can exhale a little, uneasily.

The Minions Are Good. I’m Serious.

Minions! You know them, even if you don’t want to. The banana-yellow, denim-clad, booger-shaped thingamabobs are so popular that they’ve overtaken the film franchise in which they originated. They’ve had their images stitched onto every piece of merchandise possible—sanctioned or not—and probably make up the bulk of those memes your one relative won’t stop posting on Facebook.

“Left Internationalism in the Heart of Empire”: Aziz Rana & Darryl Li on Building a New Foreign Policy

We host a conversation about “Left Internationalism in the Heart of Empire,” which is the focus of an essay by Cornell University law professor Aziz Rana in Dissent magazine. Rana argues for the creation of a “transnational infrastructure of left forces across the world” and says movements of the left need “clear alternatives to the hardest questions” of foreign policy crises, such as the Russian war in Ukraine.

Global South Is Facing a “Complete Energy Crisis” from Oil to Natural Gas Amid Ukraine War & Pandemic

Protests over fuel shortages are unfolding around the world — in Sri Lanka, Ghana, Peru, Ecuador and elsewhere — over high gas prices. We look at the impact of rising fuel costs on countries in the Global South with Antoine Halff, former chief oil analyst at the International Energy Agency, now at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Sri Lanka Is “Grinding to a Halt” Amid Fuel Shortage, Inflation & Austerity, Prompting Mass Protests

Fuel shortages in Sri Lanka have triggered a wave of protests calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This comes as Sri Lanka’s government has forced the closure of all schools and announced plans to cut electricity by up to three hours a day, as well as stop printing currency to quell inflation. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is also facing a dire shortage of food and medicine, and doctors say the country’s entire health system could collapse.

“The Inevitable Has Happened”: Boris Johnson to Resign as PM After Mounting Scandals, Resignations

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday following a wave of departures from his government, including senior Cabinet members. The party will choose a new leader and the country’s next prime minister in the coming days. In the past week, 59 members of Parliament have resigned from the government, and on Wednesday night, a group of Cabinet members went to 10 Downing Street to urge Johnson to step down.

As Uvalde Reels from School Massacre, a Look Back at Historic 1970 Chicano Walkout at Robb Elementary

Uvalde, Texas, school district police chief Pete Arredondo has resigned from his new position on Uvalde’s City Council after facing widespread criticism over his handling of the May 24 school massacre when an 18-year-old gunman shot dead 19 fourth graders and two teachers. State authorities say Arredondo was the incident commander who ordered officers to wait in the school’s hallway for over an hour instead of confronting the gunman.