Today's Liberal News

Afghanistan, 25 Years Later: Journalist Emran Feroz on the Legacy of “America’s Longest War”

This week marks 25 years since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, the beginning of what would become the longest war in U.S. history. After installing a pro-Western government in Kabul in December 2001, U.S. and other NATO troops would remain in the country for the next two decades battling a stubborn insurgency — until a chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021 that saw the Taliban return to power.

“The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist”: Daniel Roher, Tristan Harris Discuss New Film

As the development of artificial intelligence accelerates, more voices inside and outside the industry are warning that the technology poses major risks to humanity. The new film, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, features interviews with leading AI executives, researchers, as well as critics, who all voice similar concerns. Since the film’s release earlier this year, a number of AI-driven hacks and other incidents have further alarmed people studying this topic.

“She Put Her Body on the Line”: Maricarmen, 87, Dies; Her Eviction Sparked Spain Housing Protests

The 87-year-old pensioner in Spain whose eviction from her lifelong home sparked nationwide protests has died. María del Carmen Abascal, better known as Maricarmen, died on Wednesday just hours before she was set to sign a new rental agreement. She was forcibly removed from her Madrid apartment last month on a stretcher after the private investment company that owns the building hiked her rent. After massive public outcry, the landlord had agreed to allow her back into her apartment.

“Incredible Moment for the Borderlands”: Judge Blocks Border Wall Expansion in Big Bend & West Texas

In a victory for environmentalists and immigration rights’ advocates, a federal judge in El Paso, Texas, has blocked further border wall construction inside Big Bend National Park. “We slammed the brakes on $7 billion worth of corrupt construction contracts,” says Laiken Jordahl, a national public lands advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued to block the expansion. “We have effectively stopped construction across West Texas, and it’s incredible.

The White House and the Market Are Telling Different Stories

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The political strategist James Carville once joked that if he ended up being reincarnated, he’d like to come back as the bond market. “You can intimidate everybody,” he said.
Not Scott Bessent.

How Long Until AI Hacks Everything?

The Australian government has been scrambling since the revelation that, earlier this year, it was hacked. At the United Nations General Assembly last month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared that OpenAI models had, of their own accord, accessed private data from the nation’s Medicare database—in addition to probing or seeking to infiltrate at least three other government agencies.

Something Like People

I am sure if we explain one more time that we are people
They will finally understand why this needs to stop
Oh! They will say, their eyes widening
Oh! How terrible!
We did not think of this happening to a person
We thought of this as one of those things that happened
We thought of it as happening in a story
In a group chat
We did not realize there were people in there!

Trump Is Considering a Plan to Strike Iran Before the Midterms

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After months of on-again, off-again fighting, the United States hasn’t struck Iran in several weeks. The stretch of relative tranquility is coinciding with the final phase of the midterm-election campaign, and the assumption has been that President Trump will want to keep it going through November 3 so as not to remind voters of an unpopular war that is dragging Republican candidates down nationwide.
But that may not be what happens.

Photos: The Student Protests in France

Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / Getty
People gather on and around a statue in the center of Place de la République at the end of a demonstration on a day of nationwide protests organized by high-school students and joined by unions and teachers, who for days have been demanding better learning conditions, in Paris, on October 6, 2026.
Stephane Mahe / Reuters
French high-school and university students attend a demonstration on a nationwide day of protests and blockades, in Nantes on October 6, 2026.

Three Years into Genocide, “The IDF Is Still Hunting Gazans”: Palestinian Journalist Akram al-Satarri

In Gaza, October 7, 2023, is viewed as the beginning of the genocide. Over the past three years, Israel killed over 74,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, but many believe that number is a vast undercount. The killing continues despite a so-called ceasefire that took effect about a year ago.
“Every single aspect of the life of the people of Gaza has changed once and forever,” since October 7, says Akram al-Satarri, a Gaza-based journalist.

“Origins of a Genocide”: Al Jazeera’s Marwan Bishara on “Twelve Days That Shook the Middle East”

Twelve Days That Shook the Middle East: Origins of a Genocide is the new book by Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara discussing the crucial 12 days between Benjamin Netanyahu’s October 7 speech and Biden’s “rare” Oval Office speech on October 19. “October 7 was bloody, and it was horrific. … But Netanyahu and his government had to go overboard, to exaggerate, to lie, to deceive about what exactly happened” in order to justify their actions in Gaza, says Bishara.

Israeli Activist Maoz Inon Lost His Parents on Oct. 7, Decries Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza

Israelis and Palestinians are marking three years since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed, and around 250 were taken hostage. It was the deadliest such attack in Israel’s history, after which Israel immediately began bombing the Gaza Strip, killing at least 5,000 people by October 23, 2023. At least 74,000 Palestinians have been killed.