Trump Was ‘Not Particularly Interested’ In Freeing Paul Whelan: Ex-WH Official
“He was not particularly interested in Paul’s case in the way that one would have thought he would be,” Fiona Hill said after Trump criticized the prisoner swap.
Today's Liberal News
Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist
If there’s one tweet that will tell you everything you need to know about Elon Musk, it’s this one from early this morning:
My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2022In five words, Musk manages to mock transgender and nonbinary people, signal his disdain for public-health officials, and send up a flare to far-right shitposters and trolls.
How Politics Compounded a Hostage Family’s Grief
On Friday, December 2, Elizabeth Whelan was at home on Chappaquiddick, off Massachusetts, when she received a text message from a State Department official—a representative from the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs—asking when she might be available for a visit. He had news concerning her youngest brother, Paul.
Democratic Lawmakers Visit Havana, Meet With Cuban President
A delegation of at least three U.S. lawmakers has visited Havana and met with Cuba’s government this week.
Bernie Sanders Says Sinema ‘Helped Sabotage’ Some Of The Most Important Legislation
The Vermont independent said he believes part of why the Arizona senator left the Democratic Party is because her constituents lost faith in her.
NASA’s Plan to Bounce People Off the Atmosphere
Updated at 2:37 p.m. ET on December 11, 2022If you want to send people to the moon, you have to be able to bring them home safely. And if you want to bring them home, you must send them hurtling through Earth’s atmosphere in a wash of heat and fire.An incoming capsule exits space at thousands of miles per hour, then decelerates rapidly. The astronauts inside feel gravity reassert itself with an uncomfortable crush.
‘Steve and Marty’ Revealed SNL’s Weaknesses
The plan was relatively straightforward: Take two comedic legends, each with a rich history on Saturday Night Live and a working partnership spanning decades, and invite them to co-host. Steve Martin and Martin Short had even previously shared the SNL stage in 1986, when they hosted alongside Chevy Chase to promote their film Three Amigos. Last night’s episode, therefore, had every reason to be not just funny but riotous—the kind of impish return Will Forte delivered last season.
The Most Moving Scene in Love Is Blind
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.Good morning, and welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained.
‘The situation in the hospitals is grim’: States face brutal virus fallout
Nearly 30,000 people currently in the hospital have tested positive for Covid-19, up 30 percent since Thanksgiving.
Dems’ final Covid report slams government failures. Congress may repeat them.
The Coronavirus Crisis committee lays out 30 recommendations for protecting the country during future pandemics.
FDA greenlights bivalent vaccines for children as young as 6 months old
The move to authorize the shots comes as Covid-19 infections in the U.S. tick up amid the most intense flu season in years.
China announces rollback of strict anti-Covid measures
Public frustration with the restrictions appears to have finally swayed the opinion of officials.
Ex-FDA vaccine inspectors call for better training
The team overseeing licensed vaccines is overwhelmed by high turnover and a pandemic-induced backlog of inspections.
Some Republicans say the midterms were a mandate for further abortion restrictions
Many GOP lawmakers who sailed to victory in states with anti-abortion laws are planning to use their expanded power.
Fed jacks up rates again but Powell hints it might slow down
Inflation has cooled only slightly and job growth remains strong.
Voters remain gloomy despite recent economic gains
A new POLITICO-Morning Consult poll suggests voters’ views of the economy are baked in.
U.S. economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6 percent
Housing investment, though, plunged at a 26 percent annual pace, hammered by surging mortgage rates.
More voters trust Republicans on economy as interest in midterms hits high, polls say
According to an NBC News poll released Sunday, 70 percent of registered voters expressed interest in the upcoming election as a “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale.
Sarah Leah Whitson on Growing Saudi-China Ties & Holding MBS Responsible for Jamal Khashoggi Murder
We speak with Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, about the campaign to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This week a U.S.
“A Personified Weapon of Mass Destruction”: Ex-Arms Trafficking Inspector on Freed Russian Viktor Bout
Brittney Griner’s release from Russia has brought renewed attention to the notorious Russian arms dealer whom the U.S. exchanged for the basketball star in a prisoner swap. Viktor Bout, the former Soviet military officer who became known as the “Merchant of Death,” was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States for conspiracy to commit terrorism.
“A Vindication for Agitation”: Dave Zirin on How Brittney Griner’s Supporters Secured Her Freedom
Basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the United States early Friday after nearly 10 months of detention in Russia. Griner was freed Thursday in a dramatic prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, with the Biden administration agreeing to free Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence.
Supreme Court Weighs Voting Rights Case Based on Fringe Theory That Could Upend Democracy
The Supreme Court is considering a North Carolina redistricting case that could have far-reaching implications for voting rights in the 2024 election and beyond. At stake in Moore v. Harper is whether North Carolina Republican lawmakers had the authority to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that redrew the state’s congressional map due to partisan gerrymandering.
Democratic Lawmaker Doubles Down On Calls For Clarence Thomas’ Resignation
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) tweeted out a rebuke of the conservative Supreme Court Justice as he presides over the case of Moore v. Harper.
Democratic Lawmaker Doubles Down On Calls For Clarence Thomas’ Resignation
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) tweeted out a rebuke of the conservative Supreme Court Justice as he presides over the case of Moore v. Harper.
Want to keep on winning? We have the chance for a huge flip in Virginia next month
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Are you still pumped about Tuesday night’s thunderous win in Georgia? I sure am! And you better believe I’m not tired of winning. In fact, I’m ready to win some more. And there’s a golden opportunity just around the corner.
Unfortunately, abortion rights in Virginia are hanging by a thread—but we can drive a stake into the GOP’s plan to restrict abortion in just a month’s time.
Ukraine update: Bakhmut may be ‘destroyed’ but Ukrainian forces at Bakhmut still stand
UPDATE: Sunday, Dec 11, 2022 · 6:06:14 AM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
I know this is all deadly serious, but it reads so odd that by now it’s like a satire of a battle.
The attack down Patrica Lumumby Street has met its resistance (1). I don’t know *exactly* where. Somewhere between the drywall and ceramic factories. I think.
Donald Trump Loses ‘Swagger,’ Botches Campaign Takeoff: Analyst
Guardian political analyst David Smith’s attack was just the latest in the press about Donald Trump’s lackluster campaign launch.
Paul Whelan’s brother slams Trump over prisoner-swap hypocrisy, points out Trump’s bold inaction
Conservatives have suddenly made ex-Marine Paul Whelan’s release a cause célèbre—mainly because a Democratic president just freed a Black lesbian woman in a one-for-one prisoner swap, and the optics on the story are too promising for this bevy of bigots to pass up.
Starbucks workers are asking you not to buy Starbucks gift cards, this week in the war on workers
Starbucks workers have been winning union elections for a year this week, and in that time more than 250 stores have unionized and more stores continue to file for union elections—but the company is still union-busting and refusing to bargain a contract in good faith with even one of those stores.
‘Big Oil will stop at nothing’: Advocacy groups, lawmakers call out companies’ clean energy lies
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released findings from an investigation into Big Oil companies showing that giants like Chevron, BP, Shell, and Exxon will seemingly do everything they can to keep the U.S. reliant on fossil fuels—no matter the environmental cost. Chevron, for instance, wants to remain in the oil and gas industry to take advantage of “retreating” competition. Much of the companies’ claims also amounted to greenwashing.